Ok I have been told by my higher power (wife) that I cannot lift my truck up hehe. I had a 2000 F250 7.3 and it was lifted 6in with 35's. Well it seemed to blow ball joints about as bad as can be.
Well with this new King Ranch, its more of a lux truck than an offroader and I want to keep it that way. However, a buddy of mine put a 2.5" leveling kit on his (1.5 block in rear) and it really sits it up nicely and looks a tad better than stock. I am thinking about adding the mini leaf pack and U bolts to mine too. I searched around and didnt really get much info on if the leveling kit destroys your front end parts. I know that when you modify anything, you put added wear and tear on the parts effected by the lift. What I want to know is: Will a leveling kit put that much on ball joints and steering? I am really wanting to give the truck just alittle added height and leveling it out at the same time.
Sorry so winded, but I am just looking for those that had or have these kits and if they experienced any adverse issues with the components surround this area. Any info you could provide would greatly be appreciated. Oh and I want to keep the nice lux look and feel of my truck, not trying to make it all offroader style,
Thanks

 

The lift isn't what puts extra strain on the ball joints, its the larger tires and negative offset wheels that do. If you level it and keep the same wheels with maybe slightly bigger tires, your ball joints shouldn't suffer.

 

Completely agree.
As with your old truck it seems you offroaded it. That combined with your 35's it surely will. If it's basically an onroad truck adding the slightly larger tires and the leveling kit would obviously be alot lighter on the joints. Condition and routine maintenance (alignment, tire rotation/balance etc..) of other frontend components play a large roll as well as how long they last.

 

Well to give more info, I dont plan on offroading it other than camping sites. If I change the tires out, it would be to upgrade to the newer F250 King Ranch Wheels but not necessarily going to larger tires. I am avid about maintaince, so I always lube and adjust about as much as I do an oil change.

 

i'd do the x code springs in the front and put a 350 block in the rear. you'll like it. i put a one inch tuff country add a leaf in the front of my 350 and i like it only thing it bangs a little bit when you back up over stuff. but i will be putting x codes on the front in a few weeks though

 

I decided against lifting my truck because.....I like to use the bed of the truck. It carries out ATVs. I helped a guy in the desert load his KTM into a lifted truck--> PITA!! And I'm not "super-young" any more, and I pretty much am the one loading the truck, so I'm just doing myself a favor.

 

My F450 has 19.5" wheels and bed at 40" level from the factory. I had to replace one ball joint when I bought it, but 25k miles later no more problems.
So everything can be worked out, but you have to do it right.
As to loading heavy stuff effortlessly >>>> that is what winches and ramps are for.

 

"Well to give more info, I don't plan on offroading it other than camping sites. If I change the tires out, it would be to upgrade to the newer F250 King Ranch Wheels but not necessarily going to larger tires."
Starting with MY 2005 the Super Duty trucks got front coil springs, larger brakes and, to accommodate the new setup, different wheels with more offset. They will only fit on your truck using spacers to move the wheels outward, definitely not the safest way to go.