1994 Ford F350 RSK suspension lift. SHE'S DONE!!!! 9/26/13

[scooter99]

So I've been planing this for about a year. Well sort of. I bought all the gear last year and was going to have it done for me while I was having some other stuff done by 4wheelparts. Turns out the cost was not what they told me, and I was going to use their product, or the product they sell anyway, which was not a bad product. TO make a long story short, let's just say I was not happy with the way it was handled and what should've taken a week to get, ended up almost 3 months and I finally pulled the plug on it. I ended up buying a different RSK for them to install and because of some policy etc, we went round and round and that's actually when I said eff it and pulled the plug.

So at that point I was stuck with all the parts, or almost all, for the job, but no experience with it nor a shop that wanted to do it without selling off my first born.

I'm pretty mechanical, but this is something I've never done before. So after sitting on it for a year, and doing lots of research on the Ford Forums, Ford Truck Enthusiasts (FTE), and PowerStrokeNation (no that's not a porn site), I figured out for the most part how to do it. I had been putting it off for a few months and then we ended up moving and then we're busy with the new house. But quite frankly I got sick and tired of the rough ride, because I know the shocks are shot, and my kidneys were ready for a break. That combined with my wife bitching about it every time she gets in it, so I said its time. Let's do it. She agreed.

So now I've put myself under the gun, sorry guys waiting for audio updates on the civic, because we're renting a 29' travel trailer to go camping with the family the first weekend in October. SO I have essentially from now until then to get this finished.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get on with the pics. I'm probably going to edit this a bit, cause I'd like to be able to show people how to do this, tools, parts, etc, so I'm going to try and get it in some sort of order. I'll work on it as I go and clean it up here and there as well. Let's get on with it.

So far this are the tools I've needed and used:

Jack

Jack stands

4x4's to cut for cribbing (not probably the safest thing, but it works for what I'm doing and I feel comfortable crawling under it, that and they don't make 3' tall jack stands!!)

PB Blaster (or a lubricant of your choice)

Ratchet

Impact gun (you an get by without this)

Open ended wrenches.

Gloves

Grinder

Sawzall (electric or air)

and I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of other stuff. As I said, I'll edit this as I remember things.

There are a ton of parts that are involved with this.

RSK - The one I bought was from a place called Precision Metal Fabrication. They've really perfected this application. If you click on that link it will take you to the page with the RSK on it. You can see there are different sizes, ranging from 2.25" - 4.5". When I bought mine last year the 4.5 wasn't available or I'd have gotten that one. You can get it raw or powdercoated black, and as well as a bunch of options to add on to it.

Also there's a new shackle for the front rear of the spring

Comes with all the hardware you're going to need to do the flip, except the bolts for the springs themselves. You'll either need to source new ones, or use the old ones. I'm going to source some new Grade 8 bolts because I'm using Super Duty springs instead of the normal F350 springs.

Also a new drop pitman arm. You should check with PMF, or whomever you purchase your kit from, to decide if you need this or not. I'm going to be close to 4 or 5 inches of lift, so we decided to go ahead with it. This goes onto your steering box which then connects to the steering linkage.

Also for the front I purchased new stainless steel Crown brake lines. I have brand new brake lines up front already but they are OEM lines. These are much more durable, and a little longer so they should prove to be good for my application.

Now I'm doing front and rear on this project so I'm going to be running all new shocks. I got with another person connected with PMF and we decided on Bilstein 5100 series shocks. These are some of the best shocks on the market and I'm excited to see why.

As I said I'm doing both front and rear, and I'm also trading my stiff uncomfortable F350 springs for some more comfortable Super Duty springs. Both the front and rear are getting those.

No I admit, I'm not 100% sure which ones I have so I've taken pics of the codes on the springs. These are the rears

These are the fronts.

These are the rear leaf helper springs that go on top.

Blocks for the helpers

[IBleedMusick]

LIFT---------ED

[scooter99]

The rest of the stuff for the rear:

From PMF I got 5" lift blocks. These aren't going to lift it actually 5". The stock block is about 4" tall. So I'm really only adding an inch to what's there. I'm sure the SD springs will add a little bit too, but the main lift is going to be up front.

With those I got new U Bolts and hardware for those as well.

One piece I forgot for the front is the drop bracket for the track rod (panhard bar). That's the triangle piece on the bottom there.

So there are some things I've not gotten yet that I had to order this last week. Once those come in I'll get pics of them and get them up here.

1 - Adjustable Track Bar from PMF

2 - New Sway Bar Bushings for front and rear sway bar - Energy Bushings

3 - New Extended End Links for the front sway bar - Skyjacker

4 - New Extended End Links for the rear sway bar - Skyjacker

I may also have to order some new rear shackles for this project. I'm having trouble getting the old one's off the old springs. The bushings on them seem good, but if I can't get them off, then I'll need new ones fast.

I will also be needing some new Grade 8 bolts for the SD springs.

While under here, I'll also be doing the Differential fluid change, and an Oil Change, and some other stuff as well.

Ok onto the rest of the pics.

[Kyblack76]

Go get it.

[scooter99]

Here are some before shots and measurements. When I'm doing, I'll park it back in the same spot and take new measurements.

Before shot:

Front - Hub center to fender approx 24"

Rear - Hub center to fender approx 25.75"

Rear - Ground to fender approx 40"

Front - Ground to fender approx 42"

DAY 1

First things first, this has to be cleaned up. Looks like the clampets live here. I have to be able to get the front of the truck on the concrete slab. Front is more difficult to do than the rear, so I want it on the concrete for stability.

Cleaned up and in place

Rear view

[scooter99]

Now try to keep in mind that I've NEVER done anything like this before. Never even attempted to lift a vehicle. Lowered my civic, but never attempted a lift, especially on a vehicle of this size. So I'm just kind of flying by the seat of my pants and going off of a few different threads on the various websites I posted above. So by all means, if you see something that I'm not doing right, or that might be easier to do differently, then please speak up. I'm open to it. This WILL NOT be the last time I'm under this truck with the suspension. I plan on going bigger in the future.

The other issue with me never having done this before, is that I suck at taking pictures. I can get so busy concentrating on what I'm doing that I forget to grab the camera. So, to fix that I will most likely just kind of talk through it, what I've missed. I know reading sux, pictures are better. But take what you can get ok!! LOL

So I grabbed the 4x's and made my cribbing, got the truck jacked up and the wheels off.

Here's part of what's coming out. This is the package of the old springs, u bolts, blocks, and more. All of this comes out.

This is the rear shackle and perch which holds the leaf spring end to the truck.

Stock block and bumpstop wing. The new blocks don't have this wing.

Closer look at the block and the Rancho shock which will be replaced with new bilsteins.

Next I hit every bolt with some lubricating spray, I used PB Blaster but you can use whichever you desire.

So here is where i forgot to take the picture of what I was doing. So I'll explain. How I did it was first by supporting the axle with a jack. Then removed the top 4 nuts from the u bolts which are what holds it all together on the axle. After the PB Blaster sat for a bit, these came off with ease. That top plate that the nuts were holding on to, you need to keep it. That will get reused. Next up are the shackles and perches. So I started with the front shackle or perch. I loosened the bolt on that one, which I believe was a 1 1/8" socket that I used. It was a bit tough because there was some pressure from the spring on it. I tried to adjust the axle up and down and it was a bit difficult. But I got it out using the impact and reversing it out or threading it out.

After that I went to the rear shackle and tried to remove the spring from the shackle and it would not go at all. So I decided that it needed to come out anyway so I went to the lower bolt which holds the shackle to the perch.

Then I removed the shocks from their home. Bolt and nut on the bottom, and a nut on the top. The bolt on top is welded to the vehicle.

After that was done I was left with the following picture. See if you can tell what I missed. That probably would've made my job of getting the bolt out much easier since the axle wanted to come down and roll forward instead of just coming straight down. That's probably a big hint.

Here's the helper spring and oem block

Nuts bolts and crap everywhere. All of this will be replaced with new Grade 8 hardware.

[scooter99]

The old leaf springs are on the rocks. The new one, one of them, is on the sidewalk along with the new helper springs. You see the wheels there too. While I have those off, I'm going to clean them up real well and then hit them with some black plasti dip.

This is the issue. This is the old spring. On the old spring you see that bolt? SHE DOES NOT WANNA COME OFF!! This holds the shackle on the spring and then another bolt, that came off allowing me to remove this, holds the shackle on the perch attached to the frame.

Side view of the shackle. Now if I can't get these bolts to come loose, I'll be forced to buy new shackles. I don't really need new ones, cause the bushings on these look pretty good. But I must say I'd be ok with new ones. I've let them sit overnight, soaked with PB Blaster, and then soaked them again this morning before I left for work. Tonight I'll try again, but I wasn't able to get it to budge with an impact wrench and a second ratchet on the other side. So tonight I'll know and order if I need to. Gonna set me back a couple of precious days, but it'll be worth it.

Soaked again for today.

Both springs next to each other sort of. New one on the right, old one on the left. The new spring is a superduty spring, which is longer and taller. Also more stout. The shackle has to come off the old one onto the new one.

Difference between the old and new helper leafs. The one towards the top of the picture, is the old one. Shorter and a little more arch. The one right behind it is the new SuperDuty one. Little longer and less arch on it.

Old shocks, Rancho adjustable. These are shot. There should be some resistance on these if I try to push them in, and I pushed them in with little to no effort. So basically I've been riding on springs alone! It's definitely time!!

So that's pretty much it for today. Day 1 is done, which was yesterday.

Tonight I'll need to see about getting that shackle off. If not order the new ones, hopefully I can do a rush order on them. Then I'll need to get all my bolt sizes together and make a run to the store for some Grade 8 hardware.

Also I need to get the end links off the sway bar. That's what I forgot in that picture. It's also why the axle started rolling forward instead of straight down.

I'm hoping the new endlinks and bushings will be here soon. But I can do all that after the rear is put back together.

I'll be putting in some work tonight on it. I'll try to update more tomorrow. My goal is to have the rear done, with exception of any parts I may need, and use this upcoming weekend to do the whole front.

More to come! Thanks for checking it out!

[boom50cal]

Word to the wise, the factory pitman arm is a BITCH AND A HALF to get off. Be prepared to use a blowtorch, along with a pitman arm puller(which you can rent from an autozone or whatever), and a sore ass back, to get that thing off. When I had to replace the pump's lower seal in my F-250, me and my dad had to end up pulling the entire power steering box off and using a press to get the thing off...

Are you going to have any driveshaft angle issues? Or are they going to be long enough for that matter...

[scooter99]

I actually had the steering box replaced last year, one of the things I had done, and so the pitman arm is fairly new. Doesn't mean it won't be a bitch, and I appreciate the heads up too. But I'm praying that with it being fairly new, and not used much at all, that it will not be as tough as one that's been on since day one.

As far as the drive shaft angle, I discussed that with PMF cause it was a concern of mine as well, but the assured me there would be no issues. I've also researched a ton and no one that has done this on the forums have had any drive shaft issues. So I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't either.

Ok I do have a little bit of an update. Not much, and I had pictures but forgot my camera at home. Not many on there anyway, so I'll wait, cause in the next couple days there will be some updates for sure.

So here's where I'm at. I was able to get those damn shackles off the springs. They fought me the whole way, but I made them my bitch in the long run! So they're off.

Next I took loose the end links. Just as I thought as soon as I took the second one off, the whole axle rotated forward and damn near fell off the jack stands. WHEW! So I got my civic scissor jack, and put it under the knuckle of the axle and the drive shaft and raised or rotated it back up. When it rotated down it really put a bind on that knuckle joint. I don't think it ruined it, but I won't know till I get it back on the road. So I got the end links off now as well.

SO my next big dilemma was the shackles and what to do about those. I called up Ford this morning, just to see, and the new ones are $83.00!! WHAT IN THE HOLY MONKEY FUCKS!!! It's a U shaped piece of metal with a rubber bushing in it! God damn Crooks!! Anyway, it was that and have them here tomorrow for $166.00. The next option was to order them online from a reputable place, and they were cheaper for the pair that the one from Ford. These were $36.00 each, and I could also have the option for overnight shipping. The last option was to get new poly bushings and take these out and use this shackle with new bushings for about $35.00.

SO I chose the last option. I don't have a ton of money right now and instead of having my wife get pissed for spending that much, I decided a little extra work would be worth it. So those will be here no later than Thursday and my big set back, so far (fingers crossed), has been corrected.

Now to get them out. My thought is one of a few things. These do not have the metal outer sleeve on them, the bushing itself goes all the way to the shackle frame itself, and then there's a sleeve in the center for the bolt to go through. I can either burn them out, messy. I can try and have them pressed out, don't know anyone or any shops near me with a press. Or I can try and cut them out. I have some new hole saws, so I was thinking that if I had one that was bigger than the inner sleeve, but smaller than the shackle frame, I could maybe cut it out that way. I don't know it's worth a try. I'm sure if one doesn't work I'll try the other two options. I WILL SUCCEED!!! LOL

Ok that's it for now guys! Wish me luck!

[scooter99]

Ok Day 2 and Day 3 updates are in. Also a little video for reference if anyone needs it.

Day 2

Successfully removed the shackles. Dirty but in good shape. So I was able to get these off by soaking them in the PB Blaster, overnight, and then again through the day. I got an extended socket also. One of the reasons it was so difficult was because I didn't have a deep socket to get the nut side of it. The bolt was sticking out pretty far from the nut, not allowing a lot of bite with the socket. So I was able to spin the whole shackle so it held on the spring, and then break it loose with a breaker bar and a ratchet on the other side.

After getting them out and inspecting them a little more, they look to be in good shape structurally, no rust, no cracks, no breaks, nothing like that. The bushings need replacing. I have ordered some new polyurethane bushings and those should be here no later than Thursday (tomorrow now).

Right side outer bushing, cracked and needing replaced.

Left side inner side bushing cracked and needing replaced.

Left Side outer side bushing needing replaced

Right side inner side bushing needing replaced.

Day 3

Got some goodies for the build. Lenox 1 1/8" hole saw bit for the bushings, Grade 8 hardware for the reinstallation, loctite for the nuts that don't have the nyloc on them, and some lube grease for the bushings.

Skyjacker endlinks came in.

End links, bushings, metal sleeves, hardware, etc.

What I'm going to do is use the hole saw to drill out the bushing and thus removing the sleeve and the bushing to get ready for the new polyurethane bushings.

Cleaned out and ready for the new bushings. When they get here.

This is what's left of the old bushing along with the inner sleeve. Came out quite easily actually.

Both done and ready for the new bushings.

So that's the progress to current. Here's a little video of me drilling the bushings out. Still learning to edit etc, so it's still pretty raw. I got a tip from someone so I'll see about cleaning it up tonight and making it a bit shorter.

So as I said the bushings for the shackles should be here tomorrow (Thursday), and I'm also waiting on the Sway bar bushings as well. Those aren't as important as the shackle bushings. I can't get the rear back together without those.

So tonight I'll be back at it. I have new 3/4" bolts for the front leaf spring eyes. I'll have to drill out a little bit to widen the sleeve hole and also the perch hole. Not a big deal. It's a cost issue, $4.09 Grade 8 3/4" x 5" bolt from Lowes, or $20 Grade 8 proper size bolt from ford. Wasn't really a decision. So that will be done tonight.

I also need to cut out a little bit of the webbing for clearance on the SD leaf springs. So I'll get those things done tonight. Once those are done I'll be ready to start putting her back together.

If I get the new bushings tomorrow, I'll be able to put that set up all together and really get it back together quickly. If not, and it's Friday, I'll still be able to do other things and start the re installation process. So this is back on track for re install by Friday night latest. Saturday, I start the front!

Making progress. Happy with it as well!

More to come!