Hello all, I just got a 99 F350 long bed, extended cab, 4X4 V10 truck. It has 120k miles and is in pretty good cosmetic condition. However, the steering is somewhat sloppy and the suspension is a little noisy. The previous owner has put a 3-5" body lift on as well as 35" tires. It looks alright, but I don't think it was done the right way.

That being said, I'm about to put some money into the suspension and general maintenance of this truck, as it is going to be my primary vehicle. And coming from a 2WD dodge dakota, I don't know anything about these.

I already plan to replace ball joints, u joints, tie rods, brakes all around, replace all fluids, tires of course, filters, spark plugs...

Is there anything else I should put on the list? I want the truck to be ready to go to Washington state if I needed.

Thanks for all the help, I am excited to own this beast of a truck.

 

You could try to adjust the steering box or replace if needed. I weak point in these trucks.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone offer a front end rebuild kit? I've seen that powerstrokeshop.com used to offer one, but their website is no longer in service. Any input is greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

 

Since you have a 99... what is the build date on the door jam sticker? Early 99's have some unique parts (read: usually more expensive) such as hub bearing assemblies, rotors and track bar assemblies. You'll want to know what you have before getting deep into it.

 

Well, I just went and looking in the door jam, apparently the truck's build date is 01/99.

Since they changed the design, I'm going to assume the early 99's have a faulty suspension setup? Is this the case?

Can anyone enlighten me as to how different they are?

 

Also, I'm wanting to remove the lift, will 35" tires fit with stock ride height?

 

Well, I'm slightly confused about the difference in the early/late 99 model. I have a cone style filter (if that even matters). My f350 badge has "super duty" on it. Other than that, I'm not sure upon first glance.

 

You have an early 99...

When I bought my early 99 250, it had 36" Swampers on it with no lift. They did rub when turned far, but they were drivable with no lift. My rear end sits higher than the front, and I'm betting with just a leveling kit, 35's would likely fit with no or minimal rubbing.

On early 99's, the entire track bar setup is different than the later trucks. You can actually change the track bar bracket that mounts to the frame, but where it mounts to the axle is pretty much there for life, unless you change axles. No big deal- if you have to deal with it, just use parts from an early 99. (If you still have the factory track bar setup with your lift, this would be a non-issue for you. Just depends on how big the lift is, I guess).

IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE HUB BEARING ASSEMBLIES- here's what I learned from this site that eases the strain on the wallet a little bit: don't use the early-99 hub bearing assemblies. They are way more expensive than the later trucks. All you have to do is buy the bearing assemblies for a 2000 and use rotors from a 2000 to make it work. If you go this route, you can get both assemblies and both rotors for less money than just 2 assemblies for an early 99 alone! It's a bolt-in, no mods required (I'm doing it right now).

All you have to do to buy your hub bearing assemblies is determine if you have 2 or 4 wheel ABS (I have 2-wheel ABS, so if you need the part number for the assembly, let me know).

The tie rods and steering linkage is the same between early and late 99. I just replaced all of that with new Moog parts. Again, if you need part numbers, let me know.

So, suspension-wise, the unique parts on an early-99 are: the axle housing, the entire track bar setup, the hub bearing assemblies, the brake rotors... I may have missed something, but that should get ya started.

 

Psyclopse: Man, that was INSANELY helpful. I'm thinking that I'm not sure exactly what has been done to the truck. I just know that its driving like S***.
The only thing I know for sure is the ball joints definitely needed to be changed when I bought it.

I'm going to get rotors and hub assemblies from a 2000 for sure. I'm going to investigate the track bars at first light tomorrow.

I am going to report back tomorrow. I may take a few photos of the front end and see if anyone can tell me if the track bar setup is stock and in what way the truck was lifted. I don't know much about 4x4's, trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can.

Thanks again for all the help.