So, finally, after a year of searching, I picked up some used Vs and Ss from a 2003 F350. I also grabbed the F350 blocks. $200 for the lot.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions or if I can help with your project. I'm pretty happy with the results. It was a bloody knuckle ordeal that took probably 20 hours total (frozen rear shackle bolts, had to redo the front twice to add leafs, more on all that below).

315/75/16 tires are up later this year so it doesn't look like I'm riding around on 4 spare tires! Still looks way better than stock.

What are Ss? Apparently they are pretty much B codes with an overload spring on top. I haven't seen many references to S codes but that's what the door pillar said.

Results: (measured from center of hub to fender lip). These are as exact as my eyes allow. Its not 100% precise since you're guessing where the center of the hub is.
Driver Front: 22 1/4" to 27 1/4" (5" gain)
Passenger Front: 22 5/8" to 27 3/8" (4 3/4" gain)
Driver Rear: 24" to 27 3/4" (3 3/4" gain)
Passenger Rear: 23 3/8" to 27 3/8" (4" gain)

Overall, about 5" gain in front and 4" gain in the rear.

What I installed:

Rancho RS 9000XL RS999264 and RS999275. These are longer than stock.

Skyjacker SBE408 front endlinks for a 5-8" lift. The stock lower endlink bolts were right in line with the springs and making contact.

Rear modded S codes, removed overload, added bottom two leafs from the X springs, F350 blocks.

Front "modded" V codes, Skyjacker F9320 add a leafs, 2" lift shackles (not two inches longer, but 2" of lift. Before I added the Skyjacker F9320 leafs the front was too low. These added almost 2" of lift.)


First, tips and tricks. There are many posts on the spring install so I'll stick to things I found: (in random order)

1. The rear spring to shackle bolts were both 100% seized in place. I had to cut the head off the bolt, then cut the other end of the bolt, inside the shackle, not outside. Its the only way to get it off. This takes hours, literally, so be ready for this. It was by far the hardest part. No amount of heat, hammering, levering, etc. was going to free those bolts. I had to buy new rear shackles.

2. When installing the front shocks, put the lower bolt in first. You'll understand what I mean if you try to put the top on first.

3. Do not attempt this job without two strong hydraulic jacks and the bottle jack that comes with the car. You'll also need good strong jack stands. I also needed to make a solid wood platform underneath the jack stands. They weren't tall enough by themselves. (short 4x4s did the trick)

4. Make sure you have hefty, name brand tools. I used all Craftsman and had no trouble, except for a 1/2" drive off brand socket wrench, which I broke in a few minutes and then resorted to the Craftsman wrench instead.

5. You are going to need 1/2" drive sockets and wrenches, 3/8" won't do. You'll need a good torque wrench that goes to 200 ft/lbs. Make sure you have a good selection of short and long extensions. You'll need a 13/16" 6 point regular and deep socket, 15/16" regular and deep, 13/16" and 15/16" combination wrenches really help hold the bolt head while your working on the nut. Have a complete selection of sockets available. I really like ratcheting combo wrenches too.

6. Have a selection of pipes that fit over your breaker bars and socket wrenches. Something like a 12", 18", and 36". These are very handy for the tight spaces when you need leverage, and you will need leverage. Notice I said breaker bars in addition to socket wrenches.

7. I never heated a bolt before, and I've been wrenching on cars for 20 years, but I heated the front leaf spring to front bracket bolts and man did they come off easily. For me, heating the bolts didn't help me break them initially free, but it melted away all the locktite and I didn't have to use wrenches to get the bolts off. I used a simple blue propane bottle for plumbing.

8. I did not take the front bumper off. After hunting around for a minute under the car, I decided all the wiring was going to be a pain. I really didn't need to take it off in the end. I didn't add any time to my project by leaving it on and everything in front went pretty smoothly. The condenser brackets are a bit fiddly but I have a picture below showing how easy they are to get to when you have some extensions and a universal adapter.

9. Getting the front springs to align with the lift shackles is hard. For some reason they both wanted to bow in. It took some ratchet straps and pry bars.

10. Speaking of pry bars, have a few that are 3 ft long ready.

11. I did the entire job by myself. The hardest part physically was lifting the modded S codes into place.

12. If you take the "new" springs apart like I did, you will probably find that most of the round plastic spacers are totally worn through. I bought a bunch of new ones. The are about $5.50 each. They add up quickly.

Now some pics:

Before:
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Fgt9B0K8ppD97lIe3ZOoMmB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yr4bJxQKBzw/U6Ry7QWXfqI/AAAAAAAA0G4/VrrA71Pfhw8/s640/IMAGE_18.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite ">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

During, this is without the front Skyjacker add a leafs. The front lean actually got worse because the rear lifted overall more than the front.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/m315RIQhgXHgqEjyNaiguGB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oo3ZoumDFo0/U6RzXYVnFjI/AAAAAAAA0JA/ixaS7cis-IM/s640/IMAGE_35.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Final, with the Skyjacker add a leafs, car is perfectly level now. I didn't want the stock looking front lean.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uJT_3YY6_FLLNUAtD-K-WWB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UprB9eKnGjc/U6Rzc0qy6xI/AAAAAAAA0JY/JgYNkQQMcsM/s640/IMAGE_38.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

S codes from the 2003 F350:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4xmKQHveX1Om8sIub0kfX2B6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-bz6hCKNQus8/U6Rye5KJy0I/AAAAAAAA0E4/BJkuaOkNvwg/s640/IMAGE_2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

S codes in pieces ready to clean up, remove surface rust, and paint:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/U4NUpWXb1m3lQtGiNx-dhGB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OLtmwOKUiWI/U6RysozoZ0I/AAAAAAAA0F4/czzx5DwF4TU/s640/IMAGE_10.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Primer:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VIp77vccZQdYauCg9OnXIGB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HtncrDL5K-g/U6RyuMHuaKI/AAAAAAAA0GA/FD7mrPbii_g/s640/IMAGE_11.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Painted:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1CJm5cInhhuGZi9oittHAWB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qMm5vVllX7Q/U6Ry2H1vyaI/AAAAAAAA0Go/vRtshp5rLNU/s640/IMAGE_16.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

New modded S codes in place with F350 blocks. At this stage, I didn't have the patience to paint the donor leafs from the X springs:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nceEGRM6tqOt4lpyS1qUkmB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fkQnYJZ-qTc/U6RzKbLd4OI/AAAAAAAA0II/8nn8-BXUuds/s640/IMAGE_28.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Another shot of the S codes:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dqYAarNEDJSq9VXcP2XRfWB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DeSsMW5TuZ4/U6RzLycgZnI/AAAAAAAA0IQ/llVyRJfF91I/s640/IMAGE_29.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Stock front springs with stock shackles:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NqB0VWNVvYfezREcEpfrhWB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iSU2QA6X-JM/U6RzNVrRGEI/AAAAAAAA0IY/pymUqrcAQ5c/s640/IMAGE_30.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

Comparison of the stock shackles and the 2" lift shackles (off Ebay, very hefty and power coated, very happy with the quality)

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Fp1UcE62BpApvstS2E34_mB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hbEWx3Ozuww/U6RzS4vGM-I/AAAAAAAA0Iw/-rEH-lliw78/s640/IMAGE_33.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

How to access the fiddly front condenser brackets:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KNxv4oSVfMnKEnRXUgCGQmB6GfB6QFKe-pzhPKdg5gg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EDFbckFyYqg/U6RzawDVqGI/AAAAAAAA0JQ/c_expleTzzI/s640/IMAGE_37.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mandvcoleman/ExcursionFrontSprings?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-8rZHlqOGF8wE&feat=embedwebsite">Excursion front springs</a></td></tr></table>

 

Looks great! What is the highest point of your X now? I'd love to add some lift at this point but I'm seriously concerned about fitting in the garage, LOL!

 

Thanks!

83" from the middle of the front roof rack to the ground. I now wouldn't try to under anything less than 7ft.

Keep in mind, I went for maximum lift with this setup. You could do the springs and keep the stock front shackles and stock rear X blocks and no front add a leafs and just get a few inches.

 

Looks great bud, glad you finally got it finished!

 

Looks good, great job. On a side note though what is up with that rotor?

 

Weird, there's actually nothing there, nice a shiny. Weird iPhone effect I guess.

There was a little bit of surface rust because the car was up on jack stands for a few days and it rained but nothing like the picture shows.

 

Now you need some bigger tires!

Parker huh.....Im going to be in Franktown next week.

 

Bigger tires, no kidding! Lifting was the "cheaper" part. Tires are expensive...

I also realized over the weekend that a lift requires other things like a drop hitch, more money.

Carbon Coupe, I see you're in Michigan. That's a long drive just to go to Franktown. Don't blink or you'll drive right through the one traffic light and miss Franktown completely, and most likely end up in Parker (heading North of course)

 

Looks great, awesome wheels. Thank you for sharing.

 

Where did all those quotes come from?

 

Thanks! Now it really needs literally "awesome wheels" (and tires). For now it'll probably be some 315/75/16s on the stock rims.

 

Flying. My dad lives in Franktown. going for 'shutdown' vacation. We go for tacos at the bar by the one traffic light. Good stuff.

 

Hell yeah it does, just had to spring for a 12" adjustable drop on mine. Got tired of swapping ***** around for different trailers, tongue heights, all that stuff. Believe the brand I went with was T-Maxx, 12" of adjustability in 1" increments and the ball mount can be flipped to run dual *****. Something like $185 sans hitch *****.

 

My bad, I thought they KR or HD wheels, sorry.

 

I wish, they are just regular old factory rims.