Yesterday I took my 06 F150 4x4 in to a local shop to have a Revtek leveling kit installed. It was one of the worst mistakes I have ever made. I had bought a grill from the shop a few weeks earlier. They seemed like nice guys and they had a dodge in there at the time they were doing a 6" lift on. So i figured they know what there doing and they were the cheapest place close to me. To sum up a really long story. They took over 3 hours to install it. Were using a hammer to beat on the area where the strut mounts?? Not sure if I'm saying that correctly... Minor cosmetic damage to the springs. Used a crappy spring compressor that I could have rented from somewhere. Didn't once use a torque wrench on anything including putting my wheels back on and now I have a knocking in my front end when I drive over any uneven ground. I don't think these guys had the right tools or had any clue what they were doing. Is there any reason why the brake caliper would be off the rotor when installing this type of kit? Does anyone know if the revtek spacers could cause any sound from the front end? The whole not using a torque wrench on anything didn't hit me until after I left. I'm going to jack up the truck and pull a wheel to re-check everything. I might post a couple pics after I do it to see if you guys notice anything I'm not seeing. I'm thinking I may have to pay another shop to go back in and make sure everything was put back together correctly if I don't get this knocking sound figurd out in the next couple days. Even if the shop where I had it done would look at it again for free. I'm not sure that I want them even touching it again...I'm really not happy....Lawsuit?

 

http://flickr.com/gp/35913342@N04/Vix49E
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They should not have used a spring compressor for any reason and they is not need to beating anything with a hammer. Also I never had to take off my brake calipers to put my HBS leveling kit on. I would recommend having someone look at it that knows what they are doing. IF something if messed up (which it sounds like it is) I would take it back to that shop and they should fix what they screwed up the right way or pay to have someone else to do it the RIGHT way.

Post some pics if you get a chance!

 

I take back what I said earlier, the Revtek spacer fits on top of the spring so they do need to compress the strut spring. I didn't go with that type of design, but from what I read I haven't read anything bad about the Revtek spacers. You should not have any type of knocking in your front end after the install. I would take it somewhere to get a second opinion if you don't see anything wrong IMO.

 

Not sure I would characterize any of this as a "nightmare". I chock it up to your inexperience turning a wrench. Have you ever released the spindle from the upper ball joint? Sure you could use a pickle-fork but it could tear the boot on the upper bj. The easiest way to tackle this is to use a hammer and let the spring help push it all apart...the impact of the hammer helps to break the spindle loose. So he removed the brake caliper, so what? They're easy to remove and install so not sure why this is a big deal.

As for the knocking you hear, I bet it's the upper control arm hitting the spring when you're driving. You will see marks on the spring where the arm is hitting it. You should've went with an AutoSpring spacer. Not only is it MUCH easier to install (do not need a spring compressor), but the spacer is offset to prevent the control arm from touching it.

Next time ask for for recommendations or assistance if you're not sure how to proceed with an upgrade. It could save you bunch headaches...and probably a lot of money too.

 

I did a WHOLE lot of research here prior to buying my AS 2.5in spacers. Using the knowledge I found here and other sites, I did the install myself along with AALs for the back. I am completely pleased and saved a ton of money doing it myself. Now I need to get bigger tires when my current ones are worn down

 

Also how about posting up some more pics from additional angles

 

Well after pulling the tire on the left side I found that they never tightened the nut up that holds the bracket for the brake lines and it was moving around rubbing metal on metal when I would hit any bumps. You would think when your paying someone to do a job it would be 100%. Overall I'm satisfied with the way the truck looks. It has just a slight slope with the 2" Revtek kit.

 

Wow they definitely had no idea what they are doing. Ive put on a couple of them and all you do is break loose the tie rod end, the sway bar. Un bolt the strut and pull it out (you may have to use a hammer to slightly tap the big bolt out of the bottom of the strut) But then the strut drops out.

Next you put the leveling block on top of the strut, hold down the control arm and put the strut back in place and bolt everything back together.

Why in the hell did they use a spring compressor? LOL.

I would have been raising heck if I seen them doing all that just to put on a leveling kit. Heck it should only take 2 hours MAX, IF its the first one you've ever done. Should take an hour if you know what your doing.

And no where in the process should the brakes be touched at all. The steering knuckle will just lay out of the way with the entire brake assembly still attached

 

X2

 

The revtek is a coil spacer not a strut spacer, therefore it goes on top of the actual coil itself. Nonetheless he still should have went with an AS kit instead of this.

 

I had my boyfriend place tle leveling kit on my truck. I bought the "spacers" that sit on top of the springs. Don't recall if he removed the brakes during the process but that easy anyway. What I do recall is the alignment afterwards. After placing the leveling kit, I purchased 4 new BFG 285 70 17's. They were not able to get the alignment dead on, I went to the dealership and was told that I would have to get longer A-arms. The guy there was nice enough to explain and show me why I needed these. All I was thinking was that I just spent good money for my tires and didn't want them worn unevenly. So, long story short, my cheap leveling kit ended up costing my a $550 trip to the dealers for the A-arms. Leason learned. If i would have purchased the leveling kit witht he springs and A-arms, i could have saved money in the long run.
Now that yal have read this, do you think I got jacked all the way around? The tire guy told me that as long as I made sure that I rotated the tires regularly, there shouldn't be much wear issue. But I wanted things done right even though I still get them balanced and rotated with ever other oil change. Its free so why not!

 

Sounds like you should have researched first and bought a better quality leveling kit.

 

x2

 

I take the brake calipers off every one I have done (done several) it is two bolts and gets things out of the way. Hammering on the top spindle bolt is very common way to get them apart.

If you still have the thumping sound you need to check and see if they got the bolt tight on top of the strut itself. It's a known cause of noise in the front end after this type of leveling kit install.