I bought a 1985 F-150 from a guy that said he put a 2" lift on it. The tires are 33" and the front stick out a lot at the top. The spacers in the front under the springs are 1-3/4". The blocks under the leaf springs are 2". My question is how do I get the correct alignment so I can use this truck as a weekend driver to the dump and back without wandering all over the road? Do I need a drop Pitman arm with the 2" lift? Thanks

 

Take the lift out. That would be the best. The only other way is to buy the drop brackets. Someone on here had found a company that makes a very mild lift like yours that had the brackets in it with no pitman arm. If you go to a 4 inch lift you need the pitman arm and the longer shocks.

If you don't have the money, the cheapest would be to take the lift out of it.

 

Will the 33's still fit with no lift?

 

Will they fit? I ran 33's on my 2wd f150 for a week or so before my lift. You can get around, but as soon as you hit a decent bump in the road, they scrape the fenders.

I wouldn't recommend it without a small lift like yours.

 

Those drop brackets don't cost too much. How hard would they be to install?

 

Frontend work is a pain. You have to drop the whole frontend down and take the factory brackets off and put the new ones in place. You will need the pivot brackets in the middle and the radius arm drop brackets. I do know the radius arm brackets are usually riveted from the factory so you will have to drill and chisel them off and bolt the others in place.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radius-Arm-Drop-For-2-4-Lift-Kit-F150-Bronco-80-96-4WD-Free-Shipping-/261696429325?fits=Year%3A1985%7CMake%3AFord%7CModel%3AF-150%7CSubmodel%3AXL&hash=item3cee529d0d&vxp=mtr

I haven't worked with an F150, but have seen some pretty good videos on getting it all worked out

 

I would look into the possibility of caster/camber bushings first after seeing where it stands. You can talk to an alignment shop about your issue and ask them if they can do a test alignment to see how close to spec they can get it. They will be able to tell you how far out the camber is and you can use those numbers to purchase ball joint bushings with more adjustment. They should let you come back and finish the alignment when you put the new bushings in. That's what happened with my Dad's gift truck....I took it in for alignment and it was too far out for the factory camber bushings to change (ball joints too worn) so they didn't charge me for an alignment until I came back after replacing all the ball joints...I went ahead and did a whole front end rebuild.

Look at your top ball joint and you'll see an eccentric bushing in there around the stud. That's how the alignment is set and I think stock bushings offer less than one degree of adjustment. Moog K80108 can be set at true 0 degree and has a +/- 3.2 degree adjustment range which is about as high as you can buy and they're about $25 apiece. There are many other ranges available down to under $10 apiece if you check Rock Auto. 4WD is different than 2WD so check the descriptions closely. NAPA can also get them but it is very very rare that they have any in stock....the "wholesale closeout" ones for a few bucks on Rock Auto are ones sent in from parts stores to make shelf space for other stuff. If you're out more than 3 degrees I reckon you'll have to look elsewhere.

If it looks like they might work I think you can get the bushings out and in without taking the front end apart unless you want to do new ball joints at the same time to be on the safe side. When the bushing comes out you'll be able to tell if the ball joint needs replacing anyway if you can move it freely.

 

From other guys on this forum who have tried and failed, I think 2 inches is out of range. 1.5 inches and they can barely get it in spec with the most radical eccentric bushing you can get.

 

So I decided to take it back to stock today. I removed the right front spacer under the spring today. I only had a little time to work on it. After putting the tire back on and moving the truck back and fourth, the tire seemed to go back closer to alignment. I'm gonna try the other side tomorrow and hopefully it will bring them both back in alignment. My friend suggested leaving the back the way it is but I will have to see how it levels out first. If I do a body lift, Will I need to get any other parts other than the lift kit? Thanks all

 

Body lifts have their quirks too. You may have to modify the fan shroud, your engine stays were it was, the radiator and shroud moves up with the body lift.

Any linkage on the steering column(like the automatic linkage) needs to be extended.

You need to make sure after the body lift you can still get it in 4 low. Sometimes after the body lift the lever hits the floorboard before it can get in 4 low, or if you can get it in 4 low if you go over a bump the floorboard will knock it out. Just check it.

If you want it to look better, you will have to make your own brackets for the bumpers to move the up.

 

^^^ This is exactly what I encountered in a 2" lift, just as listed above, if your still interested in doing it I can explain what I did to correct all the above.