i've been doing a lot of searching the past couple of days and i can't find a definite answer for my little dilemma. im completely new at this so please bear with me folks...
i was wondering if a 2.5" front level would put undue stress on the ball joints of my 2000 f150 2wd (ext cab). i've had my eye on a few leveling kits (truxx, trailmaster, daystar, some billet coil spacers i found on ebay, etc.). a mechanic i know said it wouldnt put as much stress on the ball joints as a 3" coil spacer would even if i added a 1.5" rear block...but does half an inch really make a difference? im definitely not gonna do any offroading since mine's only a 2wd, i just want bigger tires (285's) for better ground clearance for the punkass chicago winters.
im dying to pull the trigger, and i would really appreciate any help fellas

 

I haven't leveled mine mainly because I have enough weight on the rear to level it out but as you go higher, the angle of the A-arms gets steeper as well as making the front end narrower from tire to tire. The added angle places the ball joint in a situation where they are under more of vertical load than they are designed for. The 2.5" I'm guessing is within the ball joint's limits while going the extra 1/2" would either call for stronger ball joints or or longer A-arms to decrease the vertical load.

 

thanks for the reply zap...
so going 2.5" in the front AND 1" in the back would be ok since the front would only go 1.5 inches up (in relation to the back)?
i know i sound stupid but i did say im completely new to this...

 

I learned all of this from reading and a friend who has a bad habit of making his 6.6L Duramax fly. Now his 3/4 ton basically has a 1 ton suspension. I believe a either a 2" or 2.5" completely levels the factory rake up front. So in theory if you added a 1" block to the rear (in my case it would be an add-a-leaf to aid the weight to the bumper) you would then have a 2.5" that levels the truck to where there is a slight rake but not a huge one like trucks come with from the factory.

 

im still pretty stupid about this...i guess what i wanna know is, how much stress would a 2.5" front level cause to the ball joints? would it cause enough stress to warrant regular ball joint replacement?

 

It would shorten the life. But no more than a 150 lb front bumper on a stock truck would. I'm on 60K miles without a problem with my ball joints from my front bumper. People have told me it would make me replace every 30K miles or so but so far nothing.