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I've had them for almost 2 months but after my first attempt to install, I was ready to forget the whole thing. So, with a new plan (hire out the hard part) I got them in today quite easily. I had originally gotten the free rental of the drill tool that TorkLift will send you. You just pay the shipping each way. However, their Cobalt drill bits and my drill were no match for Ford's 2017 lower overload springs. After 2 hours I gave up on the first hole shortly before I was through...
Fast forward two months to today. I took my truck into a local spring shop that has been around for over 100 years. Ferrara Spring in Springfield MA. They had the first lower overload out of the truck and on their drill press in 10 minutes! It was drilled and back in the truck shortly after. I did have them assemble and install the lower plate of the StableLoads while the spring was off the truck to make things much easier when I got home. All in all, they were at it a little over 2 hours and home I went. I can't say enough about the knowledge of this shop. They work on anything from a small truck like mine up to big rigs, tri-axle dumps, etc. So, if your in the northeast, give Ferrara a shot...
Final assembly was super easy. Since the A7311 StableLoad kit is universal, you have to determine how many wedges you can use in each pack. Since the 2017 springs had a nice progressive rate to keep the ride soft while unloaded, the front and rear have different size gaps. The front took two of three wedges while the rear only took one. Now, the rear was easy as there was no way any more than one was going in. The front however, could be a tight fit with two or a loose fit with one. Either would have worked but I would have lost some of the value of the kit only doing one in the front. So, I decided that it was worth the 3 seconds it takes to open the gap with a flat head screwdriver when engaging the fronts. It's literally no effort at all with it missing by so little.
Anyways, they are in and ready for my next RV trip. I'll update the thread after my first tow them engaged. I've already taken two trips without them. One was about 150 miles each way and the other 400 miles each way. My 2017 performs head and shoulders above my 2012 already. However, it had just a touch of sag to the rear and over the bigger dips in the highway when the trailer would teeter totter on the axles, I'd get some bounce in the rear of the truck. According to other forum members I've chatted with, this eliminate about 1-1.5" of sag and cure the bouncing as well so I'm looking forward to putting them to the test.
Speaking of other members, I did find that I'm not the only one who had trouble drilling the 17 springs. Apparently, another member thought better of drilling his and since he was local, brought his truck right to StableLoad's facility. Well, even the guys who designed the product were astounded at how hard it was to drill the 2017 Ford lowers. They told him 1.5 hours to get it done and he got his truck back over 4 hours later. So, anyone thinking of trying these should strongly consider having a spring shop or someplace similar do the drilling.
Front disengaged.
Front engaged.
Screwdriver to allow front to squeeze in. Tight fit...
I've had them for almost 2 months but after my first attempt to install, I was ready to forget the whole thing. So, with a new plan (hire out the hard part) I got them in today quite easily. I had originally gotten the free rental of the drill tool that TorkLift will send you. You just pay the shipping each way. However, their Cobalt drill bits and my drill were no match for Ford's 2017 lower overload springs. After 2 hours I gave up on the first hole shortly before I was through...
Fast forward two months to today. I took my truck into a local spring shop that has been around for over 100 years. Ferrara Spring in Springfield MA. They had the first lower overload out of the truck and on their drill press in 10 minutes! It was drilled and back in the truck shortly after. I did have them assemble and install the lower plate of the StableLoads while the spring was off the truck to make things much easier when I got home. All in all, they were at it a little over 2 hours and home I went. I can't say enough about the knowledge of this shop. They work on anything from a small truck like mine up to big rigs, tri-axle dumps, etc. So, if your in the northeast, give Ferrara a shot...
Final assembly was super easy. Since the A7311 StableLoad kit is universal, you have to determine how many wedges you can use in each pack. Since the 2017 springs had a nice progressive rate to keep the ride soft while unloaded, the front and rear have different size gaps. The front took two of three wedges while the rear only took one. Now, the rear was easy as there was no way any more than one was going in. The front however, could be a tight fit with two or a loose fit with one. Either would have worked but I would have lost some of the value of the kit only doing one in the front. So, I decided that it was worth the 3 seconds it takes to open the gap with a flat head screwdriver when engaging the fronts. It's literally no effort at all with it missing by so little.
Anyways, they are in and ready for my next RV trip. I'll update the thread after my first tow them engaged. I've already taken two trips without them. One was about 150 miles each way and the other 400 miles each way. My 2017 performs head and shoulders above my 2012 already. However, it had just a touch of sag to the rear and over the bigger dips in the highway when the trailer would teeter totter on the axles, I'd get some bounce in the rear of the truck. According to other forum members I've chatted with, this eliminate about 1-1.5" of sag and cure the bouncing as well so I'm looking forward to putting them to the test.
Speaking of other members, I did find that I'm not the only one who had trouble drilling the 17 springs. Apparently, another member thought better of drilling his and since he was local, brought his truck right to StableLoad's facility. Well, even the guys who designed the product were astounded at how hard it was to drill the 2017 Ford lowers. They told him 1.5 hours to get it done and he got his truck back over 4 hours later. So, anyone thinking of trying these should strongly consider having a spring shop or someplace similar do the drilling.
Rodney,
I have never done these (lowers) but have done the uppers, which are a breeze to install. Put them on my last 3 F 350's.
The uppers are not recommended as a starting point as they smack the stops when riding unloaded making for a very jarring ride. There is no way to disengage them so unless your towing or loaded heavy all the time, you will have a compromised ride. The reps I've dealt with at TorkLift work rather hard to steer you away from purchasing them unless you already have the lowers and need further help with something really heavy like a truck camper. Also, the lower overload spring is about 4 times the thickness of the upper. So, it's going to do a lot better job with loads when it gets engaged sooner. Many who have done just the upper find their upper overload spring fatigues quickly and needs to be replaced as they really aren't designed to carry a load they way they do when engaged that early...
The uppers are not recommended as a starting point as they smack the stops when riding unloaded making for a very jarring ride. There is no way to disengage them so unless your towing or loaded heavy all the time, you will have a compromised ride. The reps I've dealt with at TorkLift work rather hard to steer you away from purchasing them unless you already have the lowers and need further help with something really heavy like a truck camper. Also, the lower overload spring is about 4 times the thickness of the upper. So, it's going to do a lot better job with loads when it gets engaged sooner. Many who have done just the upper find their upper overload spring fatigues quickly and needs to be replaced as they really aren't designed to carry a load they way they do when engaged that early...
Interesting...I was either unloaded or loaded heavy. Never noticed a harsh ride unloaded.
I would still do them again if I still had my truck camper.
It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on loaded vs. unloaded ride. Since you have the lowers only, the unloaded ride should be unchanged as long as the Stable Loads are disengaged. Be sure to take some measurements of fender heights before and after the trailer is hitched.
I did the upper Stableloads for hauling my camper. When my camper is off the truck they do not even hit the upper overload spring. I have airbags as well and chose not to do the lowers but I have heard good things about them.
I can't see how you guys don't hit the upper StableLoads. I hit the stock stops with my upper overloads on a decent bump when empty and you're adding inches to that... I can only guess that you are in fact having the upper overloads contact the SL's but it's a small enough jounce that you don't notice. I'm super sensitive to changes in ride. For the same reason, I'm not a fan of Timbrens or air bags with internal jounce bumpers. Most guys never even notice but I notice just leaving my driveway...
Karl4Cat - thanks for posting about these. I had a set of Supersprings on my last F350 and they did a good job, but PITA to install. Can I correctly assume that the Stable Load's are an alternate method to help the rear suspension under load, or can they be used in conjunction with Supersprings? I will, of course, look on the website when I get the chance.
Tim, I'm guessing you could still add a SuperSpring but I don't think it's necessary when you have the lower StableLoads. Your OE lower overload is a monster (which is why I gave up on drilling it myself) and when engaged early, should give all the help you need. Plus, when not towing or hauling, you can completely disengage them so they have no effect at all on unloaded ride quality. There are plenty of options out there from additional springs like a SuperSpring, air bags, Timbrens, etc. I like this option the best due to it's simplicity and unladen ride quality retention. I've had standard air bags with leaks, internal jounce air bags that effected unladen ride quality and restricted suspension articulation, and Timbrens that were impacting the stops while unloaded making for a jarring ride. So, despite the drilling, I decided to try something different this time around. In theory they are perfect for what I want. Will see how they perform with the 5ver soon and report back. If it's anything like the other member's experiences I've talked to, I won't be disappointed.
The only thing I will need to do for maintenance is give them a coat of Fluid Film each fall to keep them from getting any rust or corrosion from the road salt they run up here...
Tim, I'm guessing you could still add a SuperSpring but I don't think it's necessary when you have the lower StableLoads. Your OE lower overload is a monster (which is why I gave up on drilling it myself) and when engaged early, should give all the help you need. Plus, when not towing or hauling, you can completely disengage them so they have no effect at all on unloaded ride quality. There are plenty of options out there from additional springs like a SuperSpring, air bags, Timbrens, etc. I like this option the best due to it's simplicity and unladen ride quality retention. I've had standard air bags with leaks, internal jounce air bags that effected unladen ride quality and restricted suspension articulation, and Timbrens that were impacting the stops while unloaded making for a jarring ride. So, despite the drilling, I decided to try something different this time around. In theory they are perfect for what I want. Will see how they perform with the 5ver soon and report back. If it's anything like the other member's experiences I've talked to, I won't be disappointed.
The only thing I will need to do for maintenance is give them a coat of Fluid Film each fall to keep them from getting any rust or corrosion from the road salt they run up here...
Thanks very much! I have a 5ver as well, and that's the primary reason I had the Supersprings in my last truck. I have a 2017 F350 CCSB 4x4 SRW this time around, so I need to figure out which ones I need for the lowers.
I can't see how you guys don't hit the upper StableLoads. I hit the stock stops with my upper overloads on a decent bump when empty and you're adding inches to that... I can only guess that you are in fact having the upper overloads contact the SL's but it's a small enough jounce that you don't notice. I'm super sensitive to changes in ride. For the same reason, I'm not a fan of Timbrens or air bags with internal jounce bumpers. Most guys never even notice but I notice just leaving my driveway...
Mine did not contact in static mode, so I have some vertical play.
Here is the SL installed and static, its got a good inch or more to work with.
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Glad to see it worked out for you Rodney
