So I'm looking into getting about a 4 to 6 inch lift on my 2000 F150 4X4 and there's a few things I'm not clear about yet. I've been meaning to make a run to a 4X4 shop near here but haven't had the chance, so I'm wondering if you have to extend the brake cables or the steering column or anything else when you put in the new torsion bar keys and install the blocks in the rear springs. I know it's kind of a newbie question but I'm just now looking into those little details since I'm trying to decide if I can tackle the job in my driveway instead of paying a shop to do it.

thanks!

 

Easiest way to figure out is go to the manufactures site of the lift your thinking of getting and read the install instructions, that'll give you the best idea of whether your up to it or not.

 

That's what I'm doing now...apparently the taller the lift, the more of a possibility there is of having to get longer cables and things, which I guess is a no brainer. I was kind of under the impression that the whole process was just taking out the torsion keys and putting in new ones, then putting the bars back in, and then going around to the rear and installing the blocks below the leaf springs with the new U bolts in the kit.

 

The 4-6" kits are going to use a drop down cross member. They're a lot more involved than just the torsion keys.

Those cheap kits that just replace the torsion keys and nothing else and claim to give you 3" or so are a waste of money and terrible for the front suspension. You can crank the factory torsion keys for free to level up the truck.

 

So cranking the torsion keys won't make my front end stiffer? I'd heard some rumors of the bars breaking after hitting bumps if they were turned too tightly so I was a bit scared off the idea. But if it works I might give it a shot. There's just a lot of options right now it seems and I'm just trying to learn as much about it all as I can. But thanks man!

 

It'll make the front end stiffer, but the factory keys will allow you to crank them up without destroying front end components because they limit how far you can go within the acceptable range.

People's keys have snapped but generally it's not directly related to them being cranked up as the cause of the problem. I've seen a couple trucks on here that have been completely stock and a key has broken, and there's plenty of people on here who have them cranked and have never had one snap, but if you beat on the truck excessively of course something is bound to break, but usually it's just one of those random occurrences.

If you decide to crank them, I say definitely stop when you get the truck level, keep the stiffness as little as possible and the angles as good as possible. Also count how many turns you do on the first side so when you do the other side you can get it pretty much even across first try because one side will allow you to crank further than the other. Also don't forget to get the alignment checked after either.

 

Go with a RCX 4-5 inch lift...dont have to extend anything

 

My 6" Fabtech on both of my 03s didnt require extending anything. Everything needed was included in the boxes.

Wayne

 

Whether you crank up the stock keys or buy aftermarket keys, it does the same thing. It increases the preload on the torsion bars. Why would you buy a product when you can do the same thing for free. Also, I've never seen a key break. I have seen stock torsion bars snap, but this was caused by a run of defective torsion bars (1998's maybe??) and not the amount of preload on the bars.