Rear lowering shackles - prior gen fit 2021?

[Sjgft]

New member here, I’m going to remove the blocks on Monday and try the factory u bolts. I’ll keep you updated.

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[Norris McCarty]

Very interested

 

[markmad3]

I would like to know that also, I'm not a fan of all the space above the rear tire and would rather level the look that way, rather than raising the front.

Have never done this before and would not make any changes if it changes the ride and smoothness I currently have.

I have heard you can remove the rear spacer, its simple and all but does it effect the ride quality or anything?

Anyone have any experience with this??

I removed the rear spacers from my 2018 XLT and it did not change the ride quality at all. I did replace the U bolts with the shorter ones but it was not necessary. The threads on the longer ones were long enough o accommodate but it looked funny sticking down under the truck.
Drove if for 3 years like that until I traded it in for the 2021.

 

[Norris McCarty]

New member here, I’m going to remove the blocks on Monday and try the factory u bolts. I’ll keep you updated.

How did removing the blocks work on your 2021?

 

[67SS509]

Got my new custom ordered 2021 reg cab 6' bed 2wd F150 XLT this week. Got surprised that it had a single mono leaf spring with 1 very thick overload spring. It really sits high in the rear so I tried the 2020 Groundforce lowering shackles today

and they fit perfectly but only lowered the truck 1-1/4". I have looked hard at the BellTech 2020 4" flip kit and plan on trying it as soon as I can get one. Even though BellTech says they don't know if it will work I don't see any reason it won't.

 

[Alex_Bo]

I spoke with Bel Tech last week. They said 2021 lower shackles will be coming out in the beginning of June 2021.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Got my new custom ordered 2021 reg cab 6' bed 2wd F150 XLT this week. Got surprised that it had a single mono leaf spring with 1 very thick overload spring. It really sits high in the rear so I tried the 2020 Groundforce lowering shackles today

and they fit perfectly but only lowered the truck 1-1/4". I have looked hard at the BellTech 2020 4" flip kit and plan on trying it as soon as I can get one. Even though BellTech says they don't know if it will work I don't see any reason it won't.

I’d like to drop the rear of mine just a bit—no more than 2”.
I’m a bit leary of the shackle kit.
Looks like it may interfere with a bed support xmember.
I have the 8’ box, single leaf with overload.

The very first thing I looked at was the shackle upper eye location
Because—-
About thirty years ago, I dropped my 79 Chev longbed.
I did do a pretty drastic drop on it using all BellTech stuff.
(NOT bashing Bell Tech—great product that I was very pleased with)

I had to cut reliefs in the box floor supports for shackle clearance
Not something I feel good about on my new truck.

If I can get even 3/4 inch with shackles not requiring body mods, I can gain another inch by removing the block between the axle tubes and springs.

Only dropping an inch is hardly worth any effort, but 1-1/2 to 2” might be worth the effort.

 

[67SS509]

I’d like to drop the rear of mine just a bit—no more than 2”.
I’m a bit leary of the shackle kit.
Looks like it may interfere with a bed support xmember.
I have the 8’ box, single leaf with overload.

The very first thing I looked at was the shackle upper eye location
Because—-
About thirty years ago, I dropped my 79 Chev longbed.
I did do a pretty drastic drop on it using all BellTech stuff.
(NOT bashing Bell Tech—great product that I was very pleased with)

I had to cut reliefs in the box floor supports for shackle clearance
Not something I feel good about on my new truck.

If I can get even 3/4 inch with shackles not requiring body mods, I can gain another inch by removing the block between the axle tubes and springs.

Only dropping an inch is hardly worth any effort, but 1-1/2 to 2” might be worth the effort.

There is plenty of clearance with the bed cross brace on my short bed but I don't know about the long bed.

 

[AnchorChain]

I haven’t done it but saw on the 14th Gen FB page that someone did remove the rear block on a 4x4 and used the stock u bolts to tighten it all back up.

 

[67SS509]

I installed Belltech's 4" flip kit #6447 on mine today. They would not say that it would fit the 2021 but everything bolted right up with no modifications. Kit dropped it exactly 4" as advertised. Took about 4 hrs to install.

 

[mblatz]

Super cool! This kit does include different shackles, so maybe a shackle-only swap with the 15-20 kits (for a 1-2" drop) would work too... Seems promising. Nice RCSB btw, love it!

 

[Bossman]

This posted 2 weeks ago 3/5 drop on a 21

 

[2OLDtoCARE]

Don’t you just hate it when you tell you body to do something and your body turns around and TELLS you to “Piss Off”?

I just hate that—but it forces me to come up with a more suitable solution

The older I get , The faster I was !

 

[TxEcoBeast]

The dealership told me that they have to drop the gas tank to swap shackles and they charge 4 hours of shop time..... This sounds crazy to me! I would pay them 2 hours, but 4 sounds crazy. Not as crazy as them thinking that they have to do the fuel tank though!

 

[powerboost]

The dealership told me that they have to drop the gas tank to swap shackles and they charge 4 hours of shop time..... This sounds crazy to me! I would pay them 2 hours, but 4 sounds crazy. Not as crazy as them thinking that they have to do the fuel tank though!

I watched several videos about installing the Ford Performance shackle lowering kit and they all said the instructions were way beyond what is needed to be taken apart. They say that removing spare tire to give more space to work helps a lot. They support frame on stands, use jack to lift rear axle and remove tires. Then by just changing height of rear end with shackle bolts loose allows access to remove bolts and reassemble new parts. The Ford kit also has a beveled shim to add to spring pack by loosening ubolts and sliding in place to correct pinion driveshaft angle. The 4x4 block spacer can also be removed to give another 1" of drop. No gas tank removal, no cutting of any components. The experts should have it done in just over an hour. Those instructions should be rewritten to simplify what is really needed to install kit. Watch Youtube videos about installing kit.

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