yeah, ill remember that haha, what i also wanna do while its on the lift, i wanna pull off some tow hooks from a 4x4, dont really care what kinda truck its from (chevy, dodge, toyota, ford idc) and SOMEHOW attach tow hooks to my frame in the front and rear. ive been stuck one time and we spent like 15 minutes trying to find an efficient place to put a chain on and ended up using the friggin brushguard. (my truck hit a cave in puddle)

 

try and find a old HD bumper... they are easy to attach tow hooks onto on the bottom... That's what I did anyway. If you were closer I'd give you one of my spare bumpers since I have 2 extras. LOL! old farm truck bumpers! Other than that I have seen a plethora of tow hook ideas. One of the best though was actually cutting a hole in the front bumper... sounds extream but if you offset your hole to one side of the frame or the other you can weld a hefty **** piece of metal to the frame that will stick out the front bumper. then just get a couple clevis's to keep behind the seat! I tow plenty of friends out in the winter so i can feel your pain... I have easy spots to hook up on my truck but their vehicles are a PITRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something like this...

bottom or top view however you like... cut holes next to frame (yellow areas) then weld big **** piece of metal in (green lines) the drill a hole through the metal for some big clevis's... You can bee as neat or ugly as you want with this approach...

 

I think that's the first time I see a 4x4 front end, with leaf springs and a sway bar.

I've only seen sway bars on these trucks on 2wd's.



The keeper bolt for my front leaf springs on my 4x4 Diesel hardly exist anymore.

 

I am assuming I'll end up at a suspension shop for new keeper bolts... They'll go on when I do my front shocks and add-a-leaf kit.

Speaking of which I think the only thing I haven't replaced up front are the leaf spring bushings... I havn't inspected them yet but what do you think the chances are I need to replace them...????????? They are probably still OEM from the factory!!!!

IDI, It also surprises me to hear you say you haven't seen other 4x4's with front sway bars. I could be wrong but I have 3 F-250's and I'll check them all tonight but I am sure at least 2 of them have sway bars. Maybe it's a difference between 1/2, 3/4, and 1 tons... IDK...

Either way we are looking at clear and sunny all weekend with a high near 73*-74* so I am sure to get my rear shocks on Thumper and surely break into ol' girl for some needed engine repairs...

 

Must be nice to have sway bars.....

 

YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I took mine off to fix and repair them... Had to run an errand or two while I had them off! Yikes! The difference of having sway bars front and back is night and day... Especially when wrapped with Moog bushings!

 

Now, imagine the sheer skill () that it takes to run these Ky hills, (Next to WV-6CylBills' area) at 70+mph.....Just a thought....No sway bars, A/T tires......And literallly hauling ***....

Never quite figured out if we are actually "Just that good", or "Just that dumb"....

 

been there done that!!! LOL... I actually worked in DC for a year and was always running out to WV to go hiking and kayaking to get away from the city bustle... Was mostly in the Monongohela Forest area but went all over!

 

My 1990 F250 has no sway bars at all, front or rear. My 89 F150 2wd has both front and rear, and my motorhome has only the front one.

 

Sorry I'm a little slow replying today since I have CAD on the brain (chainsaw aquisition disorder)... I know the 88 f250 I use for parts doesn't have a rear bar but the 89 F250 xlt does... not sure on the front sway bars for them though...

Back to craigslist shopping for more Chainsaws!!!!!

 

Well I got all my new shocks in. I was going to wait on the front ones until I did a front add a leaf kit; do it all at the same time... Any way all 4 shocks are in and working GREAT!

I really didn't realize how bad the rid on my truck was until replacing all the bushings and then to find out all my shocks were bad too! Well here are the pics of my coil over rear shocks. I did park on pavement and take b4 and after measurements to the tops of the wheel wells. The rear coil/shocks boosted me 1.75 inches and the Gas Magnums boosted my front 1in. I don't know if the extra lift is b/c of the old ones being so bad or if the upgrade to magnums and coil overs pushed me up... IDK... Also I am still 1.5inchs lower in the front so add a leafs are probably coming in the near future...





Sometimes when you replace a little part here and a little part there you really don't notice the difference in ride and handling. I will say 100% without a doubt after replacing all these parts in a 2 week window... There is a HUGE gain in handling and ride comfort! I have yet to load the truck to test the coil over shocks but the gravel yard is calling my name so I'll let you know...

 

nstueve
Did you ever mount up a front add-a-leaf?

 

No I never put add a leafs in b/c the monroe mag shocks helped push my front end up and so the truck doesn't look "raked" anymore. Maybe after another year or two when the front shocks settle I'll swap in add a leafs.

I honestly didn't want my truck looking "raked" the other way... IE: Saggy Back End.

 

PS: for anyone reading this... the ride and handling on my truck is a ton better when loaded. I have hauled gravel, sand, and really heavy wood loads. Got a load that made my rear end squat down on the helper springs in back but still shot down the road nice and strait and comfortable. Having proper swap bar bushings really helps the body roll when loaded too!

 

Well that's good to hear that you got good results with everything that you've done. I'm due for new rear shocks and my truck and I'm going to go with coil-overs too.

To add to the sway bar mystery, my 1989 F250 XLT Lariat 4x4 (Dana 50 front end) had both front and rear sway bars. Only has a rear one now after the SAS.