I have a 2003 f150 Screw XLT that I put a 3 inch coil spacer on about 2 years ago. As all of you know it rides like a go-kart. But I have come up with an idea and I'm curious if any of yall have thought of this and if it would work. Basically I would take a piece of threaded rod (same as threads on our shocks) and cut it to roughly an inch longer than the stud on our shocks (green in my picture). Then I would take as many nuts as necessary (to make the total length of the blue and red piece 3")(which is the height of my lift, which has been lost in extension of the shock) that fit the threads of the stud and weld them together while screwed onto the rod (in blue). Then weld both of those together so that I have the same ratio of stud to hole that is on top of my coil. Then attach it to the truck, following the shock attached to the extension to give me back my stock shock length. Would this or would this not work to solve SOME of my stiff ride problems? I do realize that my truck is lifted and will be stiffer than stock but currently it is RIDICULOUS


Please see my attachment for a diagram.

 

Hmmmmm... It sounds legitimate but I see potential for catastrophic failure if the welds break on those nuts. You'd be in a mess if that happened.

 

*correction* very catastrophic

 

What if instead of modifying the existing struts could you put aftermarket leveling struts or just aftermarket struts that give you a better ride? Not near as cheap but it would possibly get you the same result and be a lot safer.

 

That was my original goal however I'm having a hard time finding a set with an extension length of roughly 17.25" which would be 3" longer than my shocks which are 14.25" at full extension. If you know of a shock that is close to 17" extended i would be more than happy to go that route just finding them has been a pain

 

You have a bad ride because of a lack of suspension travel due to that large spacer. Therefore, the shock can't really do it's job because there isn't enough travel to dampen anything. Therefore this idea won't really help the ride quality in my opinion. Find another way to attain the lift while retaining the suspension travel.

 

while you are partially correct, my shocks are fully extednded. When I jack my truck up from the frame my wheel does not lower at all, therefore my shock is restricting movement. I guarantee you if I were to put new shocks on the front that were 3" longer at full extension my ride would be better. I do realize that the spring is compressed and will be stiffer. But at the same time I when you have zero movement of the shock it is like riding with a solid axle welded to the frame.

 

That's a whole other issue. If the shock itself is maxing out, then why not get extended length shocks? Before the shock destroys itself if it hasn't already.

 

your issue is the 3" spacer. how are your ball joint angles not maxed out? If I remember correctly and I did my math right, the angles max out around 3.5"+/- .5" meaning you have almost no down travel. and your shocks are almost fully extended, you may be able to add a couple washers on the bottom side of shock mount to the point where when you tighten the nut on top it threads on all the way thru the nut.

IMO the best option is to buy an actual lift. but wait then Ill have to buy tires..... well dont jack it up as high as you can. i.e. you have 3" coil spacer + 3.5" lift spindle=6.5" of lift. you can buy a fabtech 7.5" lift and just keep it at that. gain an inch AND all your angles would be happy.


sidenote: any 2wd guys know where to buy drop down steering pitman and idler arms?

 

if you can give me a part number that would be great, but i have been looking for extended length shocks for a while, as earlier stated lol