The big talk lately for some of us is getting rid of our crappy air bag setups to go with something better. I unfortunately was like Sous and ordered the Air Lift setup that was recommended for my 5th wheel mount. And like Sous, I always thought the lower mounting setup was garbage. One of my lower mounts started to twist just like Sous (and I don't even tow at the frequency that Sous does). So I was searching for alternatives. In doing so, I found this PMF setup after reading about people adding traction bars. The PMF kit is a lift block with optional air bag tang mount and incorporated traction bar mount. The whole setup isn't cheap, but still cheaper by a fair amount compared to some other brands that were just traction bars. So I decided to pull the trigger. Since I've been down sizing tires, etc. on my truck to try and make it more tow efficient I ordered 2.5" blocks to downsize from the oem F350 blocks which are about 3.5" that I installed on my truck when I did a front leveling kit. By measurements this should put me about level. Depending on how it ends up sitting, I'm even debating on down sizing the leveling kit up front (I'm undoing everything I did in the past....). Guess I'm getting old..... My "plan" was to keep my bag upper mounts and use these PMF's as my lower mounts. Crossing my fingers it all works out.

Anyways, I received my PMF kit the other day. Came in 4, well packaged boxes. I started piecing things together with the hardware just to make sense of things. Everything is very stout and heavy. So far I'm impressed, but I haven't started the install yet. I snapped some pictures of some of it (haven't taken pictures of the bars yet, but they are beefy). I will update as I progress with this project.

Here is a link to their website and setup..... https://www.pmfsuspension.com/1999-1...-Kit_p_21.html

 

The PMF kit appears to be well built Shane. If you need any of the parts from my take off kit since you are retaining a portion of it, don't hesitate to ask and I will get them out to you.

We look forward to your progress reports and I will say congratulations now as I am sure you are already glad to be rid of the old kit.

 

PMF parts have been holding the axles under my excursion for a good while now. When I did the axle swap I used all PMF. Top-notch stuff for sure. I'm not running bags, but I did the traction bars and stock height fabricated blocks to adjust the pinion angle.
The hardest part is getting the top plate between the springs & axle. It's a straightforward bolt together once the U-bolts are in and it's back on the ground.

 

I installed the PMF Lift Block portion today. I wasn't planning on installing the air bag tangs today, but I learned during the installation process that the bolts that mount the air bag tang will not be accessible to install once the u-bolts are installed (you would have some room to try and maneuver them, but you would not have clearance to install them). Fortunately I figured this out before installing the u-bolts. So I installed the air bag platforms with regular nuts for now so I could hold the bolts in place, but be able to adjust them later (save the included grade 8 nylock nuts for final install). The platform looks like it should work fine with the existing setup. I still need to figure out if I'm going to have room for the Daystars or go back to the hard mount. Setup will come another day. The only downside I encountered is the brake lines had to be unbolted from their mount on the rear of the axle. There are holes in the back of the PMF block where they might be able to be relocated, but I need to double check. I have new PMF steel braided brake lines to install. Will likely address then. Still more to come....

 

Based on what you have provided in the way of description and pictures, that looks like a far superior method of holding the bags in place at the lower bracket.

 

This is great timing. I've been looking at the PMF traction bars for a while. Now it's between the bolt or weld on. Plus all the recent chatter about airbags and the cups works out too as I purchased the Daystars months ago but haven't been able to install them yet.

 

There are air bag support brackets that are also included in the kit (you can see some pictures of them in the first post). They bolt in, and the bottom piece just sits on the axle (but you have to drill holes in the upper bracket to accomodate the height). I haven't installed these yet since I'm still in the setup process.

 

Traction bars and heavy loads: Where are the sway bar links in relation to the traction bars?

 

I do not have a rear sway bar. Guess that may be one other item I may need to consider adding....

Sous, you have sway bars on your truck (not sure which ones, Hellwig?). Anyways, looking at my new mounts, do you see any installation or interference issues of having sway bars?

 

I installed a Hellwig rear sway bar in the OEM location. It fit well and plays nice with the traction bars.

There is always a part that didn't play well with others in the bunch and that was the Air Lift lower bag mounts.

The Hellwig provided a much more firm and planted feeling in addition to the traction bars, but in a different way that it was designed for.

I have some pictures on here somewhere of the Hellwig compared to the OEM sway bar.

 

Here are some comparison pictures between the OEM sway bar and the Hellwig sway bar.









Image source = https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16173641

 

One step closer. I installed the Daystar cradles to the air bag support bracket. My air bags are slightly distorted from use (and crappy setup) over the years. So I tried adjusting the upper brackets and cradle positions to accomodate the current setup. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'm not completely done with the install. There are support brackets that rest over the axle and bolt to the air bag support bracket. Probably not needed, but I'll look at possibly installing at a later date. It is starting to get to the point here where it is too cold to want to work on stuff. Some pictures posted below of the bags (some without air in them and some with). I know it is a million times better than the original setup.

 

Looking good Shane.

It is obvious you are just as happy as I am to rid the truck of the old kit.

 

I would tell people that haven't already done air bags to go with the setup Sous recently updated to that install over the leaf springs. Looks like a very nice setup. Reason I went with what I did is I already had the AirLift air bag setup (the crappy one). Figured I could salvage the upper portion of that setup and the bags and install it with the PMF mounts (since I was already going PMF traction bars). Since I was already going PMF traction bars, it was only an additional $75 to add the air bag tang option. So seemed the most cost effective scenario in my case vs buying a whole new air bag kit.

 

I finally completed my PMF traction bar installation along with my Racor H/H mod (and mostly done with my auxiliary fuel tank install). I tackled all at once because all required me to drop my fuel tank. So wanted that to be a one and done thing. I will get pictures up when I can.

I lowered the rear of my truck from the F350 blocks I installed years ago which has me sitting level at the moment with my front leveling kit. I've tossed around the idea of removing my leveling kit or just cutting my leveling kit in half to get back a little bit of rake. But this brings me to a question regarding the traction bar installation. When you install them, you have the truck unloaded and flat on the ground. If I lower the front an inch or two, does that change the geometry of the traction bar installation in the rear causing it to be out of "proper" alignment? Or minimal at best and no real negative effects?