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1984 F150 RWD 5.8l, I am in the middle of a 2.5" lift for the front only, this is the before pic:
the only thing that stands out under the chassis is the rear suspension which has 4 leaf packs with one short leaf under them outside of the pack so 5 per side, is that standard? the kit comes with 1.5" blocks for the rear but not sure I will put them in, kinda hoping all I have to do with the rear is replace the shocks once the front is done and aligned..
That is the normal factory stance. The rear springs are progressive. They have very thin curved leaves on the top that give it a good ride. Once you put a load in the bed, these thin leaves flatten out onto the thick leaf on the bottom and the truck rides level.
Once you raise the front, if you ever load it down it will look like it's sagging bad and your headlights will be pointing to the sky. I will be curious also what the alignment guys say once you lift it 2.5 inches and take it in for an alignment.
Halfway through and the Rough Country 2.5" lift brought the front up 4+", maybe the old springs were very tired or the kit raises the rear 2" and the front 4" and is designed to level the truck as well (didn't see that in the literature). Just a bit nose up at the moment although the body lines are just about on the level, drives straight and the steering corrects ok after a turn after correcting for toe on the passenger's side. A bit of extra camber by my eye but I will not deal with that until I decided if I will raise up the rear, kit comes with 2" blocks & u-bolts (not my first choice to raise the loading height) or order some shorter coil springs for the front.
if I put a load in the back as it sits I better make sure I get off the road before sunset! Manufacturer says it may settle 1/2" after driving it a while...
I would leave it alone and drive it some before you get it aligned. The new springs will settle.
The camber is the problem with these trucks when you raise them with just springs. The upper balljoint sits in a eccentric sleeve. The alignment guys can buy eccentric sleeves with more adjustment to try and pull the top of the tire back in. But usually they can't get it back to factory spec if you go over 1.5 inches of lift in the front.
Yes, that agrees with all my research, but the kit I got includes 2" drop brackets for radius arms & axles so I thought the camber effect would be minimal. We will see after I put some miles on it... of course the truck is running like crap just when I want to drive it more! argh. (look for another thread for that)
Yes, that agrees with all my research, but the kit I got includes 2" drop brackets for radius arms & axles so I thought the camber effect would be minimal. We will see after I put some miles on it... of course the truck is running like crap just when I want to drive it more! argh. (look for another thread for that)
I missed the drop bracket part. It should come in on the alignment then.
I missed the drop bracket part. It should come in on the alignment then.
I can only seeing that help fix caster but how will it fix camber?
Or is the bushing made in a way that if you get the caster back close you can then turn the bushing to fix the camber?
I have never messed with this set up, kingpins on my truck and to adjust camber & caster you have to bend the beams, good luck finding a place that does that today.
Dave ----
I can only seeing that help fix caster but how will it fix camber?
Or is the bushing made in a way that if you get the caster back close you can then turn the bushing to fix the camber?
I have never messed with this set up, kingpins on my truck and to adjust camber & caster you have to bend the beams, good luck finding a place that does that today.
Dave ----
He said it had the drop brackets for the radius arms AND the axles. I take the axle brackets to mean the center pivot brackets. That will fix the camber. The only thing he hasn't done unless I missed it, was to use some sort of dropped pitman arm for the steering. If he found a dropped pitman arm, that would put pretty much everything back to stock spec, only higher off the ground.
He said it had the drop brackets for the radius arms AND the axles. I take the axle brackets to mean the center pivot brackets. That will fix the camber. The only thing he hasn't done unless I missed it, was to use some sort of dropped pitman arm for the steering. If he found a dropped pitman arm, that would put pretty much everything back to stock spec, only higher off the ground.
I guess I did not read that part
I think in the first picture the rear is to high for stock but all makes (GM, Dodge, ETC) pick up sit high in the rear and as said when loaded would level out.
81 F100 stock suspension
Dave ----
Dave G. - thanks for the reference pic. did your truck have anything substantial in the bed at that time? I agree the back end of my truck sits notably high, I was asking about the stock leaf springs for that reason. Might be fun for me to install the lift blocks in the rear when I do the shocks, gotta figure out the carb first though, after sitting for a week and maybe a change to cooler weather it is not acting the same at all and almost undrivable the other day!
No all that is in the bed in that picture is cardboard going to the dump.
Truck is used for weekly trash run to the dump but also take it to work, 37 miles each way, when I feel like.
The rear springs are what I thought were the best used set from 2 trucks when I was rebuilding the truck.
So I dont know what they have been thru but I would say they were factory, not replacements.
I can tell you after I installed the Air Fuel Ratio meter depending on air temp the AFR dose change!
If not for the meter I would not have guessed it changes as much as it dose.
So what motor, carb and what is it doing or not doing?
Dave ----
