hey guys- I got a 98 4x4 4.6L stock as of now. I really want to add a small lift, I see all of the newer trucks with the autospring leveling kits and really like the look of it. I tried to find one for my year but could not find one. Is there one out there for my truck?

If there is nothing out there, then are there any options other than cranking the T bars or a body lift? A suspension lift would be nice but i am a poor college student on a small budget.

Any advice will help! Thanks guys!

D

 

As most other members will agree with these years just crack the t bars then get an alignment think about it why spend 160 for keys the another 60 or so for an alignment. Thats your best bet


Hope that helped

 

Semi-helped... I'm pretty picky with this stuff and I don't like the way the wheels get pulled in. What is everybody's opinion on spacers? Good? Bad?

D

 

Crankin' the TB works fine. Did it with mine, and I got no complaints...I love it! Just get it aligned afterward...you'd have to do that even with a leveling kit though, right?

It's no big deal....do it!

 

If you're just doing a small lift (leveling it), then don't bother with the aftermarket torsion keys. Basically if you're lifting it enough to require the keys then you're putting the control arms, balljoints, CVs, etc at angles way on the edge of the range they were designed for and you'll start to beat the snot out of those parts and spend more cash replacing them more often than normal.
Just crank the t-bars using the stock adjusters & re-align the truck and save the cash.
On my little Nissan HB, which is a very similar setup as the 97-03 F150 torsion bar IFS, I've got a set of aftermarket upper control arms and a differential drop kit to remedy those problems but I'm not aware of anything like that available for the 97-03 F150s though...I'd be interested in em if there is though.

Sounds like you've already done a bit of homework on what's available for your truck.

The other option for a light lift would be a body lift kit...easy enough to do, but the only ground clearance you gain is from being able to fit larger tires underneath.

From there you get into the full suspension lifts which get kinda spendy.

 

Yep, if all you want is it leveled then just crank your t-bars.

 

RIght. The aftermarket torsion bar keys/leveling kit do the same thing as cranking up your torsion bars with your OEM keys. The only thing is the aftermarket keys allow you to put way, way too much preload on the torsion bars. Just crank up the torsion bars and get an alignment.

 

I'm thinkin I am going to crank the T-bars this next week when I get home for break. Whats the best way to go about doing this? Any tips/tricks?
Thanks for all the input by the way!!

D

 

Most people jack the front of the truck up. Be sure to turn each adjustment nut an equal number of turns. Don't be surprised when you see that on is already cranked up more than the other.

 

I looked under my truck yesterday just to look and i did notice on the adjustment nuts that one was higher than the other. Why is it like this? Also when i do crank them do i have to make the even first or do i turn them equally from where they are?

D

 

Every truck is differnt so the prelod is set different of set the desired ride height at the factory. Turn each adjustment bolt an equal number of turns.