The poor man's F-350 leveling kit.
#1
06-23-2011, 01:01 PM
The poor man's F-350 leveling kit.
My 5er needed a little more ground clearance on the rear end, so I moved the pin box
to the highest position and lowered the hitch as low as it would go but I still wanted to
get a little more clearance, so I decided to lower the back of the truck.
I ordered a set of F-250 blocks, FoMoCo PN 7C3Z5598L $33.93 and FoMoCo PN 7C3Z5598K $34.07.
You also need to purchase new u-bolts and nuts, as they are not reusable. Thank you PowerStrokeHD for that information.
This procedure should work for swapping blocks either way, but if you are going to
add F-350 blocks to an F-250, you will want to order the longer F-350 u-bolts.
This is with the stock F-350 blocks.
This the height with the F-250 blocks.
The F-250 blocks have a right and left.
The F-350 block sitting behind the F-250 blocks, works on either side.
3-1/2" vs 2"
The rear end is jacked up high enough so that the tires are about 2" off the ground.
This gives the axle room to drop and allows you to remove the block.
A little penetrating oil the night before helps a lot.
I put the floor jack under the shock mount to make it easier
to disassemble the nuts and saddle, after they have been removed
then I lowered the jack to drop the axle.
Reach into the wheel well and remove the u-bolts. With the weight of the axle off
of the leaf springs, the leaf springs will retract and it makes it difficult to remove
the u-bolts. This task may require the use of foul language. YMMV
After the u-bolts are out of the way, the block is easily removed.
Put the correct (right or left) F-250 block in place and reinstall the u-bolts.
Use the floor jack to push the axle back into place while checking the alignment
of the leaf springs, block and axle pad.
Once the axle has been moved into position capturing the block,
tighten the u-bolts. Check with your dealer for the correct torque
on the u-bolt nuts. After the installation was complete I drove the truck
and then re-torqued the u-bolts.
Before
After
I cheated by taking the before picture with a floor jack lifting the rear
of the truck to the original height with the stock F-350 blocks.
I still have some rake with the F-250 blocks, and it's perfectly level
with the fiver attached.
-Gavin
to the highest position and lowered the hitch as low as it would go but I still wanted to
get a little more clearance, so I decided to lower the back of the truck.
I ordered a set of F-250 blocks, FoMoCo PN 7C3Z5598L $33.93 and FoMoCo PN 7C3Z5598K $34.07.
You also need to purchase new u-bolts and nuts, as they are not reusable. Thank you PowerStrokeHD for that information.
This procedure should work for swapping blocks either way, but if you are going to
add F-350 blocks to an F-250, you will want to order the longer F-350 u-bolts.
This is with the stock F-350 blocks.
This the height with the F-250 blocks.
The F-250 blocks have a right and left.
The F-350 block sitting behind the F-250 blocks, works on either side.
3-1/2" vs 2"
The rear end is jacked up high enough so that the tires are about 2" off the ground.
This gives the axle room to drop and allows you to remove the block.
A little penetrating oil the night before helps a lot.
I put the floor jack under the shock mount to make it easier
to disassemble the nuts and saddle, after they have been removed
then I lowered the jack to drop the axle.
Reach into the wheel well and remove the u-bolts. With the weight of the axle off
of the leaf springs, the leaf springs will retract and it makes it difficult to remove
the u-bolts. This task may require the use of foul language. YMMV
After the u-bolts are out of the way, the block is easily removed.
Put the correct (right or left) F-250 block in place and reinstall the u-bolts.
Use the floor jack to push the axle back into place while checking the alignment
of the leaf springs, block and axle pad.
Once the axle has been moved into position capturing the block,
tighten the u-bolts. Check with your dealer for the correct torque
on the u-bolt nuts. After the installation was complete I drove the truck
and then re-torqued the u-bolts.
Before
After
I cheated by taking the before picture with a floor jack lifting the rear
of the truck to the original height with the stock F-350 blocks.
I still have some rake with the F-250 blocks, and it's perfectly level
with the fiver attached.
-Gavin
Last edited by Tomahawk; 06-23-2011 at 07:06 PM. Reason: You need to use new nuts and u-bolts. Thanks PowerStrokeHD!
#3
06-23-2011, 03:21 PM
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06-23-2011, 03:22 PM
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06-23-2011, 04:15 PM
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06-23-2011, 04:51 PM
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06-23-2011, 05:14 PM
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#9
06-23-2011, 05:15 PM
#11
06-23-2011, 05:40 PM
#12
06-23-2011, 05:50 PM
If it makes you feel better... 
Technically, no. A F-250 rear axle has a maximum rating of 6,200 lbs. A F-350 SRW rear axle has a maximum rating of 7,280 lbs.
Technically, no. A F-250 rear axle has a maximum rating of 6,200 lbs. A F-350 SRW rear axle has a maximum rating of 7,280 lbs.
#14
06-23-2011, 06:56 PM
Back to the dealership for more parts!
#15
06-23-2011, 07:14 PM
Per Ford specification the 250 axle gets 35 spline axle shafts vs. the 350's 37 spline shafts. They have said this for a number of years now, but to this day I question the accuracy on this one even though it does come from a Ford document...
Page 19 of the following document...
http://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/...ckup_specs.pdf
Page 19 of the following document...
http://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/...ckup_specs.pdf
