This forum/site is LOADED slap full of super useful information and I’ve read a lot of it, some of it may be more accurate. lol I bought an ‘05 4x4 Limited Excursion with a 6.0 about a month ago. I have unfortunately not driven it much due to issues I need to resolve,one of which is the suspension. I’d like to remove as much lift as possible and put the smallest tire that will still look “normal” on a factory F250 20in wheel. The current suspension setup in Front Superlift 01-216-6 springs with at least one blown shock on the driver side. The rear has what looks to be factory leaf springs with 2 blocks stacked equaling almost 9 inches of block. The wheels and tires currently installed are a factory looking 20in F250 wheel with 35/12.5 R20 Nitto trail grapplers. There are also 2in spacers behind each wheel.

Here is my dilemma, I could live without any lift and go back to stock height and tire and be fine. I bought it for the size and the ability to load up the family and our dogs and hit the road and have room. My wife kinda likes the lift but would like it tamed down a bit but still have bigger tires on it. I like the 20in wheels and I’m thinking about going to 275/60r20 Toyo AT3s but am afraid they will look too small on that wheel. IF I was to go with that tire how much lift would be required to run that?

I’m ready and expecting to replace the entire suspension to get less lift, new shocks and rear lift that isn’t stacked blocks. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Is Junior at ATS still the go to guy for new springs and such? It seems like everything I’ve read points his direction but they were also old posts and wanted to make sure he was still there before I called asking for him.

 

I have a similar Excursion ( 2005 limited 4x4 diesel). I went with the Pirate Procomp lift that I read about on this site (no blocks used anywhere on this lift , all springs) and couldn't be happier with it. It was literally less than half the cost of the BDS lift I was just about to buy, the ride is great, and the handling is much improved. Now, part of the great ride/ improved handling might be going from old clapped out shocks to new nice ones , but lets not tell the wife that.

You can get wheels that won't require the spacers if the spacers bother you (although there are quality spacers out there, not all of them are junk, just most of them). Here's what mine looks like with the Pirate Procomp lift and 35x12.50x20 tires on wheels that require no spacers.

 

I think I saw you post pictures of your truck on another site. I had actually thought about messaging you to get details on your lift. Kinda funny you were the first to reply to this thread. I’ll have to search the Pirate Procomp lift. I don’t think I’ve seen that discussed yet, maybe I haven’t read as much as I thought.

To be completely honest I do not mind my wheels and once I look at the spacers and verify they are decent I won’t worry about them either. I actually kinda like the “stock” wheel look, plus the price is right at the moment.

 

You should always worry about spacers.
and by worry i mean maintenance.

key to keeping them from failing is clean the surfaces of the hub, spacer and wheel.
any rust,paint or oxidation needs to be removed. This little bit of crud affects the torque, nuts get loose, studs sheer and your wheel falls off.

also correctly torquing is critical.

the difference between crappy spacers and good ones is the quality of studs they use. Chinese supplied studs stretch and loosen and your wheel falls off.

A good time to clean and torque them is when you do your annual brake slid pin greasing.

 

That’s some good advice thank you for that. I plan to do my first inspection when I remove the terrible spike lug nuts that are not correct for the wheel anyway.

You’re the mastermind behind the suspension combo referenced above. I was just reading about this. Do you have a source for the Fox shocks I saw referenced a couple years ago and or airbag setup for the rear? I’ve got to take some pictures of my setup and you’ll be glad/understand why I’m wanting to make some changes.

I’m looking for a good level setup that will support towing my wife’s Jeep Gladiator if/when we get a trailer and start trying to go “play” with it some.

 

If you are currently running OEM factory F-250 20” wheels with some spike shaped lug nuts be very careful. Those silly lug nuts are going to be tapered seat which are designed to work on lug centric wheels, the OEM 20”s are designed as hub centric and need to have the correct OEM washer faced lug nuts. Each style of wheel needs to run the correct matching style of nuts, cross pollination is asking for problems.

 

Thanks for your concern on the lug nuts, I have new ones waiting to be installed with the flat washer. I’m hoping those tapered lug nuts haven’t messed up the wheels to where it’ll be a problem.

Seeing stuff like that makes me question what else I haven’t seen/found yet. While correcting some exhaust hanger/bolt issues I noticed one of the driver side rear spring U-bolts the nut is not tight and I could move the washer under it. I have not driven it since seeing this and don’t plan to.

This will be a pavement queen and while driving in stop and go traffic the axle wrap or at least that’s what I think it was when stopping and taking off is terrible. I really want all new suspension bad. I’m going to post some pictures of my poor dirt Excursion and the mess I have gotten myself into tomorrow.

 

Let’s see if I can attach these pictures. They may not be the best quality but it paints a good picture of what I’m working with. My goal is to figure out what I need to completely change the suspension and let this Excursions next trip be to a shop to completely change out the suspension and install new tires and do an alignment.

There is a lot of work ahead on the truck that I surely didn’t plan for and really hate I have to do but I feel it’s got to be done for safety sake. It was feeling really sketchy the last time I drove it. I better understand why after being able to turn ALL 8 nuts holding the rear springs on with just a regular 1/2in ratchet in the minimal space between the frame rail and inner fender.

Let me know what you all think about my mess I’ve bought into. As crazy as it is I am still optimistic and excited to get this baby one the road and safe finally.


My poor neglected Ex that is due some serious upgrades to make this a safe and enjoyable ride for many years to come.

Passenger Front wheel

Passenger rear wheel…looking at this picture it doesn’t look centered in the wheel well. I going to have to look at that closer, I haven’t noticed that before.

Stack of blocks for the rear lift, this is also on the passenger side for what that’s worth.

Passenger Rear suspension from the front side. Is that bottom leaf supposed to be hanging that low?

Rear hanger of passenger front leaf spring.

Rear hanger for driver front leaf spring

Notice the indentations caused by the incorrect lug nuts.

Driver front suspension with Superlift sticker with p/n 01-216-6

Close up of burr/indentation caused by incorrect lug nuts.

Wheel spacers installed, how can I determine the quality of this spacer?

Please tell me the “M” and 10.9 is a good sign on the back of the studs in this spacer.

This is looking from the center of the truck out on the driver side rear spring U-bolts. If you look closely you can see light between the nut and the washer. I was able to spin the washer it was so loose.

This is looking in from the outside on the driver side rear spring. I was able to tighten the back nut in this picture which is the same one that was in the previous picture. I could have gone more but just stopped.

 

Loose U bolts are never a good thing……..
Yes, that lowest leaf (it’s only a half leaf that goes forward from the axle) is supposed to be a few inches below the main spring pack, it the factory traction bar and it should have a rubber bumper on the end that contacts the spring above to combat spring wrap.
Its my understanding that a metric grade 10.9 bolt is nearly identical to an SAE grade 8 bolt, which is pretty darned strong. Always make sure that the spacers are properly torqued to the trucks hubs, should be 168 ft/lbs, same as the wheel lug nuts.
I would clean up the wheel damage from the tapered seat nuts, ream any deformed lips out of the hole just to avoid any possible issues with the lug threads. The landing pads for the correct lug nuts look they are OK.
Thats a lot of lift block in there!

 

I’m trying to brainstorm about how I’m going to clean up those burrs with the tools I have. That’s going to take some thought I’m afraid. I plan to clean everything up really well before those wheels go back on. I took everything off with an impact but my calibrated touch could tell they were definitely not torques to anything near that spec. I will be breaking out the torque wrench to put it all back together though.

I’ve been trying to find all the most recent updates to the Pirate 4x4 ProComp setup to see about going that route. I wish he had a book published, he seems to be packed full of knowledge and I’m trying to find all the pieces and put this puzzle together.

 

My 2 cents would be to go to a hub-centric wheel for safety sake and don't bother guessing what those spacers are worth, because they're not worth your life or that of your family.

Glad you're having a good eye on it so it's all safe when you're done! Welcome!

 

Those wheels are hubcentric, just spaced for a coil spring front end. Definitely look into the pro comp springs and you might be able to run the same height tire with the new springs.

 

Nice truck, this site will definitely help you get it sorted out. You can look into this thread for the Pirate lift, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...questions.html

 

The 4th and 5th entries on the linked post below contain all of the components needed for the procomp suspension mod, and links to where they can be purchased. Although I did see a comment about the front U-bolts needing to be 9 1/2 inches instead of 8 1/2 inches.

The procomp suspension reportedly gives 4 inches of lift, and consensus is that it is the sweet spot for optimal ride height.

I'm scheduled to have mine installed this coming Wednesday, so I'll post about how it went.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-i-m-back.html

 

What size lift is that?