I'm looking to buy a 2.5" leveling kit for my 07 f-250 diesel. I'm not looking for increased off-road performance I want it simply for looks. Do I really need to buy new shocks and castor shims? I can buy a level kit without all that stuff for 60 bucks whereas the 'complete' kits are a couple hundred and for that price hell I might as well go with a full on suspension lift. Once again, I'm not looking for the all-out, 100% correct, no corners cut way of leveling my truck. I just want it done as cheap as possible while still being safe and not giving me any problems driving down the road under normal driving conditions.

 

yes you will, some companies give you cheap little spacers but id buy the longer better shocks anyways, OEM shocks suck and the aftermarket shocks will be so much better

 

I didnt put longer shocks on mine when I did my F350 rear block swap & 2.5" Skyjacker coils up front, works fine how it is. Im running Bilstein HD's all around. Truck in Sig.

 

Unbolt the bottom of one of your front shocks and let it extend out. See how far down past the lower shock mount it extends. Will you still have some travel if you take 2 1/2" away from that excess distance? That will tell you if you need new shocks, but I'll agree. If you're still running factory shocks, it's worth changing them out even if you don't do the leveling kit.

The truck will need to be aligned after a leveling kit. You can either try and adjust it yourself or pay a shop to do it.

 

Well I decided to shop around for some shocks just for the hell of it. What lengths would I need for a truck with 2.5" leveling kit?

 

Bilstein - KYB - Rancho - Monroe - Edelbrock Automotive Truck Shocks and Struts - Shockwarehouse.com

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You would need Stock Height or 0-2.5/3" of lift shocks.

 

Personally it depends on what shocks you have on the truck. My 04 King Ranch came factory with Ranchos and will still work perfectly with the leveling kit installed, so in my case i am good for now. I might change them out later on just to refresh to newer shocks.

 

skyjacker 8000 are a very good cheep shock i have em an love them. skyjacker shocks go 0 to 4in lift befor you go to a dif shock size. ranchos are the same way good luck. my factory shocks would bottom out.

 

thoses "Rancho's" are actually ford shocks painted white and slapped with a rancho sticker, beleive it or not lol

 

Well I did a search on another forum and found a guy who owns a suspension shop (I believe it was Truck Toyz Performance but don't quote me on that) and said that up to 2" of lift you can use the stock shocks, 3" and up need longer ones. Since I was looking at a 2.5" kit which is right in the middle rather than taking a chance I'll probably just go with a 2" leveling kit instead. I measured my fender wells and the rear is exactly 2 inches higher so that should work fine for me.

Now the bigger question that I've ran into is, do I need the adjustable track bar/track bar drop to center the axle? How far off will it be if I don't get one?

 

with only a 2" lift on the front, the stock track bar will probably be OK. and most suspension shops will tell you anything up to 4" doesn't "need" a drop bracket. With just an add a leaf or two to get your 2", that's all you will probably need. I lifted mine a little over 3" in the front and the adjustable track bar came out to nearly exactly the same length eye to eye as the stock. install your lift and have the alignment checked. if it is too far out of spec on tracking, then just buy an adjustable and throw it on.

 

Ok cool. Thanks for the replies everyone

 

I had to git the trac - bar it made my ride so much smother the facktory bar put it in tomuch of a bind an made it go all over the road .i would try the facktory bar befor you git the aftermarkit bar good luck with that

 

Well Robby you are absolutely correct on the shocks! Those POS Ford dealers put rancho decals and boots on el cheapo shocks! What jerk wads haha.
Well on the 2004 models you do not need to get new shocks unless yours are blown. The shock mounts stay on the top part of the spring area so nothing changes distance wise there. You only need to change them if they no longer are working.

BEFORE


AFTER

 

yup, big thanks for Ford for that one haha. my stockers didnt last long at all, at 35K miles, when I put the Bilsteins on, I could compress the stockers with one hand and they wouldnt rebound. I have 84K on my truck now and still have the Bilsteins on... World of difference.

once again... lol