alright i have a 2002 ford f-150 5.4L V8, and im looking to put a lift kit on it, anyone have any suggestions, im not strapped with cash, so the cheaper the better, not saying i wont some piece of crap, oh and to put this out there i dont know jack about trucks so speak english to me please.

 

the cheapest lift you can do for your truck, which is also the smallest, is cranking your torsion bars. you only have to pay for the alignment afterwards. Your truck in the front suspension does not use springs. Instead there are bars that can be tightened. This raises the front end of the truck a bit leveling it out. This is the cheapest if that's all you are looking to do.

Next, you have your body lift. The body lift consists of rubber or urethane body spacers amongst other parts. The spacers are placed in at the body mounts, lifting the body off of the frame. This is more expensive than just simply cranking your torsion bars.

There is also lifting your suspension. This is the most expensive and more difficult to do but it produces the best look and performance gain if there is any. I don't know the specifics but I've looked into it and it is pricey, I think it's due to the Iindependent front Suspension and torsion bars.

This is all depending on how high you want to lift your truck.

 

Is it a 2wd or a 4wd? The last 2wd I had was a 99 model, and if I remember correctly, it had coil springs in the front, but I could be wrong.

With coils, you could get a couple of inches with spacers on the front. With a torsion bar, you can get it with cranking the bars. In the rear, an add-a-leaf will get you up about the same, and it's pretty cheap.

Papajoe is right on the money with everything he said. I'm not, however, a big fan of body lifts. They're ok in moderation, and only if you need an inch or two to clear a bigger set of tires. If you're going to do it, start at the suspension and shop around for prices.

How high are you wanting to go with it? What are your plans for tires?

 

tires, well right now ive got 18s i think, i want to get 20s or abit higher, money wise, well i can get the money i dont mind waiting and saving to get what i want. i was looking into this Fat Bob's Garage Shopping Cart dunno if those shocks are good or not, so im not sure about it. and yes its 4wd, even though i rarely take it into 2wd. Also was wondering about spark plugs which would be the best for getting me good gas mileage.

 

the lift you get depends an what you want to use the truck for. If you want a tall truck just for having a tall truck, or if you want to mud it or whatever.

First decide on the TIRE size you want, you mentioned you have 18s, but want 20s, those are WHEEL sizes not tire sizes (i hope, if they are your tire sizes they are might small!). Decide on the tire size you want, 32", 35", 42" etc. then figure out how much lift you need to clear the tires with out rubbing. Generally you can fit up to about 32s on some stock 4x4s with minimal rubbing. If you want to go bigger than 30-32" you need to look into a real lift, suspension or otherwise.

Body lifts will allow you to easily lift the cab and bed of the truck to clear larger tires. but make your truck more top heavy and more dangerous in off camber situations. However if you never take the truck off road this is a quick and dirty method to lift it.

Spacers are generally a poor decision because of the effect they have on the geomoetry of your suspension. Your suspension was set up and designed to run how it is currently set up. When you go and put coil spring spacers into the mix the geometry of the suspension is changed and this effects everything from handling, to steering to alignment to drivability. Spacers would generally be the quickest, cheapest dirtiest method for lift that most stay away from. Some people have good luck with spacer kits, but from personal experience and many friends that have tried them, i have never personally seen anything but more money and headaches come from spacer kits.

The next option is a suspension lift. This is getting new suspension equipment that is longer and lifts your entire truck, frame and all up higher off the ground. This is the most reliable, safest, and smartest lift option. However it also costs the most. suspension lift kits are a redesigned suspension system, with new and different geometry that is based on the original. So you get the advantage of increased suspension performance with out the problems associated with spacers or body lifts. Suspension kits come in different forms, from blocks to replacement leaf springs in the back, taller coils and drop brackets in the front and torsion keys.

However before you decide any of this, like i said previously, you need to decide what you want to do with the truck. What you want to do with your vehicle will dictate the type and style of lift for your purposes.

Keep reading around on the site there are tons of other threads with this issue discussed thoroughly where you can glean much information to help you make the right decision. Good luck!

 

woops ya the rims are 18", the tire size i want is 32, im also looking into new rims, seeing as mine are screwed due to some stuff ive done. Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels this rim, and Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels this tire. And yes an actual lift kit is what im looking to get, also some good shocks, dunno if those i showed were any good.

 

The link you posted to Fat bobs didnt work. Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels is a good resource to compare tires they have many different makes and models. I can't be sure they have exactly the model of tire you are looking for. Since you have a truck similar to mine the lift options are numerous. Our trucks are similar and have a large after market for many different products. I have a fabtech lift on my truck. It has pros and cons as any system will. I assume you are looking for a normal middle of the road lift kit, somewhere between 6 and 8 inches?

 

ya i dont need anything super high off the ground just enough so i dont put a hole in my gas tank again when i hit i log in the woods >.>

 

You would be right the 4wd had torsion bars and 2wd had coils.

 

by chance could u show me a truck with a 6" to 8" lift and one that is higher than that, i gotta have a visual to make up my mind on what i want.

 

check out my gallery, my truck has a 6 inch lift on it.

 

alright i might want a 8" lift, b/c when i hit that damn log it took a chunk outta my gas tank.... just filled it to, talk about a waste of 50 bucks... also whats the difference between a body lift and a suspension lift?

 

A body lift raises the body higher off of the frame. A suspension lift picks the entire truck up with new suspension components.

A body lift won't help with tank clearance issues, a suspension lift will. Body lifts are typically used to clear larger tires, or are a cheap way to make the truck look taller.

 

but a body lift with larger tires will pick the tank up higher cuz the tires are taller, it wont be the full height of the body lift, but a body lift with taller tires will pick the entire truck up some, so it will lift the chassis/tank up higher

 

the highest factory suspecion lift you can get is 6" without going with a custom setup, which gets really expensive. i installed a 6" fabtech on my truck.