Hey, today I went to a nearby off road shop (Down East Off Road in Wilson, NC) and talked to them about body lifts. I told the guy I had 18x10 wheels I would be putting on and he said he never recommends using an 18 inch wheel on Fords b/c they shimmy too bad, then he said Ford's shimmy so bad it can almost take you off the road?!!??!?? Has anybody had this problem before? Right after he said that he then said..."but you might be alright" so now I'm a little confused. I already have my wheels and tires (MT Baja ATZ's 325/60/18) and now I just have to get my body lift and go from there. Is my setup going to work?? He's got me worried b/c the money is already spent. In my garage sits wheels, tires, bilstein shocks and next the body lift will be here. He also mentioned having to take out the seats to get to the cab bolts but I'm not so much worried about that. Any feedback is most appreciated.

 

The BL is not that hard to install and there is a ton of info on installing them at this site. It should not matter what size rims you install on your truck as long as they are balanced it should not shake or vibrate!! Yes you do have to remove the rear seat but it's not hard. My truck handles most road conditions better w/ 35's than what it did stock.

 

You'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure the tires are balanced. This is the first I've heard of 18" wheels causing shimmy problem. yes the backseat needs to come out, but the install is relatively easy and straight forward. Lots of little steps. Pics of the install process with captions and descriptions in my gallery.

You'll be fine.

 

Thanx Kev' and JK, how much did yall pay for your body lifts?

 

The cheapest place I found was http://www.4wheelcustoms.com/Search.asp

I think you need part # 862 or 863. Not sure which one. $150 or so plus shipping. I purchased 2 from this site and shipping was pretty fast. You'll want gap gaurds also. They run about $65 with shipping. You'll be around $250 or so once everything is said and done.

 

hey kevin24, i was looking at your gallery, and i noticed that you had a cold air intake system, did that cause you any problems when installing your BL, and what happened to those beatiful chrome tips??? by the way your your pickup looks great. the reason im asking is bc i am wanting to put a BL on mine, and tring to figure out any problems i am going to run into.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...099&anum=16003

 

First I've ever heard of this.

 

I had no problems with the BL and AF1 intake. I simply loosened the bracket for it and adjusted it accordingly. I wanted my truck louder so i just cut the rest of my exhaust system off after the mufflers. Now its too loud

A reminder for you....when you install your BL your exhaust exit will appear 3 inches lower than it does currently. The bumpers get raised with the body and your exhaust stays in the factory location. This can be easily fixed at any exhaust shop!
Thanks for the compliments!!!!

 

also, you will need a torx 50 bit to remove that back seat, as well as a torx 47 bit or two to break the bed bolts out. my pa kit didn't come with one of the fuel lines you need to extend, the fatter one, it had the thinner one. i had to go to napa to order the proper line. not sure if i was an oddball, or if that is standard with these kits. in any case make sure you get all your ducks in a row before starting this project, so you don't have to stop and go on a parts run. also, spray pb blaster on all the body bolts for a couple days before starting this, and save yourself a bitchin' time breaking the bolts out.

 

no shimmy...make sure the tires are balanced properly.

 

I had the shimmy on my 99 f150.Its called the death wobble , scares the crap outta you the first time it happens.Whole truck goes into a convuslion.I installed a 3in body lift and 34in mickey thompson baja belteds on 16x10 eagles and went for a test drive and it did it between 35 and 50 if i remember right.Had them rebalanced several times and rotated the tires and it would still do it sometimes.I had it balanced a couple times added a dual steering stabilizer and replaced everything in the front end along with several allignments and it would still do it.It finally quit when I added a 6in fabtech even with the same tires and rims,it just went away after that and I never had a problem again.I dealt with it for a year and a half doing the death wobble.I never let the wife drive it during that time.