Can you just drop in the smaller blocks or does that have clearance problems? I've never played with suspension other than to replace OEM parts with equivalent.

 

They are a direct swap. Very easy job. People have been swapping 2" for 4" in the 250's for years. Did my 09 250 in about 30 minutes. Back then the blocks were about $40 a piece. I'm guessing they now may be a touch more but you likely won't have to spend more than $100 for the pair.

 

If you were to swap a 4" for a smaller one, would the U bolts have enough threads on them, or would you have to get new ones. Maybe the $50 your talking about includes them as a kit.

 

I was measuring axle tube thickness for some guys on another forum. This is a SRW with the new 275. As you can see, I just so happened to get the threads of the ubolts in the shot. You should have enough thread to swap to the factory shorter block. It will be close though.

Notice the m275 axle tubes are about a 1/2" thicker than the 10.5. The m300 tubes are 4.5" thick. M275 came in right at 4". 10.5 was around 3.5".

 

Thanks. Good info. I will probably only go down an inch to a 3", so that should fit no problem.

 

Dan told me going to three inch would be fine with the longer u bolts. Going shorter as Josh mentioned may require new bolts. Some advise not reusing u bolts anyways but I wouldn't worry about it...

 

Yeah ive heard that. something about stretching after being torque then reused, but like you said, i prolly wont worry about it.

 

Changing the U-Bolts is usually required for rusty threads for 2 reasons. Rust stops the nuts from being properly torqued and the rust causes damage to the threads when taking them apart. New vehicles should be able to re-use the u-bolts but from these images it would be prudent to have new bolts on hand when shortening by 2" not only because the threads run out but the bolts would hang down in harms way. They could of course be cut off if the threads were long enough.

Proper torque is one of the most important factors to remember. Too much and you risk bolt breakage. Too little and the members can move when the springs flex and cause spring breakage. Here is the location with a u-bolt guide and torque ratings for different sized bolts.:
http://www.suspensionspecialists.com...nformation.pdf

 

This may be a stupid question, but if you go with an inch or two shorter block, would you have to get different rear shocks since they wont be traveling as much, or will it not affect them?

 

Rob, there is also a stretching issue as noted above. Ford does not advise reusing even brand new u-bolts that have already been torqued to spec the first time.

 

The shocks will be fine. If you have the camper package and the sway bar, it will not set level though. It will still function 100% but not sit level. To get it back to level after going to 4" blocks on my 09, I ordered the longer sway bar links from a 350. Not functionally necessary but I'm OCD about esthetics.

 

You are 100% correct. Most spring shops don't even bother unbolting. Just take the cutting torch out right from the start. There have been many times in the past when I have been overly thrifty about re-using fasteners and parts. This should not even have come into my mind as a recommendation to others. Thanks.

 

Can reuse them but will never be able to get them as tight (in terms of clamping force on the spring pack) as new hardware. Threads are rolled not cut, the nuts are made of a softer material designed to dig in. Do what ya gotta do, but there's a right way and a wrong way or at least a better way. Plan ahead.

 

I think you're right Ted. Back when I did mine they were about $16 a piece. Cheap insurance and piece of mind...

 

Here are some pics of the 2016 and 2017 springs and front end. Both are F250 CC/SB.

2016









2017