GearHead84

Hey all, this was a great thread to read so I figured i'd keep it up to date with a few new pictures. Not the best photos due to different camera angles but you can clearly see the difference in the front wheel well gap. This is PRE alignment so i will update again once my 33's come in and i get them installed and aligned.


I went with the 3rd position from the bottom, which i believe is the 1.5" option. Maxing out definitely would have put me nose high.

biscuit141

So I'm going the route of removing the upper control arm but I'm having a hell of a time getting it to come out of the spindle. Any advice?

ReaperHWK

wow I wish I knew about this thread before I did mine, I figured all this out on my own.

As far as the upper control arm to steering knuckle bolt(I assume this is what your talking about, you don't need to remove the upper control arm), that was the hardest one for me as well. I tried wacking the side it didn't budge like I saw on many video's. Easiest way to do it is to get a 2 jaw puller, and use that to pull the assembly apart, crank it some and then wack the side it will come apart.

o6S1D9e

Great write up. Been searching for a few days to establish what to buy. I'm wanting a cadillac smoothe ridea after dealing with 205 miles on what's likely to be the original struts on my 05' FX4. Yeah yeah, that's a lot I know. I've had other more important and expensive issues needing attention on the truck since purchasing it with 150,500 miles.
The ridea is dangerously stiff having the washboard/ traps residual vibration nonsense taking place after going over most any bump. Really sucks when trying to turn andwhile riding over poor roads. The truck seems to slide/rapidly bounce in a forward direction instead of gripping the road and allowing me to turn.

Anyways, I'm bent on getting either loaded like a house brand , rancho quicklift asembly or buyng only the shock itself, the Bilstein 5100 and my original coil.
I'm sure the guys that owned this prior to me drove the thing hard. I've gotten new front left toe Rod end and new hub bearings. Its been in the hot texas sun in oil fields for most of its life I assume, with that, I think the bushings could need replacing too.

Should I risk doing a worthless strut replacement and layer needing to replace the coil, or simply replace it all now .. looking for a complete strut replacement, shock, coil, tophat. And I was told to get 4 cam bolts..???

Boostking

This is a great thread! Thank you for the write up. I am going to do my Bilstein's hopefully this or next weekend.

While preparing for this job, I am considering getting a decent spring compressor. I am not comfortable using the standard rental types on these springs, even if its 4 of them. So I've been considering these and wanted any feedback you guys might have about this type. Will it get the job done?

Compressor 1

Compressor 2

Any feedback or advice pertaining to those type of strut coil compressor would be very helpful and appreciated. The local shops want about $100 for me to bring my stock units to them to do the swap for me. I am pretty well mechanically inclined and would rather put that money towards a new tool .

papa tiger

2 of The threaded can do it on the same spring at Harbor Freight. It reaches their max going 2" but follow dafety first directions. The 5500 lb hydraulic would be great if doing several jobs a day. Realize the higher U lift the truck the more beef it takes to compress that "mother" of a spring an it can severely hurt you an you cant have parts flying around. A pro is the best choice if U not a pro/qualified with this job. It could ruin your day. Ur best choice might be take the coil spring/shock off an have a pro do the dis/assemblies of them an put the new back on the truck after. I cant recommend someone asking this question " to do the spring work hisself ". The stored energy in the spring is incredible.

Norotso

So for my application I am planning on changing out the rear blocks to this:


ReadyLift 66-2053 3.0 in. Block Kit



Followed by the Bilstein 5100 Series Height Adj 0-2" Front (24-239394) set @ 1.75 in the front to maintain my rake for towing...

Thoughts

Silverlx

So I did the 5100's on the highest setting. I ended up using Bucks method, far easier then dealing with that stupid UCA ball joint. F That thing. Anyways, oh and F that damn ball joint, it set me back almost 2 hours until I got lucky and was able to tighten it back up to use Bucks advice.

So I noticed after the install without the wheel on while the truck is on Jack stands, my upper control arm actually touches my spring. With the tires on and on the ground, there's aboit 1.5" to 2" clearance to the spring. Is this normal, I'm guessing MAYBE because of Bilsteins longer range of travel?

DNA Dan

Why do folks suggest removing the control arm or the knuckle? According to this video it can be done without removing either. The Ford tech in the video says he's working on a 2004. Is this not true for 2009-2014?

Chaotic29

Anyone know if aftermarket springs can be run with the 5100's? I see it is used in the 14/15+ f150s and in the toyota world. I have not found any info on the 2010-2013 f150's. Just trying to find out if i can run the 5100's with an eibach spring like the boss/halo coil overs run.