Zup guys,,,i'm kinda new to the Diesel world (had a 2004 F350 6.0 way back)

Now i have a 2003 Excursion 2x4. All i've done to it is install a 2008 front end, now i want to have the lifted look.
I wanted to go 6" lift, with some wheels, but i hear that the 2x4 models need a 8-9" lift to look high enough.

Please give me some input,opinions,recomendations....Thanks.

 

high enough for what?

 

high enough to clear a midget without touching

 

Better make it 30" with at least 38's to be safe, since midgets have to be under like 4'10". I wouldn't want the safety of my midget riding on anything less.

 

Gotcha covered...

I lifted my truck 5 years ago and have gone through this process enough to write a very detailed book on it.

You really only have two options when it comes to a 2wd lift: Procomp or Fabtech.

I went with the Procomp lift becuase they offered one type of lift with no variations. Fabtech on the other hand had a "basic" and "performance" 2wd lift kit which only made things confusing.

The procomp kit comes with a full leaf spring pack for the rear (NOT an add-a-leaf and block) as well as a full coil and the necessary hardware for the to get the front lifted.

You can buy the Procomp kit anywhere, but DO NOT buy it or anything from 4wheel online. They have the worst customer service, lost parts of my lift kit, and made many promises they never delivered on.

Things they don't tell/give you:

-You will need to purchase the pitman arm becuase they changed the amount of splines somewhere between early 2001 and late 2001. Since yours in an '03 you'll obviously need the later pitman arm.

-This isn't something you can in your driveway. I would highly recommend a shop doing the work as it not something you can do in your driveway.

-As far as tires, you CAN fit the recommended 35s on the factory 16 inch mags using size 315/75/16. In the 5 years I've been running the stock rims, I've never had a problem with the front end. (I.e. uneven tire wear, hubs falling apart, bad ball joints, etc)

-Yours being a diesel, the min and max you can go is 6 inches

-If you plan on regearing, you will need 4.10 gears to match the 35s to your 3.73s

Since installing my lift, my truck rides, drives, much better and is a night and day difference from stock.

Bottom line: It's one of the best things you can do for your truck

 

What he said, except I did mine before the Fabtech kit came out and I run a 20" rim. I had mine done at 4 Wheel Parts, cannot recommend them.

You will also need to find a shop that can do a real alignment. The factory specs will chew up your tires.

My lift has 122K miles on it now.

 

Thanks toreador_diesel & popsuos4rent...........I will probably do that, except i will put some 20" wheels.

 

Forgot THE MOST important part in all this!!!

popups4rent is correct, factory specs will eat new tires in a short amount of time...

You need to find an alignment specialty shop becuase the alignment kit Procomp offers WILL NOT align your truck correctly. Alignment specialty shops have the proper cast and camber kit to make sure your alignment is dead on.

 

I put a FabTech kit under my old excursion. Def have a professional do it, may cost a bit, but you'll avoid the headaches!

 

i have a pro comp lift on mine and it rides very nice. 6" lift.

 

Maybe this guy can help? It is a 4x2. 2004 Ford Excursion

 

Why on earth would it be something you can't do in your driveway?!

I've managed to do lots of lifts/4x4 conversions/axle swaps and what not in the driveway. What's so hard about this?

 

With the 2wd coil upfront and the drilling and dis-assemling that has to happen, it's always best to have a lift and a shop.

It's not as easy as it is with front leaf suspension trucks. I watched them do mine and even helped, it wasn't easy.

 

Can't be any harder than a TTB pickup like my old 94 F150. Pop out some rivets, drill some holes, bolt on some brackets, put in new springs, shocks, brake lines, and tires/wheels.

I know it's a bit of work, bit I've done lifts on TTB rigs in 6 hrs with floor jacks, jack stands, and basic hand tools. A torch, drill, and air tools make things easier of course.