Hi. After mulling it over and weighing the pros and cons I've decided the direction to go on leveling my truck. I've decided to lower the back end instead of raising the front. I have a couple questions to anyone who has done this or any service people out there with expertise:

1. Which is the best leveling kit? I want the one that will give the least long term trouble and the best comfort in ride. The ones I've found so far are the DJM suspension lowering kit, Groundforce suspension, and the Beltech suspension, (or another one you may know about). Expense doesn't always reveal which product is the best. Any input is greatly appreciated.

2. When I do lower the back, will I need new shocks? According to this website: http://stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm/...id/552/lc/tsct toxic shocks says if I lower the truck I do need new shocks. Is this true?

Thanks.

 

Toreador.....

Rather than raising the front of my truck to get rid of the typical pick up truck "*** in the air" look.....I LOWERED the rear end of my truck to get it ALMOST level (even) with the front end.

I have an '04 F-150 Screw Lariat 4 x 2....and after shopping around, I chose the BELTECH 2" LOWERING Spring Shackles. I have already written quite a bit about this subject here on FTE, so please do a search of all my postings here on FTE for more details on this subject.

DJM, Groundforce, and Beltech are VERY reputable companies.....and when you get right down to it, rear suspension LOWERING spring shackles are not rocket science.....so ANY of these brands will work just fine!! None of them should give you any problems...short term or long term. And as far as the ride is concerned, your truck will ride the SAME with any of these brands, just as long as they have the same lowering specs; the truck will ride just as good as it did before you lowered.

What you will notice is that your truck will be more stable at highway speeds, and in high cross wind situations....and it will definitely corner much "flatter" and more confidently than it does now.....because by lowering the rear end of the truck, you are lowering the trailing end of the longitudinal center of gravity, as well as the rear body center of gravity.

And to answer your final question.....NO.....you will NOT need to replace your factory shocks....as you are only talking about a NET lowering change of about 1.25 - 1.5" when it is all said and done. What Toxic Shocks is referring to is when you do a RADICAL lowering job on the WHOLE truck of 3, 4, 5, or even 6"!!

Good luck....and please let me know if you have any more questions.

Fred

 

Fanman, I found the thread you were talking about and it guides me to the answers to all my questions. I guess my only decision will be between the Beltech shackles and the DJM. The Beltech is $90 and can only lower 1" (according to their ad) and the DJM is $50 but lowers 2". If the quality is pretty much the same, then I'll probably end up with DJM. Thanks a lot, Fanman.

 

Toreador, let us know how your project comes out. I too am interested in lowering the rear on my truck (when it gets here) to level it, and would love to see pictures of yours when complete.

 

Toreador.....

The Beltech actually lowered my truck between 1.25 and 1.5".....as measured from the center of the rear wheel opening straight down to the ground.....and when you look at my truck from the side, it is almost straight and level, front to back..... !!! It looks rteally good, and believe it or not.....really helped "fill in" the huge rear wheel well opening.

I can't comment on the DJM, as I did not use it.

Good luck.

Fred

 

Toreador,

I used the GroundForce lowering kit (front & back) on my '04 SCREW (pics in my gallery). The front was dropped 2" and the back was dropped 5" (3 in. more than the front) and my truck is exactly level. I would definitely consider the one that will give you the bigger difference.

As far as ride quality, it's phenomenal. Let's just say, my wife's Tahoe is dropped (Belltech 2"-3" kit) and it practically ruined that truck's ride quality. You feel every bump, it bottoms out on the smallest divots in the road (we put Toxic shocks on it and it helped a bit). In fact, I thought long and hard before lowering my truck, and went back and forth between the DJM and GroundForce kits, but I can't say enough about the outcome. Fanman is 100% correct about increased handling, stability and cornering, but even the actual ride quality seemed to improve . . . impressive!

Good Luck!
Ryan

 

Looks real nice, 3nine, but I still want to retain the minimum front end clearance. I do "cheat" every so often over sidewalks and curbs Sounds like the back end lowering will be what I end up with. Thanks to all for the advice and when I do get a digital camera this truck does need to be seen~!!!

 

How much labor is involved with lowering a back end? Do you have to remove the springs?

 

bigplayrayr.....

I have already answered your question - please do a search of my previous posts on FTE. And NO, you do NOT have to remove the rear springs.....you only remove the REAR spring shackle on each spring and replace it with the new LOWERING shackle.

Good luck!

Fred