Right now I've got a Tuff Country leveling kit on the front of my 02 F350 PS CC. It's the kind that achieves the lift through the addition of full length helper springs. I've not been pleased with it at all. The track bar relocation bracket is cheasy and weak, plus, the way they get away with using the stock, non-adjustable track bar is corny. They replaced the 7/8" bolt on the top end of the track bar with a miniscule 9/16" and some eccentric cams to get some level of adjustability. Mine wore out in just a few years, so I took off the track bar, bored out the undersized bolt hole on the bracket and replaced the 9/16" bolt for the full-sized Ford bolt. But the real killer for me is that the ride is awfull since the lift. I thought that the lousy ride was just an unfortunate, but unavoidable consequence of lifting a truck, but recently I got a ride in a friends nearly identical truck (03 F350 7.3 PS CC with a front leveling kit with the exact same size and brand of tires as mine, BFG ATs). I was blown away by how stock the ride felt!

This got me thinking. I've not been satisfied with my leveling kit's durability or ride quality, so why no replace it with something better? I got to thinking that one of the "zero rate helper spring" type lifts would be just the ticket, but I thought I'd put the question to the experts here before I laid out the cash. Is this type of lift worth the money and effort?:

 

cant help with that type of lift but i have a tuff country add a spring and hate it also. it does nothing but clunk and bang it u hit the right bump. since i have the same amount of lift with tha spring that a buddy has with factory x codes im buying a new set of x codes and i bought a 1 inch front schakle lift from e-bay and im buying a adjustible tract bar too. someone will chim in soon with more experience with them lifts. from what i read they r nice

 

Interesting.

Tuff Country must have recently redesigned their leveling kit for the Ford SDs. I just put one on my '01 a few months ago. I was a little worried after hearing the many horror stories like yours about this kit. But after doing the installation myself, I don't have anything negative to say about it. Yes, the front track bar bracket seems a little less heavily built than the OEM, but I haven't noticed any problems with performance. In fact, during the install I had to fight to get the track bar free from the old bracket, including pounding out the old bolt with a sledge. However the new bracket lined up so perfectly that the bar dropped into place with no effort. Also, the replacement track bar nut and bolt supplied by TC in my kit was a FULL SIZED 7/8" grade 8 bolt.

After completion, I took the truck to the shop and the front end alignment was still dead nuts on. As for the springs, I haven't noticed ANY negative difference from the stock ride, in fact mine improved considerably because I also intalled new Bilstein shocks at that time.

Given the number of stories like these I've heard, it clear that the TC Leveling kit must have had some issues in the past. But TC has apparently fixed these with their new kits.

 

You didn't happen to take any pics of you setup during or before install did you? I'd like to see what the differences are.

 

Yes, I have many pictures, some of which are posted here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...-pictures.html

I may have some others that offer more detail if you don't see what you are looking for. I'd have to check when I get home.

 

Thanks for the pics, Moose. They're worth several thousand words. After seeing your pics, I can say difinitively that Tuff Country has indeed changed the design. (unless they use different kits for trucks with the Powerstroke engine). My kit has 2 full-length helper springs, whereas yours has just the one full-length spring with the little zero rate springs piled underneath. My track bar bracket has a wimpy adjusting system, whereas yours has the full sized bolt and a different way of adjusting.

I'll try to remember to take pics of my setup tonight to compare.

 

When I was researching my kit, the Gas and Diesel engine versions used the same hardware kit, but there are different Part Numbers for the springs themselves. However, I saw pictures of both spring packs and they look identical - obviously the spring for the Diesel must be a little stiffer - but not a completely different configuration as you describe.

Also, maybe you could contact TC and see if they offer parts to retrofit their older kits. Just a thought. I do hear they have an excellent customer service dept.

 

i didnt even know tc made a kit like that. mine is just a front add a leaf and nothing else?

 

SDS, yours didn't come with a track bar bracket? Maybe your TB is adjustable, thus negating the need for the relocating bracket?

 

no all mine is is one add a leaf per side and nothing else. i hate it other than the fact it helped a little with front end sag and it handles better with the extra leaf