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One thing I would recommend, is make sure you have a really good spring compressor if doing this yourself. Those rented compressors suck and are dangerous with the amount of tension these springs are under.
I bought a floor hydraulic spring press. Worked so well and was safe.
I think the main things...disconnecting the battery and to be careful with the IWE's have already been covered. Good choice on going front and rears with the shocks so you can have a matched ride. I'm getting close to putting almost 30K miles on my 5100's front and rear and I love them. Front's set at the 2nd notch from the top so I gained almost 1.5 inches in the front. I'm running P rated Toyo's so the ride is close to stock but the truck being firmed up at all 4 corners handles better. Can't wait to see some pics of your truck when it's finished!
Side view of my truck with the fronts at 1-1/2 inches.
I just finished installing my shocks. I'm very particular about details. I made certain the clocking of the springs, and the seats/isolator were the same orientation as the factory. Trying to avoid any chance of pops, creeks, or odd noises.
I had an issue with getting the sway bar endlinks tight upon reinstallation. Loosening only the bottom nut and attempting to reinstall netted me a clanking noise. Ended up loosening the top nut, securing the bottom nut, then tightening the top.
I went the extra step and put in the eccentric plates/nuts on the lower control arms. This will help the technician get the alignment back to specification easier.
The plates or shims locate the eccentric (non-centered) washer/nut combination with varied orientation so to change the camber and caster specifications. Many here on the board have used them. They're also used on many suspension performance applications.
These are not required. The alignment tech will be able to align it without. These simply make the process easier, and supply more precision when dialing caster and camber.
Where did you get the replacement lug nuts? Are they better quality?
[/U]QUOTE=Jabulani Jonny;5177163]Hey all,
First time poster. I'm the proud owner of a Blue Flame 2013 F150 XTR 4WD and I absolutely love it. Have had it about 18 months now and am just getting around to leveling it and putting on new tires. I ordered the Bilstein 5100 front adjustable shocks and the rear shocks as well. I also ordered a set of Falken AT3W tires 275/70/R18. This forum was a huge help in determining what direction I wanted to go for tires & leveling kit. Not mention that I've got a set of replacement chrome lugnuts on the way to swap out the crappy capped OEM versions. I've already been stranded once due to those things.
So I'm getting ready to have the Bilsteins installed and I wanted to ask what precautions I should pass along to the shop. It's a reputable shop and they have done numerous leveling kits on F150's, but just want to make sure to jog their memory.
So, I've read that they should disconnect the battery. Anything else they need to be aware of now to screw up the IWE?
Thanks in advance!
Next up...installing puddle lights, LED bedlights and fog lights!
02-17-2017, 10:07 AM
