I installed a 2" leveling spacer on top of the OEM front shocks, and 34" tires (on a 2015 F-150) and there was no rubbing. I added 1.5" spacers all around and now the tires rub a little on the front crash bars when steering wheel is fully turned. I read that the two crash bar bolts can be loosened and there will be a little play to move the crash bars enough to stop the rubbing. When I went to undo the bolts I realized that each bolt head has two tack welds securing it to the bottom of the crash bar. Is this normal? I like the new stance and want to keep the spacers. What are my options?

EDIT - Just realized the bolts undo from the top.

 

Loosened the bolts, pushed the crash bars forward and re tightened. Wasn't quite enough. Took a stubby sledge hammer and hit the crash bar to bend it. There was no room for a proper swing so had to hit it many times and eventually my forearm gave out. But I got the wheel to clear. So far so quiet on level surfaces. Don't know about inclines.

I'd like to bend the crash bar some more to be safe, and I'm wondering if there's a power tool that will do it? Eventually will paint the deformed area.

Bent crash bar.



Wheel clearance at tightest point.

 

I found this picture on the forum perhaps it would help....

 

 

To switch them the bumper has to be taken off.

 

The same thing happened to me when I installed spacers too. The potra power hydraulic spreader will work to spread them open a little more. One of those wasn't available when I did mine so I used a hydraulic bottle jack turned horizontal and a 2x4 cut to length. It got the job done.

 

 

What name brand spacers did you install and with the 1.5 spacer did you have to cut the factory studs down?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F150-Raptor-Expedition-1-5-Black-Hub-Centric-Wheel-Spacers-2015-2017-Model/282129981831?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid =p2057872.m2749.l2649
I have factory wheels so there are spaces on the back face of the wheel in between the lug nut holes for the original studs to protrude into. That said it looked like in the front wheels the studs didn't protrude past the face of the spacer, but in the back wheels they did a little. I'm going to have to modify or get a different spare wheel as I don't want to trim the bolts and already have a spare KO2 275/65/20 tire.
Does the bottle jack do the job as good as the spreader? The jack is easier to find locally.
Was it difficult to find a support point that has a clear line of sight to the front crash bar?
How do you control which part the jack is actually bending? I mean if it's resting against the rear crash bar it could be bending it instead of the front crash bar.

See this video about removing the bumper, starts at 2:36.

 

The spreader is easier if you're doing it alone. With the jack you will need an extra pair of hands. It is a little tricky to control which one moves more. I needed the front to move more so I placed the jack against the socket of the rear and put something in the slot on the front to prevent the 2x4 from sliding off.