Redthies' '97 F350 Thread

[redthies]

It has arrived! I got a Fed-Ex package today from Shiryas with the Sky kit in it:elkgrin: I ordered 5100s as well today. The Bilstein distributor is only an hour away, so they should be here by weeks end. I have bushings in the shed, and for the rear I decided to just go with replacing the stock 3" blocks with some 4" superduty factory blocks. This will let me keep the stock springs and my air bags. I sit 4"s lower in the front vs the back right now, so the end result should be 2"s taller in the rear.

For some reason the wife said to me tonight "why don't you just order some new tires for it now?". You don't have to tell me twice. I found Toyo MTs locally for $20 more than the Hankooks, but they will mount and balance for free, which makes them the same price. I also found a killer deal on a rebuild kit for the 8274 winch I just got for free.

It all seems to be coming together... Kinda makes me nervous when it seems too easy!

 

[Redline]

I know everyone is against 'blocks', however they are used by many OEMs and if they are not too tall seems like an okay way to get 'a little' added height and not loose spring rate/capacity. I like a little rake too, my 'not lifted' F350 with heavy front bumper doesn't have a problem with rake.

Very interested to hear how your front shackle mods go.

 

[redthies]

I will take some pics during the install this time. My 4" blocks showed up today, and I learned something, (I try to learn at least one thing each day). Today's lesson? 97 F350s COME with 4" blocks... Stay tuned for plan C!

 

[Redline]

I will take some pics during the install this time. My 4" blocks showed up today, and I learned something, (I try to learn at least one thing each day). Today's lesson? 97 F350s COME with 4" blocks... Stay tuned for plan C!

Darn. But you are helping jog my old memory... I think Pre-99 F250s came with shorter, 3-inch (or so) blocks, as they were a bit lower overall. No that that helps you at all.

Waiting to hear about "C".

 

[Shiryas]

Leafs

Redthies,

I'll be a huckleberry, I always thought the blocks on our trucks were 3" also. The tape measure says otherwise, 4 1/4".

I know you are trying to keep this on a budget, but you also do not want to do it twice or be unhappy with it. My suggestion would be to call Cary Towery. He runs a small independent shop called CT Performance and knows just about everything with regards to the OBS trucks and all the different swaps that will work on them. A lot of RSK's with Sky, he works real close with them so he will know. His website only has a couple of pictures but he posts on some of the popular diesel forums frequently. I have tied up a fair bit of the mans time just in advice, he has always been courteous. Prices are reasonable too, he prefers checks to keep the cc fee's down and usually quotes with shipping. (I have no association with him, just good experience)

http://www.ctperformanceinc.com/index.html

My gut instinct is to go with a newer set of SD springs. The only thing you will need to do is drill out the shackle and front perch for a slightly larger bolt, Ford's OEM metric ones are expensive, most guys end up going with a grade 8. If you really want to bling them out, you could get a local machine shop to drill them for zerc fittings. Here is a link to some basic SD spring part numbers.

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/99...294-spring-code-part-numbers.html#post2182522

A lot of guys like "B" codes for the rear, but . . . they do not have a camper like you will.

I hate hiccups, but thats part of a project. I am also having some right now with my parts accumulation.

Cheers, Chris

 

[redthies]

I agree budget is nice, but so is doing it right the first time. I am going to call the local spring shop and see what they will charge to put an extra leaf in my spring packs. I already have longer u-bolts bought from them, so it shouldn't be too bad. They likely won't have to take the whole spring pack out either. I am going to do the front part of the job first and just level with my airbags till I decide what to do in the rear.

 

[redthies]

Well, it's been a busy few weeks, but things have taken shape. I made up a quick "warmish air intake" out of exhaust pipe and a K&N cone filter. Not my first choice, but much better than the p/os factory airbox that was blown up with ether... I have the shackle reversal in, with Bilstein 5100s, I put Toyo MTs in 315/75-R16 flavour on, and spent way too long reshaping a bent Warn winch bumper made for a mid 90s Suburban fit the big Ford. The bumper was free and came with an 8274 winch, so a few hours here and there seems a small price to pay. Now, to the pics. Feel free to ooooh and ahhhh, or what ever:sombrero:.

 

[redthies]

More pics of the install, and some with the massaged bumper and new Toyos.

Thanks to Chris (Shiryas) for the great deal on the Sky kit. and my Ford diesel tech friend Robin for his help with the install!

 

[Shiryas]

Ooooohhhh, Ahhhhh, Looks great Redthies.

Just ordered 315 Toyo MT's today for my truck as well. The swap will happen in August if all goes as planned, will keep you posted.

Chris

 

[Rot Box]

Dang thats lookin great! :drool:

 

[bftank]

ride report?

looks awesome!

 

[redthies]

ride report?

It is far smoother than the stock set up. If you looked at the pics of the stock shackle and it's "bushing", you can see where the improvements start! This time I used some bent up Ski-Doo A-arms from the scrap bin at one of my jobs to make some sway bar link extensions. I just left the front sway bar out when I put this kit in my 460 powered rig, but the extra weight of the diesel made the handling almost scary without the sway bar.
The Bilsteins are great, but the fronts may be a tiny bit soft? Time will tell. On the shock install, the fronts were super easy to install, while the rears were so strong that when I snipped the retainer after bolting in the top, they almost pinned me to the creeper! I just about blew a gasket trying to push them into place to get the lower bolt through!
I think the biggest improvement came from the Toyos. My bud who owns the snowmobile and ATV tour company that I drive cat etc for put them on his Tundra last fall and said he hated them so much he would never buy them again or recommend them. 6 months later he says "wow, best tire I've ever owned! I should have BALANCED them a long time ago...". What a numbskull! I am amazed by how smooth and quiet they ride. Almost zero weight to balance too.
All in, I think the truck drives better than new now. There was a fair bit of time and cash thrown at it recently, which really shows. I prefer driving it to my wife's new lifted 4 door Rubicon.

 

[bftank]

good to hear. your shackles bushings look like mine do.

hmm,

i do have my 60 apart for seals and balljoints, maybe i should bite the bullet and fab up my shackle reversal.

 

[redthies]

good to hear. your shackles bushings look like mine do.

hmm,

i do have my 60 apart for seals and balljoints, maybe i should bite the bullet and fab up my shackle reversal.

I would say no better time than the present!

 

[Mountainhound]

Funny I just got my 255/85/16 toyos on my cruiser and also love them, but I must have got a bad batch because in all the reviews and like you they all say take like no weight to balance. Well mine took plenty of weight. They did zero though, just took some weight. Oh looking good by the way loving it.