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I bought myself a newer truck yesterday. 2002 F-150 4x4 Flarseide, reg. cab. Its got the 5.4 with auto tranny and 3.55 L/S. Its also got a dual catback with just a cheap turbo muffler so I bought a Flowmaster Super 40 that I'm installing tomorrow. I am also going to crank up the torsion bars. I am going to get some 285/75/16 BFGs and want to get some leveling keys. What is involved in installing the keys? Does allignmnet become a neverending issue? Is it possible to gain 3" with the leveling keys fully cranked? Also most reg. cab flaresides I have seen have 4.6 engines. This truck might actually be the first with the 5.4 I have seen besides 04+ trucks. Are there many of these trucks out there?
Going up more then 2.5 inches is not advised, and my direction warned not to go more then 2.5 inches. Install is pretty easy, however you will need a gear puller type of tool that i cant remember the actual name. If you have a Haynes manual it tells you what the tool is. Just jack up the truck. unscrew the screw that adjust the torsion bar. Use that special tool to compress the torsion bar to remove the adjustment bracket. slide the torsion bar towards the front of the truck and the old key will come out. put the new key in slide the torsion bar back into the key. Use that special tool again to compress the torsion to put the adjuster bracket back in. reinstall the adjuster screw and adjust until level.
A couple of notes. Make sure you measure the distance from the top of the tire to the fender well on both sides and measure again one complete. I had to jack the truck up and adjust a couple of times to get the ride height level. I tried to compress the torsion bar without the special tool, and there was no way to do it, so...
Last thing. You NEED to get an alignment when you are done. My wife drove without an alignment for 6 months. The truck drove fine, but the drivers side front tire was riding on the outside 1/4 of the tire. The first thing we did when i went home on leave was to get an alignment done. Dont ruin a $300 tire for a $90 alignment(dealer price).
Sorry for the long post, but i hope i helped. If you have any questions just PM me.