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2008 Ford F-250 Mild lift project with Nor Cal Truck
I started by getting a hold of Nick at NorCal Truck. We discussed what I wanted and what I still needed to do be able to do with my truck. Thanks to the experience and knowledge they have at NorCal Truck, that led us to settle our decision on a mild lift kit. This stock 2008 F-250 will get fitted with the Readylift SST Hybrid 2.5” leveling lift kit and 4 new Bilstein 5100 series shocks.
Here is the basic truck we started with. As you can see, the stock wheel well height is 40.75” in the front and 41.25” in the rear.
The Readylift kit provides 2.5” of lift in the front and a 2.0” block in the rear and doesn’t make use of the stock block, forcing you to stack blocks. A new replacement block is always the best route when lifting a truck. I got started with the lift right away, jacking up the front end of the truck onto a set of jack stands and then placing two hydraulic jacks under the front axle. The first step is to remove only the lower shock mount on each front shock, but since I’m replacing them, I removed the entire shock.
Notice the 13mm bolt holding the brake line to the frame.
There isn’t a captive nut on the back of the shock mount.
After removing the 30mm bolt for the Upper track bar and the 18mm bolts for the sway bar, I moved on to step 4 and began lowering the axle with the hydraulic jacks. Note that the instructions say 19mm, 21mm. They are in fact 18mm. I noticed that over 3/4 of the instructions specify a size consistantly 1mm larger than actual. Keep this in mind when doing this lift yourself. I quickly noticed that there are a couple things to do before you lower the axle. These steps are not in the instructions but definately will prevent you from damaging brake lines and/or abs cables. The brake lines will get extremely tight if you don’t remove the bracket from the spindle. It’s fixed with a 10mm bolt. Simple remove that bolt and you’ll get plenty of slack in the brake lines. Also notice the ABS wire. If you don’t take your time and look around as you begin to lower your axle you’ll definitely damage the plug or brake the line. Simply unsnap the plug for the wire (there is one on each side) and now you can lower your axle as much as you like to get the stock springs outs.
Now stack the spring, spacer, and polyurethane bushing together and place them back on the truck. I also installed the new Bilstein front shock into the top mount at this point as well. Step 5 has you install the lower shock mount extension. Do not use these extensions if you are replacing your shocks like I am. Only use these if you are going to keep the stock shocks.
Next is the replacement of the Track Bar Bracket. This is by far one of the most difficult aspects of this install. It’s very difficult to fit any air tools up into the front end to gain access to the three 21mm nuts so I used a regular ½” ratchet and socket. The two 19mm bolts were manageable with air tools. After removing the old bracket, I placed the new bracket in it’s place and threaded the nuts on but I noticed there was a little slop in the bracket so I decided to keep it loose until I got the 30mm bolt installed again. This took some finesse, lifting and lowering each end of the axle until I finally got the track bar aligned with the bracket and I could fit the bolt. Specs for this bolt are 408lb/ft.
Next, Step 8. The front bump stops are a very simple procedure. They simply snap right out of their hangers and the 10mm bolt is right under the stop. Remove the bolt, install spacer and snap the bumpstop back into the hanger.
Fix the brake lines, plug in the ABS cables, and torque all bolts and nuts you removed and that’s it for the front end! Let’s move on to the rear. The kits comes with a carrier bearing spacer. This is a straight forward install and the instructions are very simple to follow. The blocks for the rear axles are also very simple but it takes a little finesse also to get the spring tab to line up perfectly with the block. Doing this myself it took some time, jacking the truck up and down until I finally got the block at the right angle and the springs fell right into the block perfectly. Finally, replace the U-bolts with the bolts supplied with the Readylift kit. I found they were far too long. So long that my 24mm deep socket would bottom out before I could properly torque them down. I had to take the bolt to my bench and cut 1.25” off each bolt so I could comfortably get on each nut and torque them as specified.
Finally, torque down the 24mm U-bolt nuts and your lift kit is installed and complete! Let’s stand back and take a look at it. Not too bad! The front measures 43.25”, yup 2.5” lift. The rear is also 43.25”.
Finally, the last thing you'll need to do is park your truck with the front wheels straight. You'll notice that the steering wheel is rotated 90 degrees clockwise. Simple loosen the 15mm clamp nuts on your drag link up front, remove the 13mm lock and unthread the drag link. I had to unthread it 3 full turns to get my steering wheel straight again.
It definitely looks better, noticeably taller but those stock tires just don’t look right. They actually fit well, it doesn’t look abnormal with the stock 34” tall tires but it still needs something. The stock 20” wheels are nice polished aluminum, so I am running them for now to keep the budget down on this project. I can see a set of 20x9 BMF S.O.T.A. wheels in the near future.
Thanks Nick! If anyone wants to get in touch with Nick or order a similar lift for their truck you can reach them at the following:
www.norcaltruck.com
925-447-7800
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