Thanks for all the replies. I too have zero tolerance for rattles and squeaks, it's like I have dog ears anyway so I hear everything.

Plus I'm an engineer and can generally make anything to suit. I actually made my own lift kit on my leaf spring front axle of my old 2002 F250.

I saw Epic's truck pic and I new the kit had to be butt simple but thought I'd just get a "custom fabricated solution". All that it is, is a 3" OD x 1/8 wall steel tube with two 6 inch rings welded to it. So much for spending $85 bucks for something special. But I didn't want to pull it all apart and then design it, put it back together, make the parts, then pull it apart again. Guess I'm getting old. LOL

My new Nitto Trails are going on tomorrow, size 295/55/20 if I remember right, maybe the aspect ratio is 60?? Lift is going in Saturday, can't wait!! Okay maybe Friday night.

Oh yeah Graphics, there is an HDPE (High Density Poly-Ethylene) that you might be thinking of, but it may not hold up in this application over time. There's also a high impact Nylon, I think Nylon 66 or something, but don't know the load of that right now.

I'll just go with the basic install as the history is proving itself to be good as is.

 

Spacers installed, truck looks great. Took about 1 1/2 hours and that included finding 4x4 blocks to raise thing higher, but wound up taking the tires off because my jack wouldn't go high enough. A trip to the store today now finds a new 4 ton floor jack in my shop.

I will say this about the install instructions, you don't have to remove the top shock mounting nut. It's a pain to do anyway and when I was half way done loosening the first one I stopped and just unbolted the bottom.

I also only unbolted the sway bar top nut and left the bottom connected. Saves about 10 minutes maybe.

Drives great, no alignment needed, although I may spring for the adjustable panard bar. Exactly 2" of lift at the front wheel well. Measuring between the front and back door, the cab steps went up 1 7/8". Rear wheel well remained unchanged.

 

Congrats on the project. I learned the same lesson on the jackstands. A trip to harbor freight solved that problem. And that two extra inches is more than just an aesthetic improvement, the extra clearance pays off time and time again. Report back if you change your mind on the alignment. Look for a loosey front end. Some people hate it and others don't even notice it.

 

Bumpin' Epic's thread with some new pics.

Threw a Readylift Stage 2 2.5" leveling kit on yesterday and 285/75-18 Toyo M/T's installed today. Tires are equivalent to a 35x11.50. Alignment was still spot on (had to adjust the toe to get the wheel centered again). I almost opted for weights on the inside of the wheel only, but they were pretty far off and I'd rather have them balanced correctly than "this was as close as we could get". Pics below...

 

Looks very nice...

 

How does she ride Matt? Looks good, I was thinking of doing a 3.5 leveling kit (Icon), but it looks like the 35s clear with ease. Maybe I dont need to go 3.5. You running 18s correct?

 

Rides the same since I have the same shocks and springs. There's plenty of clearance with the 2.5" kit, no need to go any higher to fit 35s in my opinion. I know they'll fit stock but I wasn't much of a fan of the amount of rake.

 

Think Im just gonna go with a 2.5 kit and run 35x12.50x20s. Ive seen a couple of trucks around town this way and they look good. Id like to go with 37s, but I think 35s is PLENTY. Im still gonna run some KILLER shocks though.

 

Matt,
The new tires look awesome.

 

Everyone mentions 4" blocks am I missing something? The stock f350 block is 3 1/2" the next step I found is the ready lift 5". If there truly is a 4" block im interested since im installing a 1 1/2" front bottom spring spacer on an f350. The 5" is too high.

 

A 1.5" spacer with the F350 rear block is perfect! That will give you about 3/4" rake with 5600 lb springs or put you exactly level with the 6000 lb springs in the snow plow package. As I have stated before, I am running a 2" spacer on my F350 and it is between 1/4" rake to dead level. I had a 2.5" kit on my 2006 F350 and I always felt that it was at least 0.5" too much.

 

Your one of the few that understand that! Wish I spoke with you before I have the snowplow prep package and ive been sweating over this lift. The 2 1/2" front and 5" rear blocks is rediculous. Im taking it all out but was worried about stock f350 3 1/2" blocks rearvand a 1 1/2" spacer up front on the plow prep pkg. If your running 2" and yours is level then mine should have very slight rake but look level.

 

Which 2" leveling kit did you go with?

 

I am slightly less than level with the 2" spacer. With zero pressure in the bags, the truck sits maybe 0.5" to 0.75" lower in the front. Depending on the terrain, sometimes it looks perfectly level and sometimes it has a very slight rake. I like to run 5-10 psi in the bags with the truck empty and that results in somewhere around a 1" rake which is close enough to level for me. I could have done 2.5" but it really seems like that extra 0.5" makes a big difference in how the truck behaves without major caster adjustment. I would also have a problem keeping the truck close to level with the toy hauler if I added the extra 0.5".

 

I have a two inch front level. Here's the dimensions I took three years ago. It's about a half inch to three quarter inch rake back to front after the level.

Rear Fender:


Front Fender: Notice the spacer behind the tape measure.