Would be interested on hear from anybody that has leveled their 2WD. Did it actually level the front? Did you do it yourself? Cost? Pictures? Will it affect handling or towing in anyway?

 

I leveled mine a while back with the help of Roland. Here is the thread. Feel free to ask any questions, its been a while so the thread may have more info than I can remember

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...kit-is-on.html

To this day I have no regrets leveling the truck, it looks better, handles fine, tires are wearing normal, and it goes down the road straight as can be.

I haul heavy quite often and its never been an issue. I do remember the truck feeling kinda squirrely right after it was leveled, and I thought that I may have made a mistake by raising the front, but it turns out that it just took some getting used to the different feel.

I can take more pics if you need.

 

I, on the other hand, had a few issues with mine when I leveled it. Everything is now fine, but I went through some issues you might need to be prepared for as well.

I used a 2" kit from Fat Bob's Garage - HDPE spacers. Self-installed, roughly $50 for the kit. Installed new Bilsteins and ball joints (plus adjustable caster/camber bushings) at the same time.

1. Shock length is an issue (still for me), unless you use bolt extenders to maintain the correct amount of vertical travel in both directions (up and down, and I have not yet done the extenders bu can sometimes feel the shocks limit out in the upward travel direction).

2. Had to shim my carrier bearing due to the change in driveline geometry due to the elevated front end (this resolved the drive line vibration which was created with the geometry change).

3. Had to do a good bit of grinding on both the c-frames and upper ball joint knuckles to create adequate clearance in order to get the caster/camber back into alignment.

Final result is still limited shock travel due to the "stretch" on the shocks, and there are no real good solutions for any other shocks to give the correct travel distance unless you use the bolt extenders or do a custom rebuild for the shock mounting system.

Truck handles fine, and looks good. It was just a lot more of a pain for me than I had anticipated (or even read about when researching the issue before hand).

 

I think after reading several post on adding 2 1/2" spacers to raise the front, that I will look for a front 2wd suspension system with new longer coil springs. I realize this would cost alot more.

F250, I think if you took your shock specs to a good parts store they could cross reference you a longer pair of front shocks. Some lifted trucks are running shocks 3 feet long...

 

I understand what you're saying, but for the 2wd Fords, one of our members has chased this issue into oblivion and there just do not seem to be any really good options for us, at least not for just a 2-2.5" leveling kit approach, anyway. Granted, there are a larger number of options for a taller lift, but the "leveling kit" arena is extremely limited for us. You tend to either find a shock that is either too short or too long to match up with only a 2-2.5 inch lift because the majority of the market is driven by a more popular approach of going with bigger lifts. Apparently, we 2WD "levelers" are in a very small minority.

I myself have also reviewed the 2wd options from Monroe, KYB, Bilstein, and Rancho, and there just is not a model available that provides the full range of motion and leaves the right amount of travel in each direction UNLESS.... you either keep the truck at stock height, use at least a 4-inch front lift kit, OR use a bolt extender for the top mounting bolt. (I've used the shock model specifications found at the various shock manufacturer web sites, 4WDonline.com, and ShockWarehouse.com). If you can find something, great, but my guess would be that anything that you find which could be truly workable would be a brand new addition to the company's product line.

 

Pete, when you say "driveline vibration" can you clarify at what speeds you were feeling the vibration, or was it constant?

I have been battling a vibration that I cannot put my finger on for quite some time. Every time I think I found the culprit the vibrations goes away and resurfaces a few hours/days later.
I was about ready to rip my rear end out and rebuild it until I seen your post.

Maybe a shim would solve my issue

 

Pete, just to clarify, there are shocks available for the 2wd w/ leveling kit. They just suck. Daystar Part KU01004 - Daystar Scorpion Shock Absorber

I went through enough options. My opinion is, just get the thread extenders and thread the top of your favorite shock to make it work and ride like you want.

I've got a crew cab long bed. I have had no issue with drive line vibration or did not need any grinding to get the alignment done. My front springs (Ford replacements) don't seem strong enough though, so my truck doesn't sit level, but it no longer sags up front.

 

I used the aluminum leveling blocks on mine and have been very pleased with them. Didn't have to do any grinding, still using the stock shocks and no vibrations. I also put in a F-350 rear block at the same time so I cant say anything for how it sits compared to stock. I cant remember exactly what the leveling blocks cost but I believe the dual axis camber bushings were about $60. Had to shorten one bolt but that was the only fabrication required. I use the truck as a ranch truck and it gets the tar beat out of it every day, has a full replacement front bumper and heavy flatbed with 1500 lb feeder on the back, and have no complaints with the blocks. They do feel different at first but you get used to them.

 

Can you explain this? I can't see the driveline angle changing due to the front end being raised.


I put the "hockey pucks" on mine as well as new springs all at the same time. It's still not level but it's real close. The shop aligned it and even though the tops of the tires look further out than the bottoms it rides fine and wears the tires evenly.

 

I experienced the vibration at 48-55 mph, but only when theengine was under load. When I let off the accelerator, the vibration would instantaneously go away.



Yep, Chris, you are the guy who seems to have done the most research on this, and I well remember your threads on the subject. I had forgotten about the Daystars, and that is probably because of my not having taken them as a serious potential candidate.


Whether aluminum, Delrin, HPDE, etc... it's the height that makes all the difference and not the material.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps I did not get the correct dual adjustable camber bushings. I know that there are a variety of adjustment ranges available, and perhaps the ones I got simply did not have adequate adjustment range.



With the front leveling kit being "shoved" in between the front suspension parts, there is a very slight resultant change in angle between the road surface and the rear drive shaft. With the slight increase in front end height, you get a slight increase in centrifugal force which, in my case, made the worn carrier bearing show up. I may also have a very slightly out of balance drive shaft as well, and perhaps the adjustment of the drive angle (relative to the road surface) created by the shims has compensated for that imbalance.

What I know for sure is that the new carrier bearing resolved about half the vibration intensity. The shims finished the rest of it completely. Don't know for sure of what the exact root cause(s) were, but I do know that the combination of a new carrier bearing and two 1/8" shims eliminated the vibration completely, and it's hard to argue with success.

 

Thanks.

I have a vibration too. Might just be tires or may be u-joints and the center support bearing. Mine is more pronounced when it shifts into OD about 45mph and the engine us loaded. After that its fine.

 

The carrier bearing is easy to check. Get under the truck and push up on the drive shaft near the bearing. You'll know if you have slop.

 

Wouldn't that be the pinion bearing? Just saying because I had my carrier bearings go out. I did not get any vibration, just a Waa Waa Waa bearing noise that got louder as time went on. I am thinking it's in the u-joints and probably the front one.

 

Curious as to why one would want to raise the front of a 2wd.

 

To change the oil without using a jack.