hey, im looking for a 4in or 6in suspension lift for my 97 f150 regular cab short beb 4x4 with a 5.4. I have looked at some and some say that they wont work with a regular cab with a 5.4. can yall tell me what lifts will work with my truck and which ones do yall recomend. my truck already has a 3in body lift, 2.5 in leveling kit and 35s. any sugestions would be great, thanks

 

i know rancho makes a kit that will work. its a 4 inch lift. i have one and i'm happy with it.

 

i have an rcd 5 inch. love it. gotta get the right one for the tranny u have though. but will work for your truck n very easy install.

 

fabtech claims the reason they don't recommend using their 6'' lift kit on regular cabs is that there are issues getting the torsion bar crossmember dropdown brackets to line up correctly. that is a load of crap. i have seen several regular cab 97-03 F-150's w/ the 6'' Fabtech suspension lift.

however, you will probably face rear driveline issues. expect to have to extend the rear driveshaft. on my scab, i had to extend the rear driveshaft 1 1/4'' to get it back within oem specs. 1'' driveshaft spacers are available, however, as well.

 

i have an rcd 5 inch. love it. gotta get the right one for the tranny u have though. but will work for your truck n very easy install.
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'97 Ford F-150 Flareside
Regular Cab 4WD 4.6L----5" RCD Lift---35" Hercules Trail Digger M/Ts---17" Centerline Wolfers
K&N, Edge Evo Supertuner w/Attitude monitor, Underdrive Pulleys, 75mm Throttle body, Throttle body spacer, Full insane JL Audio speaker setup, Pioneer AVH-P5900 Flip up DVD/CD Player, PS2 Slim, 20% Tint, Leather DMC seats, Woodgrain dash insertsR

 

Sorry for the hijack, but can anyone elaborate on these driveshaft spacers?I have the same body style,(97-03)SCab,but a 99,with Fabtech 6" lift,and it did not include a driveshaft spacer.How can I tell if I need one?What are the symptoms?When I use too much throttle I hear an awful banging from the rear.I always assumed it was axle wrap,due to the large lift blocks.Maybe it's a short driveshaft?

 

will the rcd 5" lift work with my 5.4?

 

Yes.

 

sledman62: the driveshaft is only supposed to be sticking out of the transfer case extension housing 1 1/4''. after i installed the fabtech kit on my truck, my driveshaft was sticking out 2.50'', twice as far as it should have been. i chose to have my rear driveshaft extended, because spacers are only available in 1.0''. look at how far your driveshaft is sticking out of the extension housing. if its sticking out more than 1'' too far, it needs to be professionally extended. the driveline shop cuts the ends off the driveshaft, and welds a new, longer piece of pipe in the middle.

you are probably experiencing major axle wrap as well, from the stacked blocks. ideally, an all leaf sprung rear lift is best. fwiw, i am currently running 6'' atlas leaf springs in my rear, with no blocks.

 

hmm thanks for explaning this minimonster17, I went and measured mine and it is sticking out exactly 2.5" from the transfer case. I have also noticed that sometimes when I put it in reverse it makes a small grinding noise coming from that area where the driveshaft comes out of the transfer case so I`m wondering if I need to have my driveshaft lengthend? Minimonster17 how much did it cost you to get that done to yours?

 

Thanks for the info minimonster,I will be sure to check the tail shaft as soon as I can.I certainly have alot of axle wrap, but my new BDS 5" lift springs will be here tomorrow,hopefully will solve some of that.

 

Well, locally here in FL, it would have been $130+tax to extend the driveshaft, and balance it. I chose to spend the extra $60 on new u-joints as well. you mind as well, because the old ones may have to be beat out, and are probably worn as well. so, i spent $190+tax. i probed around, and this seemed to be a fair rate for a local reputable shop.

i wouldn't recommend the driveshaft spacer for you, f150rider. considering your truck's circumstance, i strongly suggest doing it right, and extending your rear driveshaft 1 1/4'''. find a GOOD shop for this, if the driveshaft isn't balanced correctly, it will vibrate like hell. there are shops that specialize in solely driveline/driveshaft work, find one.

prior to extending mine, i could feel it clunk upon take offs. really annoying sound/feeling, and always the possibility of potentially falling out. if it were to fall out, the whole transfer case extension housing could be stripped out, resulting in really expensive repairs. i was also leaking transmission fluid from the transfer case like a sieve, i actually had to refill the transfer case twice before i finally had the driveshaft extended.

 

thanks bud! I am going to see if I can find a decent driveshaft shop in my area to do this, I think it would be worth spending $200-$250 to prevent something major from happening and it cost 1-2k or more not to mention when I`m somewhere and I put it in reverse it makes that grinding noise (pretty loudly) and I`m sure people are thinking theres another one of those halfway built trucks

 

I just thought of something else.. you said they extended your driveshaft? do they weld an extension in or how does that work? or do they replace the whole driveshaft with a new extended one?

 

they saw off the driveshaft ends and weld you a longer piece of pipe in the middle. then, it is rebalanced. it is possible to replace the whole driveshaft with a totally custom one, but to me that is cost prohibitive, and totally unnecessary. extending a driveshaft in the way i have described has been done successfully/safely for years by the military, other lifted trucks like ours, etc.

to put in in perspective, i have gone up to like 85mph on the interstate, and experience no weird vibrations. like i said, it is just critical to find a GOOD shop who can do the job right.