1997 F250 351W with the E4OD 4X4. Getting ready to order up some parts to get this project going in a few weeks and wanted to reach out to the "experts" on this site that have helped me out so much over the last year. So I'm going to do some work on the front end of the truck and wanted to hear some opinions of what you would do while I was doing this build - what parts I am missing etc.

I'm going through Junior at ATS to get the XTRA ARCH new front springs that add approx. 2" lift to the front to level it out. The truck has 235,+++ on it and the front sags. The part listing is below. Other than the springs should I get new shackles and any other hardware? Will adding this mild lift cause camber issues that an alignment couldn't fix?
**XTRA ARCH**Ford F250 Truck 4wd Leaf Spring, Ford F250 Truck 4wd Leaf Spring Over 8500 Lbs, Ford F350 Truck 4wd Leaf Spring, Front

I'm going to be putting new Monroe Magnums, inner tie rod and drag link (replaced the outer tie rods in the fall) at the same time. Should I do ball joints? Obviously I'm not doing all this work by myself I will have my father in law who is a mechanic helping/showing me so he doesn't have to help on my next truck as he says.

Anything I'm missing? Thanks everyone for reading!

 

As far as alignment goes, you'll most likely need new camber eccentrics, that are installed on the upper ball joint, so the alignment shop can get the camber dialed in. Since your springs are worn, I'm guessing you have negative camber, so the front tires sit like this: / \

With a stock replacement spring, they'd probably come close enough to sitting straight again to not worry about camber. However, with a lift spring, you'll most likely end up with positive camber, and the front tires will sit like this: \ /

If you do end up with positive camber, you may be better off getting adjustable camber bushings, such as Moog part number K80108. That'll allow the alignment tech to get the camber and caster dialed in.

As far as which other parts to replace, that all depends on current condition. Check the ball joints, TTB pivot bushings, and radius arm bushings and brackets.

If you end up doing ball joints, plan on replacing the axle shaft u-joints as well, since the axles need to be removed to do the ball joints anyway.

 

No better time to do the pivot bushings. I did mine while I had it all apart and I hope that is a once in a lifetime job.

 

Bob - Your description of the tires sitting is exactly on.

Does anyone think that the ride will suffer from this mod? With such a small amount of lift and not adding a spring I was hoping paired with new shocks that it actually might be a little smoother - not that I care that much it drives almost like a dump truck now.

 

With that little of an arch to the new front springs, I wouldn't expect it to ride any rougher than it does now. It'll sure look a lot better without the Bambi bow leg stance though!