2001 Mod Info

[Chris Juicein]

If you are going to the cost/time to pay someone to change-out to lowering hangers? ... and planning to upgrade? ... I might suggest you simply use the opportunity to install "sliders" in the front ... for now, at least ... and then plan on similar application in the back when the shackles "twist/tweek".

Yeah I got alot rattlin this brain of mine..The reason im thinkin Cost and Hangers together is because i got the hangers for $80.00.. already have Shackles/Coils...so IDK what time (as in HRS) it will take for a shop with a Lift to install my hangers and coils will be) I'm wating for TUCCI Hot rod to call me back here in NY with the estimate for that and my coils and camber Bolts install. I figured Labor around $500. I might be Dreamin, I have No Clue...Then Alignment $$$$$.

PS- Sliders in the front im not familur with,
lol, Again, i got alot to learn.. And why would my Shackles Twist and tweek ? Ive had the same Shackles on my Lightning for 12 yrs...

['02 H-D #677]

The lower you go? ... the more that front hangers and rear shackles deflect (especially 2"+ drop shackles). If you only plan to drive it primarily in a short/straight line? (unlike most DD's), then that is fine. Otherwise, you will realize "fishiness" in the rear with any kind of leaf/hanger/shackle suspension drop regardless of shock absorber/extender upgrade(s).

[tpr103]

just be warned if you go with the dg lower valance you cant go too low in the front. you saw the pics of my truck how low the bumper sits. i have hotchkis springs in the front with the stock isolators removed. i can barley get my foot under it.

[Harley#356]

1st off, sliders are for the rear of the leaf, NOT the front. The front needs to be a fixed point. Second, Lee sometimes over-exaggerates issues, there's zero problem with shackles. And especially since most shackles have urethane bushings, even with the longer moment arm they'll be stiffer than the shorter stock ones with rubber bushings. don't worry about a thing with shackles unless you're building a pure corner carver.

Hangers, $80 is an average price, you can pick them up dirt cheap because the install absolutely sucks! Many guys end up pulling the bed. And you can't use the excuse of hangers because they're cheap, because if you're paying $500 in labor, you could have spent half that on a set of leaf springs to lower the truck, did the work yourself (its CAKE), and pocketed the rest.

The front drop is also a walk in the park. You don't need a spring compressor or anything. I can't even stress how EASY the front end is to lower. You remove the shock (whopping 3 nuts), you remove the sway endlink (one bolt/nut), you unclip the abs wire thats clipped to the upper A-arm. You unbolt the two upper A-arm bolts, the entire assembly rotates downwards, you pick the spring out, drop the new one in, and reverse (just install the camber bolts in the upper A-arms instead of the stock bolts & shims on reassembly). I guarantee a shop will charge you at least $200 for the front alone. I'd do it for half that if you were local Heck I just did a set of rear leafs for a guy for a pizza Its THAT easy!

Save yourself the money, do the install yourself, especially if you've wrenched on bikes, you can turn a wrench on the truck. Sell the hangers, and find a set of leafs

[SR81]

Aren't the lightning front springs lower?

[Chris Juicein]

Aren't the lightning front springs lower?

Lower than a regular f150, but the same as HD..

[Chris Juicein]

1st off, sliders are for the rear of the leaf, NOT the front. The front needs to be a fixed point. Second, Lee sometimes over-exaggerates issues, there's zero problem with shackles. And especially since most shackles have urethane bushings, even with the longer moment arm they'll be stiffer than the shorter stock ones with rubber bushings. don't worry about a thing with shackles unless you're building a pure corner carver.

Hangers, $80 is an average price, you can pick them up dirt cheap because the install absolutely sucks! Many guys end up pulling the bed. And you can't use the excuse of hangers because they're cheap, because if you're paying $500 in labor, you could have spent half that on a set of leaf springs to lower the truck, did the work yourself (its CAKE), and pocketed the rest.

The front drop is also a walk in the park. You don't need a spring compressor or anything. I can't even stress how EASY the front end is to lower. You remove the shock (whopping 3 nuts), you remove the sway endlink (one bolt/nut), you unclip the abs wire thats clipped to the upper A-arm. You unbolt the two upper A-arm bolts, the entire assembly rotates downwards, you pick the spring out, drop the new one in, and reverse (just install the camber bolts in the upper A-arms instead of the stock bolts & shims on reassembly). I guarantee a shop will charge you at least $200 for the front alone. I'd do it for half that if you were local Heck I just did a set of rear leafs for a guy for a pizza Its THAT easy!

Save yourself the money, do the install yourself, especially if you've wrenched on bikes, you can turn a wrench on the truck. Sell the hangers, and find a set of leafs

Sounds like some good idea's...

Well, i might just come to NJ..All my Fam is there in the Wayne area.. Williams Paving, Stanley Paving etc.. ill bring my wife and Kids, Go to garden state mall for the day, And Pay u to do the Truck ..lol.. Sound Good, around March ??

[Black Molly]

1st this is mostly to everyone else talking about don't cut the front coils it'll make the ride too stiff, yet recommending aftermarket coils instead. Need to understand the facts first before spreading incorrect information. Cutting the stock coils properly will increase the spring rate, BUT by such a minimal amount you'll never notice it at all while driving. Also, the spring rate it does increase it to, its still WELL below any other aftermarket spring's spring rate. Saying dont cut the stock coils but get ruslow coils doesn't make any sense. The ruslow coils are the stiffest ones you can get and will rattle your brains out compared to cut stock coils.

Stock coils - Cut coils - Roush coils - Belltech coils - Hotchkis coils - Ruslow coils (general order of stiffness)

This is why i recommended CUSTOM COILS. They are made for EXACTLY what you want....not one size fits all

['02 H-D #677]

1st off, sliders are for the rear of the leaf, NOT the front. The front needs to be a fixed point. Second, Lee sometimes over-exaggerates issues, there's zero problem with shackles. And especially since most shackles have urethane bushings, even with the longer moment arm they'll be stiffer than the shorter stock ones with rubber bushings. don't worry about a thing with shackles unless you're building a pure corner carver.

Hangers, $80 is an average price, you can pick them up dirt cheap because the install absolutely sucks! Many guys end up pulling the bed. And you can't use the excuse of hangers because they're cheap, because if you're paying $500 in labor, you could have spent half that on a set of leaf springs to lower the truck, did the work yourself (its CAKE), and pocketed the rest.

The front drop is also a walk in the park. You don't need a spring compressor or anything. I can't even stress how EASY the front end is to lower. You remove the shock (whopping 3 nuts), you remove the sway endlink (one bolt/nut), you unclip the abs wire thats clipped to the upper A-arm. You unbolt the two upper A-arm bolts, the entire assembly rotates downwards, you pick the spring out, drop the new one in, and reverse (just install the camber bolts in the upper A-arms instead of the stock bolts & shims on reassembly). I guarantee a shop will charge you at least $200 for the front alone. I'd do it for half that if you were local Heck I just did a set of rear leafs for a guy for a pizza Its THAT easy!

Save yourself the money, do the install yourself, especially if you've wrenched on bikes, you can turn a wrench on the truck. Sell the hangers, and find a set of leafs

Sorry, Josh. You have never installed them and do not know what you are talking about. I am in the process of installing them on my truck.

[Harley#356]

Sounds like some good idea's...

Well, i might just come to NJ..All my Fam is there in the Wayne area.. Williams Paving, Stanley Paving etc.. ill bring my wife and Kids, Go to garden state mall for the day, And Pay u to do the Truck ..lol.. Sound Good, around March ??

Paving?!?! Dude I need my driveway expanded and paved, I'll do your suspension work for free AND whatever other work on your truck for a deal on some paving LoL!

This is why i recommended CUSTOM COILS. They are made for EXACTLY what you want....not one size fits all

You'll probably end up paying more for custom coils than available aftermarket ones, along with needing to know all the exact specs you want since doubtful any shops will have it on hand. Not to mention by lowering via cutting the coils its a negligable difference in ride quality, and if you're THAT concerned about the slight un-noticible difference then spindles are the way to go. More than likely many want to firm up the ride a little for better handling and any of the many available coils on the market pretty much fill whatever range you're looking for.

Sorry, Josh. You have never installed them and do not know what you are talking about. I am in the process of installing them on my truck.

No I've never installed them, yet never heard of anyone installing sliders in place of HANGERS. I've seen a number of people installing sliders in place of shackles, but not hangers. Sure you didn't OD on your meds again Lee?

[Chris Juicein]

Save yourself the money, do the install yourself, especially if you've wrenched on bikes, you can turn a wrench on the truck. Sell the hangers, and find a set of leafs[/QUOTE]

OK, Well if Leafs are the way to go..Then I'll start researching that.. Remember i have 2" SHACKLES AND only want 2 more inches...So now Ill start OVER and see if i Get 4" from leafs alone, or if i keep the shackles and grab the rest from leafs...So if u have a Link Boys post it, Ill check the forum in the mean time.... And Here i go with my Favorite Question AGAIN...If i do leafs , will I Then have to change the DS angle...lol...Like i said, Ive Twisted my lightning off 2 times In the FRONT not the CV, Once hittin a HUGE Bump, and Once Beatin on it..So IDK WHY,when, where to change that, because the Suspention shop that did my Lightning Obviously didnt do it correct..

[Chris Juicein]

Save yourself the money, do the install yourself, especially if you've wrenched on bikes, you can turn a wrench on the truck. Sell the hangers, and find a set of leafs

OK, Well if Leafs are the way to go..Then I'll start researching that.. Remember i have 2" SHACKLES AND only want 2 more inches...So now Ill start OVER and see if i Get 4" from leafs alone, or if i keep the shackles and grab the rest from leafs...So if u have a Link Boys post it, Ill check the forum in the mean time.... And Here i go with my Favorite Question AGAIN...If i do leafs , will I Then have to change the DS angle...lol...Like i said, Ive Twisted my lightning off 2 times In the FRONT not the CV, Once hittin a HUGE Bump, and Once Beatin on it..So IDK WHY,when, where to change that, because the Suspention shop that did my Lightning Obviously didnt do it correct..[/QUOTE]

Josh i see ur thread from a while back about a 2/4 drop..shackles and Leafs outback...But another thread says Belltech Leafs give you 4" alone ?????

[Harley#356]

this is for a 00-02, on a 03 its slightly different since they sit 1" higher in the rear from their leafs....

belltech leafs will get you 3" of drop. But they also ride stiff! Hotchkis leafs will get you 2.5" of drop and ride firmer than stock, but not as harsh as belltech.

THen you can use the shackle to dial in whatever remaining amount of drop you need. Belltech leafs + the shackle on the 1" setting will put you where you want to be. Hotchkis leafs + shackle on the 2" setting will get you where you want to be. As for the driveline, its not a terribly huge concern. The leafs shouldn't change the angle of the rear as its only raising the point where the axle sits under the truck. The shackles change the angle because it only raises the rear of the leaf pack rotating the front of the rear downwards. Hangers rotate the front o fthe rear upwards again. Simple enough. If your truck has factory shims, you can rotate them to get it pretty much back in spec. If your truck has no shims at all, usually not a concern.

So how about you order up some springs, shackles, and shocks, and while I'm helping you install them in my garage your family can do some paving at my house LOL!

[Chris Juicein]

this is for a 00-02, on a 03 its slightly different since they sit 1" higher in the rear from their leafs....

belltech leafs will get you 3" of drop. But they also ride stiff! Hotchkis leafs will get you 2.5" of drop and ride firmer than stock, but not as harsh as belltech.

THen you can use the shackle to dial in whatever remaining amount of drop you need. Belltech leafs + the shackle on the 1" setting will put you where you want to be. Hotchkis leafs + shackle on the 2" setting will get you where you want to be. As for the driveline, its not a terribly huge concern. The leafs shouldn't change the angle of the rear as its only raising the point where the axle sits under the truck. The shackles change the angle because it only raises the rear of the leaf pack rotating the front of the rear downwards. Hangers rotate the front o fthe rear upwards again. Simple enough. If your truck has factory shims, you can rotate them to get it pretty much back in spec. If your truck has no shims at all, usually not a concern.

So how about you order up some springs, shackles, and shocks, and while I'm helping you install them in my garage your family can do some paving at my house LOL!

HAHAHA......Well I dont think you could of Put this any Simpler !!
Ok, i looked last night at the belltechs from a couple Distributers..i saw them anywhere from $168 Each.. to sold in a Pair for about $350..So i guess im going to be around the same Price range as hangers + Labor..unless i find some Used leafs, Or someone Knows of cheaper Distributers...and I'll look at the "HOW TO" forum and see if i cant Learn to do some of this..i have Jack stands and a SHOP jack...so maybe Ill have some fun and start turnin a wrench...

I also saw somw Pics at one Point on here about Cutting Coils, So Im gonna check that out and see If a metal cutting Blade on one of my Saws can do that..I read HEAT is not good....

[03_HD_F150SC]

I have a PDF on installing a Roush lowering kit. It has excellent pics and very good "How To" instructions for installing lowering springs, leafs, shocks and a camber kit for upper control arms. It exceeds the forums size limits, so I can't attach it to this post. If you PM me your email address I'll send it via regular email.

Edit: Was able to find a link to the HOW TO ROUSH Install Lowering Kit - Step by Step - 06 MARCH 2003 Cliff ... So anyone can download their own copy, if they desire.