My wife, Tani, decided it was time to make her truck look better.
After installing new 22” Raceline Surge wheels with 285/35-22 tires the truck had too much fender gap for our taste. We decided a conservative drop would make the truck look much better.
After lots of research, we decided to use a kit from MaxTrac suspension.
We went with the MaxTrac 2”/4” 2WD lowering kit that included new spindles for the front and shocks for the rear. Part# K333224. I chose the kit with new spindles because they lower the truck without affecting the travel of the suspension. The factory spring and shock is not touched so you retain factory ride other than a change in height. Installing the new spindles results in a 2” drop for the front. The instructions that come with a kit are good but below are the general steps of the job.
The Front Process:
Jack up front of vehicle and put jack stands under the frame.
Remove front wheels. I alway recommend finishing one side completely before moving to the other side in case you need to see how it looked originally as a reference.
Remove the brake caliper which is only 2 bolts, steering ball joint (1 nut) and then unbolt center bearing assembly from the backside of the spindle (4 bolts).
Remove the top and bottom spindles bolts. A couple of smacks with a dead blow hammer separates the ball joints. Be careful not to hit the threads or you will have a real mess on your hands.
Now just put it all back together using the new MaxTrac spindles.
Repeat on other side. Re-install the wheels/tires and you are done.
A note: In hindsight of doing this job, I would highly recommend lengthening the steering tie rods a little as the new spindles will cause massive toe-out until you can get it professionally aligned.
The rear kit is known as an axle flip kit. This means you are moving the entire axle from below the leaf springs to over the top of them. This usually results in a 5” drop so the kit includes new rear shackles to add 1” back in for a total of 4” drop.
This has been the popular way to lower trucks for decades.
The rear was quite a bit more work and way easier with a helper due to the weight of the springs and trying to position the axle once it’s disconnected.
The Rear Process:
Jack up the rear of the truck and support the frame with jack stands.
Now use your floor jack to support rear axle by lifting slightly from the center pumpkin.
Do one side at a time.
I started with the driver’s side.
Start by removing the rear shock then removing the four nuts on the U-bolts holding the axle to the spring.
The directions recommend lowering the fuel tank to remove the front leaf spring bolt. This is because it is captured between the frame and the fuel tank.
I started to lower the fuel tank but found it was a real pain. Instead I just pushed the bolt out as far as I could then cut the head off with a hacksaw. Then you can knock the bolt out the side. The kit comes with new bolts anyway. Also, you will probably need a deep 22mm socket for those bolts. Make sure you have that before you start!
Next you can remove the rear shackle/bolt so the entire leaf spring can come out.
Remove the factory bump stop from the frame and replace with the unit from the kit.
Remove the leaf spring and reinstall under the axle with new U-bolts and axle locator from the kit . You will use a new shackle in the front of the leaf spring that comes with the kit. Now you can also install your new shocks.
Now repeat all the steps on the other side. You either have to lower the exhaust or cut the front spring bolt like on the driver’s side.
All remaining steps are the same. It helps to have someone operating the floor jack while you position the leaf springs to get everything lined up.
Double check you tightened everything good and you are done.
Re-install your rear wheels and lower the truck off the jack stands.
Go get an alignment!
Overall this project took me about 6 hours. The front was done in less than 2 but the rear took a while longer and included a run to the store for that 22mm deep socket I needed.
We are very happy with the results of the lowering kit from MaxTrac. The truck looks great and still rides really close to factory. (The smaller tires affected the ride worse than the lowering kit) The rear shocks are a little stiff but most people say they soften up a little with some mileage.
Edit: After driving the truck for a month or so, we decided that the MaxTrac shocks were just too stiff for our desired ride. I was able to swap them out for a set of KYB KG54230. These are originally designed for the Expedition and were the perfect length to replace the MaxTrac shocks.
The ride was much improved. I would recommend these shocks if you have done an axle flip on your F-150.
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