Yeah I think that's a good way to go, but I'd rather mess with rear geometry than front end stuff.
I wanted to remove mine, but was too scared to do so because of the pinion angle. Brand new truck, dont want to screw it up.
No matter what anyone else has done on a forum, IMO it's very important that you stay within your own personal comfort zone without any need to explain the basis for that to anyone else, so I say to you: "No Worries!"
not really peer pressure, I def want to raise the front or lower the back. I was after the easier way. Seems there is always an issue with both.No matter what anyone else has done on a forum, IMO it's very important that you stay within your own personal comfort zone without any need to explain the basis for that to anyone else, so I say to you: "No Worries!"
there's no feeling quite as bad as bowing to peer pressure and then regretting it
The torque values and sequence for the rear axle U-bolts have been stated in many posts. What I find interesting was the torque value that I found when I removed the original (Ford installed) nuts on the axle U-bolts....
That is interesting. There might be some science behind that, but I certainly don't know why. I can say that when I removed the original nuts to start the block removal, it felt like it didn't take much effort to loosen them. Definitely not the same amount of effort (111 ft/lb) that it took to tighten them. I've checked the torque on these four times since the original block removal and with the exception of the first check, where I had to retorque a tiny bit, they've stayed at 111 ft/lbs. I'll probably check once more when the temp drops considerably.The torque values and sequence for the rear axle U-bolts have been stated in many posts. What I find interesting was the torque value that I found when I removed the original (Ford installed) nuts on the axle U-bolts....
I still have the first torque wrench I ever bought back in the early 1970s - it was the "needle"style, similar to this:
A number of years later, I upgraded to a ratchet/dial type which is much more common today (and even those are considered old-fashioned when compared to the digital models), but I always kept the old-school needle torque wrench. One of the few advantages of this old style wrench is that the scale can be readily observed in either direction.
I was starting the process of removing the 4x4 rear axle blocks to lower the rear, and just out of curiosity, I used this old-school wrench. All the nuts broke loose at 60~65 ft./lbs. Considering the 111 ft/lb spec, I found this pretty interesting....
Obviously, your experience is anecdotal evidence, but to me, it leans towards supporting what I found. It leaves me at a fork in the flowchart of thinking in seeking a conclusion:
. And if it is #3, I'd love to hear from someone who can school me....I had the same experience when I took off the nuts. They came loose easily with the turn of a wrench. No way they were tightened down to 100+ lb/ft.Obviously, your experience is anecdotal evidence, but to me, it leans towards supporting what I found. It leaves me at a fork in the flowchart of thinking in seeking a conclusion:
1) The torque value that I observed when removing the nuts were actual, and they were not tightened to spec at the factory.
2) The nuts were tightened to spec at the factory, and over the 11,000 miles that I have driven the truck since taking delivery, they have loosened.
3) There is some principal of physics or mechanical engineering that can provide a rational explanation.
I'm really hoping for explanation #3, because the first two are rather unsettling, if not downright scary
I tried yesterday and gave up after spending 90 min trying to align the pins back in on the passenger side. Luckily they went back into the block w/o a problem and could get the bolts back on and torqued.
As your lowering the springs back onto the axle just grab the tire and roll it to where you need it to line up. I didn’t even have to put the truck in neutral, there was enough slop.
