Due to its style, comfort, performance, and abundance of available aftermarket accessories, the Ford F-150 has always been a popular choice among pickup owners. Ford truck enthusiasts know this truck inside and out and have always had a very personal relationship with their vehicles. It is their reliable daily driver and their play-time vehicle as well. In 1997, after decades of twin I-beam suspension, the F-150 4x4 transitioned into A-arm and torsion-bar front suspension. The rear suspension design remained the same with a solid axle and leaf spring on top of it. This particular body style ran all the way until 2003 and included the '04 Heritage.
Now that the front was together, the back needed to be finished. Rick's unbolted the U-bolts and dropped the rear axle away from the leaf springs and removed the factory leaf springs. | 
Skyjacker also provides a new skidplate. Some bolts fit into existing holes, but three holes have to be drilled in the frame to attach the new skidplate. | 
Shocks are included with this kit. The H7000s were mounted in the factory locations on the frame and the lower A-arms. Longer shocks are used due to the dropping of the lower A-arms, but they still bolt up the same way. |
When another vehicle hit the front end of this '03 Ford F-150 4WD, the truck was in need of some serious work. And since the truck was going into the shop anyway, why not use this opportunity for a revival? Hoping for a bigger and badder look for his truck, the owner turned to Skyjacker for a bolt-on 6-inch suspension lift - no cutting, welding, or grinding. This kit is completely reversible and can be put back to stock if needed, which is a real plus if you own a lease truck that you want a few inches taller and will need to return to stock.
The brake caliper has to come off, as does the antisway bar. It's OK to just hang the caliper out of the way instead of disconnecting the brake line and having to bleed the system afterward. | 
We watched as Rick's Pro-Truck popped off the CV shafts (six bolts at the diff) and unthreaded the nut holding them into the hub assembly. The ABS lines were removed from the A-arms and knuckles at this time as well. | 
The Skyjacker kit comes with replacement knuckles to keep the upper A-arms in the factory position. Rick's Pro-Truck attached the factory hub assemblies to the new knuckles and set the knuckles on the A-arms' ball joints. |
To comply with the added height, the owner needed new tires and opted for an aggressive set of 35x12.50R20 Mickey Thompson ATZs complete with 20-inch American Eagle Alloy chrome wheels. It's not a wheel size that we would've picked, but hey, to each his own.
Now that the drop brackets, A-arms, and knuckles were on, it was time to move on to reinstalling the CV shafts. Skyjacker provides 1-5/8-inch CV spacers that bolt in between the diff and the shaft on the driver side. This is due to the slight repositioning of the diff under the framerails. | 
It started by getting the truck up on a rack, pulling the wheels and tires, and then unloading the torsion bars so it would be possible to dismantle the front end. If you're trying this kit yourself, it'd be a good idea to make some note or mark how much thread is showing on the torsion-bar adjuster bolts that hold the torsion-bar keys in place. Once unloaded, you can pull the torsion bars and the torsion-bar crossmember. | 
It wouldn't be our first choice for wheel sizes, but this owner stepped up to a set of 20-inch American Eagle wheels. He made a sensible decision going with 35-inch ATZs. The Mickey Thompson ATZ is a good all-around tire (all-terrain tire), and the 35-inch size will allow the owner a little height and some good looks but not so much tire that the Ford's engine will struggle or its drivetrain will need to be upgraded. |
We stopped by for a quick look at what the guys at Rick's Pro Truck in Jackson, Mississippi, were up to and to see how things were progressing. We were able to bang out a few shots and show you another option to up your F-150.
Back to the middle of the truck, the torsion-bar crossmember has to be dropped to compensate for everything in front being dropped down since the torsion bars need to line up with the lower A-arms. A couple of holes need to be drilled in the frame for extra support, but it's not a big deal. As soon as the drop brackets were on, Rick's Pro-Truck reattached the factory torsion-bar crossmember and reinstalled the torsion bars. | 
Since Skyjacker provides all-new leaf springs (optional) with its 6-inch F-150 kit, Rick's heaved them up into place and reused the existing factory block. The rear Skyjacker shocks were bolted up, and we were ready to get some tires on the truck. | 
Once the A-arms were unbolted and removed, the diff detached from the frame and was removed for the time being. The rear Skyjacker crossmember can be bolted in. The factory crossmember should not be removed until the Skyjacker one is installed (sounds weird, we know). |