Hey guys/gals,

Been a lurker here for some time. Also been hitting the search feature pretty hard. Here's my situation.

I want to put a leveling kit in my '02 5.4L Reg cab F250 SD. This is a semi-daily driver meaning I switch off between this and my car. I don't do any boggin with the truck but it does see off road backwoods trail use from the hunting that I do. I also plow with the truck. My tire/wheel combo is still up in the air. I'm undecided on staying with 16's or going to 17's. I would like to go with a 33x 12.50 tire. I know 33's should fit w/o any lift but I would like to get the truck up some.

My questions:

What are the pros/cons between a kit with mini spring packs as opposed to an add-a-leaf for the front? Judging from my intended use above what would be the better option?

As for actual kits I see that there are many options out there. I've read about Readylift, Autospring and a few others from the bigger suspension companies. Any preferences?


As far as the rear goes, my truck sits pretty level stock so I will need to go up with rear as well. I was considering replacing the stock F250 blocks with stock F350 blocks going from 2" to 4". I've also seen add-a-leafs for the rear. Is that a better option than the blocks? I do very very little towing with the truck and it's usually just a small 6x10 landscape trailer.
I also saw on ebay a company that made solid blocks from 6061 alum with a St St center pin. What would be the advantages of this type of block over stock?

Lastly, I will need shocks all around since the ones on the truck are still the originals and need replacing. Once again just looking for suggestions.

 

As far as lifting the rear 2" or so, I trust the stock 350 blocks more than an add a leaf, just seeing the thousands of trucks out there that have never had a problem running the same exact set up. Go with FoMoCo blocks, the ubolts come cheap with them from a dealer. You can do the back for under $250, and have the set up look like a stock truck. I don't know much about up front, having the coil sprung front on my 07, but the AAL idea seems more popular with most people. Be sure to look into caster cams, an adjustable trac bar, and a better steering stabilizer. They bring the bling, but why sacrifice any driveability if it's easy to fix. Get Bilstein shocks. Everybody up in the SD forum sings their praises for towing and hauling, they seem to handle the weight of the truck pretty good, way better than the stockers or the el Rancho branded FoMoCO POS that comes on the FX4s.

Talk to DCSpecial in the SD forums, he's the go to guy for SD lift kits.

For the tire/wheel combo.. I'd say stick with the 16s, you get a better selection of off road tires in that rim size. The Interco SSR comes in a 33 X 12.50 and 14.50 for the 16", and a 33 X 12.50 for the 17" rim. Load range E, decent tread life reports from the guys who run them, and a solid offroad tire, not just a crappy A/T. You can look into Toyo M/Ts, they're popular with a lot of people. Just avoid most A/T tire's like the BFG K/Os.

 

I had a '01 F350 PowerStroke till the very high fuel prices but anways I left the rear stock and put a 2" stackle leveling kit in. This worked great, drove fine, and didn't affect hauling. I also ran 33 x 12.50's on it worked great for me.