Kinda new here but here it goes, I'm wanting to lift my '03 250 FX4 to get rid of the sag. just wondering what everybody else has tried or used (blocks, spacers, shackles, etc.) and how much and where they got them. I don't do much if any off road use and basically just want the look. Also any other mods required or recommended. I'm mechanically inclined and typically do things myself. A friend told me i would have to replace my 3/4 track bar b/c it wouldn't hold. Is this true? Thanks again

 

Do NOT use block on the front.

 

yeah, guess i had a brain fart when i typed that. So what do you recommend?

 

You can get a 2.5 inch front leveling shackle from sandersons welding on e-bay for cheap and a few members here have used them with great results.

 

For a front mini spring pack, I would get a non welded set. Some of the kits out there have a weld accross each spring. This isn't good because the springs will lose their temper and if the weld job is shoddy, you risk the pack cracking. There are several companies which make front end level spring packs, Ikon dynamics, Rough Country, Performance sales, etc. One thing though, if your front springs are tired, adding a spring pack will raise the front end for a while, but it may sag again if the springs are worn. You can also get some x code springs if you want in leiu of the spring pack and that will lift the front 1-2.5" and they are more heavy duty. Or you could get x codes AND a spring pack, but that may make the front too high compared to the rear if you load up the truck...

 

I got on ebay and found the phone number to Sanderson welding (he's the guy that does the mini pack and shackel lift) ordered the mini pack and told him NOT to weld it. Installation was a bugger! Took about 7 hours in garage, using cargo straps and every jack I had to realign the springs and front end once the u-bolts were removed. No issues yet, after about 5k. The shackel lift would probiblly be easer and is about half the price (around $50, I think). What ever system you go with, don't forget to retorque all hardwear after a few miles. Good luck.

 

I have the sanderson welding shackles, and I love them. I have had no problems with them to date, they have been on the truck around six months. Took about 3 hours to install. I didn't have to do anything to the track bar, It was long enough.

 

Thanks guys for the quick reply. my plans were to add 1" blocks to the back b/c i regularly pull a flat bed trailor with my tractor on it and dont want the front in the air at the same time you think that would work well with the shackles and the 1" blocks in the back? also the question i had about the track bar may not have been clear, my friend was telling me the 3/4 trackbars will bend if you lift the front any and i would have to get a 1" bar, is this true? thanks again guys.

 

You should be fine with your current track bar as long as the front end stays centered in the truck after you lift it. You should not bend a 3/4" bar unless something is tweaked or you hit something. If the front end pulls to one side after lifting the truck, which probably will happen because you are technically placing one end farther away when you lift the truck, you can make a new one as I did. I used a third link adjuster for a tractor and welded in a tube extension and then adjusted until the frontend was centered.

Good Luck.
Dave

 

When installing shackles, do you guys jack the truck from the frame, let tires sit on the ground and just by adjusting how high you jack the truck, install the shackles or do you jack the truck from frame and also jack the front axle (with another jack) and adjust that?

Thanks.

 

What i did with the help of fellow FTE,ers is jack the truck up by the frame and get the wheels off the ground, make sure you use jack stands. You'll need a very small bottle jack to be able to perswade the leaf springs into the holes of the shackle. Be careful, these springs still have a little load on then even up in the air, not much but enough.

 

yep, I installed mine the exact same way that Mike did.

 

I just did this a couple of weeks ago. Get a bottle jack with some sections of 4x4 pressure treated lumber or a cheap porta power from Northern tools and equipment. It will really help get the springs back where they need to be.

Check this thread out. Click here
On the second page it gives a link to where most of us who have done this got those shackles from a guy on ebay. The one thing I will tell you is that the stock bolts from my 2003 wouldn't fit through the new shackles the way they came. I had to take a uni-bit and enlarge them a little but that was a piece of cake.

I also took out the stock 2-1/2 inch block in the rear and replaced it with a 4 incher from Superlifts. You have to get a different size u-bolt from them if you want to do it that way, because the ones they sell with those blocks are designed to go on top of the stock blocks and will be too long. If you decide to do the rear too, talk to the sales rep and tell him what you are doing. He will have you measure the stock u-bolt and get you the right ones.

 

Thanks guys, little more:

Do you jack the springs (with the bottle jack) from underneath the axle (so in the middle of the springs) or at the end of the spring where you're trying to persuade it into the shackle.

Did anyone else beside Jason need to enlarge the holes?

 

Nah my bolts fit through the holes just fine.