Nice write up, and great pics. I have had this same mod done for over 20k miles now with no negative effects. I now wish there was an easy way to take an inch out of the front too.

 

Really good "how to" since day one I want to level my truck (350) mostly because the gooseneck trailers that I have, and I planing to keep wheels and size so I don't need to lift the front,
thanks for the tutorial

 

Nice write-up and pictures cficare. Thank you!

 

Is there any reason that the stock blocks can't be machined down the 1"-2"? then all one would have to purchase are the u-bolts.

 

Can't shorten the original blocks by machining because they are hollow, not solid.

Thanks everyone for the compliments!

 

Yes, very nice write-up! If only I’d had a 24mm wrench and socket and some of those jack stand risers, I would have done it myself. As it stands it took my mechanic and his coworkers 15 minutes to do the whole thing. The four of them looked like and Indy pit crew.

 

I made those riser blocks about 14 years ago when I got my first Excursion and they have proven to be very handy. I place two short pieces of 4x4 about 4" away from a pair of them, put my truck in 4WD-Lo and simply drive up on top versus buying ramps. These are easier to stow than ramps and have been used on various projects. Each block is made from a single 2x4x8' and the pieces are screwed together. Cut 5 pieces 10-1/2" long and 4 pieces 9" long, then assemble as shown in that photo

 

Excellent write up. This mod is in my future.

 

Thanks man! That was awesome. I think I'm going to need to do this mod also.

 

Tonight was the first time driving at night after lowering the rear, and was also the first time anyone flashed their highbeams at me while running low-beams alone. After I got onto some darker neighborhood streets, I could see my low-beams do appear to be illuminating slightly higher altitudes. I'm going to adjust them down a bit.

I'll position my front axle 160" from a garage door (same distance as my wheelbase), place a couple pieces of masking tape where the low-beams' current high spots (or centers) shine on the door, then work down one inch from there. My thinking is if the rear was lowered one inch at the rear axle, I should lower the headlight aim the same distance from my fulcrum (front axle).

One nice thing I found today after driving 100 miles over the river and through the woods is the truck now rides smoother. This lends credence to my speculation in another thread that the longer lift blocks impart leverage on the leaf springs, and the rear wheels reacting to imperfetions in the road surface causes some small amount of spring wrap. Shorter blocks, less leverage, and rear axle reverberation has reduced. I would say the rear axle "bounciness" is now on par with what I experienced driving my former 2010 F150 FX4 (and yes, "FX4" was an F150 trim level back then and not just another option).

So, two questions for those of you who already performed this mod:
1) Have you seen an increase of other drivers flashing their high-beams at you?
2) Have you noticed an improvement in ride quality?

 

1) Nope, haven't had anyone flash their high beams at me, but then again I don't do a whole lot of driving at night.
2) It still rides like a truck. I've lowered the tire pressures to 55psi all around and that helps some, but I really didn't notice any difference in ride quality that I could attribute to lowering the rear 1½".

 

Nice write up. Thank you for the effort and time you took. I have the shorter blocks in my shop awaiting install. Your write was very timely.

 

1) Yes. A lot. I lowered mine as well. I went a little more than the 1" you describe because the HR LEDs are so bright.
2) Yes. I also noticed a slight improvement in ride quality over uneven pavement.

 

Do you have a 250HD or 350? I'm trying to find the shorter u-bolt for the m275.

 

I have a 250.