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Truck sits too low in front, are new springs the easy fix?
Hey all so I got my truck pretty cheap and it runs great but I don't like the way it sits. The front sits so low the you can see it's negative camber, and the back sits so high I can put my head in the wheel well. I assumed all I have to do is put new springs in the front to even it out but if I use a jack to level the vehicle you can then see it has a lot of positive camber and looks silly. I know that these trucks tend to sit higher in the back than in the front but I'd like it to sit at least a little more level.
It's hard to say from your picture, but it appears your truck is riding at factory height. These trucks from the factory sit approximately 2 inches higher in the back. Many folks have leveled their truck out using "drop shackles"
Cool! I didn't know lowering shackles were a thing but their really cheap. I just went outside and measured it and the truck is exactly 4 inches higher in the back than in the front.
Also yes! Those were the Moog 824's were what I was looking at but I did not know if there were any consequences to using springs that are not quite correct for your specific truck.
Also, I've noticed in videos that the front springs on most F150's look all binded up at the top, but my springs have large gaps; making me think that perhaps they aren't even the correct springs.
Check out that Michigan salt! :PPP and yes this is with the truck on the ground.
824's or 844's will pick the front up quite a bit. Then you will have to have your alignment set to pull the camber back to where it belongs.
Personally I didn't want to go all the way to level, I use mine as a work truck and with 7-800 lbs in the back it sits pretty close to level w/844's up front.
Had I gone to where is sat level empty, it would look like it was dragging it's tail with a load in it.
That's just what works for me.
Oh that's awesome advice! In my case I am a suburban simpleton and rarely load anything in the truck. Also I have noticed with the long wheel base trucks it does not look that weird if the back is higher, but because my truck is shorter the angle is more extreme and it looks disproportional.
The truck is rusty so it seems dumb complaining about proportions and such but these springs are so cheap! Such an easy fix.
You're looking at ~$110 to raise the front with 824/844 along with adjustable bushings (moog k80109), I set the camber caster by eye and haven't had any issues, I know it's not perfect but it gets the job done. If you wanted you can have a printout generated with the bushings set to true zero, then adjust them yourself, shops here charge half the cost of an alignment just for the printout. I wouldn't drop the back end unless you live somewhere that doesn't get snow, and in MI you probably get more than I do so I would steer clear of dropping the back unless you want issues in the winter. Also if you ever plan on putting slightly bigger tires (e.g. 31s) you will want to go up instead of down, these trucks look much better with a wider/taller tire, I don't care for the overly large but as someone else said just something that will fill out the wheel well nicely.
Alright I plan to raise the front up. I got the truck for $500 so it's a budget centered vehicle so I will get new tires only if I get a steal. I'll get the adjustable bushings and then maybe I'll do it by eye to start or put it at 0, I'll decide when I come to it.
For maximum lift up front, go with the cc824's. While they have a lower spring rate than the 844's, they will still end up being taller with the same ride as stock. I put the 824's on my truck (4wd w/5.8L) and it levelled it out perfectly. Also, if possible, buy them from Jegs.com. $67.99 shipped to my house, no tax. You'd be hard pressed to find a better suspension mod for that money.
Well there we go, moog 824's with moog adjustable bushings. Did it this weekend. Couldn't be happier. It sits slightly lower or perfectly even with the rear which is exactly what I wanted. Once it settles and I get an alignment it should be a little lower in the front which will be good when it's slightly loaded. Both springs turned out to be broken at the top. Did not need to take out the spring retainer to lean the spring out. One of the camber bushings was a bear to get out but gave me a fun challenge. Below is a picture that shows how I was able to get the 2-jaw puller to stay under the lips of the bushing. Before, I tried hammering it and and prying it without results (actually the result was a broken harbor freight prybar but it deserved it). After a few turns on the puller and some hammer taps it shot out.
I appreciate the advice. It makes this stuff much easier.
01-05-2015, 01:34 AM
Truck sits too low in front, are new springs the easy fix?
Thanks for all the help!