just wondering what you guys think about a leveling kit on a 02 SCREW, which should i use, and how big of tires can i fit with it. its an FX4 with 17inch wheels. the stockers so far.

 

You don't need a leveling kit. All a leveling kit is on the 97-03 4x4's, is a set of reindexed torsion bar adjustment keys. These allow you to put way, way too much preload on the torsion bars which causes extreme CV and ball joint angles. THis leads to premature wear and will destroy your ride quality. Just crank up the torsion bars with your OEM adjustment keys. Most people can easily get their truck level doing this, I did.
As for tires, you can fit up to a 315/70-17 (35x12.50) using the OEM wheels. However, the wheelwells will be extremely stuffed and they will rub on the frame slightly at full steering lock. Personally, I'd suggest sticking with a 33 inch tire (285/70-17 or 305/65-17) unless you plan on lifting the truck in the near future.

 

I agree. Stay away from aftermarket keys.

 

but wouldnt just cranking up the torsion bars also cause extreme CV and ball joint angles, plus screw up your ride by making it too stiff. and also, dont you run a risk of breaking the torsion bar because its under more stress and load.

 

So, searching through all the posts on the levelling screws, most guys stress the importance of turing them in the same # of turns.
I just picked up an '03 F150 FX4 SCab (amazing unit, but thats another story ), and wanted to bring up the front a bit, and looking at the bolts, the driver side was in further than the passenger, which stands to reason as the fuel tank is driver side. I did a search and found some shots of different guys trucks, and the levelling screws on them were at different penetration depths.
Long and short of it (pun intended) is it seems that level in the front is of more importance than same levelling bolt depths.
Seems logical to me that the Tbar on drivers side is going to sack out faster than the passenger (non fuel tank) side.
Seem reasonable?
Cheers!

 

^^^^I agree, when I did mine the drivers side was in further and when I did the crank ended about the same (further in than the Psgr side) as before. Just crack them evenly. I also did alot of measuring as I went to make sure was staying even on both sides and with the back. Also some trucks have more crank in them to begin with than others.

 

Motorman, you are right. You are doing the same thing either way you go. It may be possible to crank the torsion bars too far on some trucks with the oem adjustment keys, but on most trucks the adjustment bolts will bottom out before you get into the danger zone. The aftermarket keys do the exact same thing except they allow you to put more preload on the torsion bars than you can with the oem keys. Why pay over $100 for something you can do for free?

 

My thoughts exactly!
The levelling keys are nice looking units, but in the end, youre just adding preload. You could fab something up to do the same thing. A 1/4 steel plate with a small centering hole placed between the screw and the stock key would do the exact same thing.