Hi guys,
I own a 2001 f150. I really want to lift it. I know suspension lifts are alot better but they are also way more expensive. I dont really want a body lift but i dont have the money for the suspension lift because i also have to get tires. I was wondering if any of you have body lifts or suspension lifts on your f150's and what tires you are clearing because i want to get 33's. I found a lift kit package that comes with a 2 inch body lift and torsion keys that raise your front end up 2 inches also which would make it 4 inches total. I also found a 2.5 inch leveling kit, but im not sure how much that will lift it up. And i seen a 2 inch suspension lift but its a little more than what i want to spend. Please Help!!!
Thanks,
Nate

 

I run a 2 1/2" Rough Country lift, presently (going to a 6" BDS kit in the next few weeks). Got it through National Tire and Wheel for $300. New keys, new shocks, block for the rear springs and new U bolts. I run a 33x12.5 tire with that lift on.

It takes some time to install (took me and a friend a day) especially if you're in a place where rust is prevalent. But once everything was adjusted to "spec+2 1/2", the ride quality is great and I have had zero adverse wear on ball joints, tires, tie-rods, and etc. And I put a pile of miles on both my trucks.

 

I would recommend against aftermarket torsion keys. Just crank your torsion bars under the truck it's not as hard on the suspension. Either way your ride will be rougher

 

Not to sound ignorant, but I just don't buy in to this notion that aftermarket keys are so hard on the suspension. I have put 20,000 miles on my lift with aftermarket keys also so it's not a recent experience.

Cranking up the stock keys sufficiently for 33 inch tires puts your upper A arm close to the bump stops. As you flex out to full suspension travel, your A arm hits that stop. If you hit it hard enough, you can crack/break that arm, losing control of the truck.

An aftermarket key is designed to give you the height you want and satisfy the travel needs of the IFS suspension when everything is set as it should be.

 

will you please post pictures of the CV angles, Upper A-Arm to the bumpstop clearance. The Keys i have seen Just allow you to put more tension on your torsion bars If you could post pictures of those to Places it would help me to understand them more. I had a frind put them on his truck, He was going trough CV Axels Ever 50-100 miles untill he took them off, and also his truck road like a brick. He probley had them turned up to much, But if you could post pictures of those 2 places it would help me out.

 

You got it, if he was going through them quickly there is little doubt that he had them over cranked.

To the cranker of factories the idea with keys is this:

Same spring rate different index.

Cranking:

Tighter springs to get your lift...

Yes, they will both ride rough, but keys are because of geometry only. Overcranked stocks are rough from a tight spring + different geometry. The end result is that overcranked stocks will ride rougher than keys. Both are more than stock, but I've yet to encounter anyone that buys a lift kit purely for a better ride...

To the op, look a few weeks back, we hashed this very same topic out and it had almost exactly the same information.

 

Found it.
Found It

 

As you requested, this is how it sits tonight in my garage.

Bump stop clearance. The ruler reads around 3/4" or so. Hard to get a good straight on shot.



CV Joint Angle:



Yes, it does ride a little harder with the lift on, but it's certainly not outside of tolerable limits for me and I find the difference in ride from stock to lifted minimal.

 

I cant see the pics

 

They show up fine here. Another thing to note, when you lift the truck and you end up replacing a cv axle. Make damned sure that the inner joint is the OE style 6 axis Rzeppa type joint. A lot of the cheaper aftermarkets are coming with the 3 axis tripod joint which is incompatible with a lift, it WILL bind on you, possibly causing catastrophic failure in the front diff.

 

Thanks for the tip, i was wondering if there is a way to check after they have been installed?

 

In most cases but not all, the inner joint if it is a tripod will have three loves where the Rzeppa will be full round. Another way to tell is get in there and feel the inner joint through the boot. If you only feel three carriers, than its a tripod.

This has some pictures so you can see the difference.

Constant-velocity joint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

ok that's what I thought, I have seen the tripod/3love setup on a lot of front wheel drive cars, the ones i put in are remans with the full round so hopefully I'm ok. I am going to be tightening the bars with the stock keys today

 

Alright thanks guys. I still dont know what i wanna get. I also heard the torsion bar keys are a pain to mess with! And you also need a special tool to get them out.

 

You need a puller to work the adjustment bolts out, because as you back the bolts out you're unloading your torsion bars. But it's not too much of a specialty tool, really.