Off-Roadweb Magazine Homepage Off-Road
Get Adobe Flash player

Lifting an '80-'96 Ford Half Ton

Getting Some Ground Clearance Out Of A Bronco Or F-150
From the February, 2010 issue of Off-Road
By Dirk Saters
Photography by courtesy of Rough Country
Rough Country Ttb Kit Ford Bronco
The '80-to-'96 twin traction beam (TTB) Ford half-ton truck is now three generations outdated, but it still remains extremely popular in the off-road scene. In fact, Ford still uses the 2WD version of this suspension on its vans and Super Dutys to this very day.

Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Tires Shocks Coils
Installation of Rough Country's... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Tires Shocks Coils
Installation of Rough Country's TTB kit should be something you could do in your driveway with reasonable mechanical knowledge and some good jackstands. The first steps are to jack the vehicle up, properly secure it, and remove the tires, shocks, coils, and knock off the radius arm brackets. Ford sometimes bolted these on (if you are lucky), but most '80-to-'96 F-150s and Broncos came with these brackets riveted on. If you have rivets, removing them will be the most time-consuming part of the install as you try to grind, drill, or torch them out. Once the factory radius arm brackets are removed, you'll need to drill out the holes to a 7/16-inch size.
Rough Country Ttb Kit Radius Arm Bracket
The new Rough Country (RC)... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Radius Arm Bracket
The new Rough Country (RC) radius arm bracket bolts directly to the frame using the supplied hardware. You will reuse the factory radius arm on the new RC drop bracket.
Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Ttb Pivot Brakcets Off Frame
With the twin traction beams... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Ttb Pivot Brakcets Off Frame
With the twin traction beams dropped out of their original brackets, you'll need to work on getting the riveted (or bolted) TTB pivot brackets off the frame.....
Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Ttb Pivot Brakcets Off Frame 2
.....Once they are removed,... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Remove Ttb Pivot Brakcets Off Frame 2
.....Once they are removed, RC provides new drop beam pivot brackets to compensate for the added lift. You'll have to drill the holes out to a 9/16-inch size to use the provided hardware.
Rough Country Ttb Kit New Pitman Arm
Rough Country also provides... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit New Pitman Arm
Rough Country also provides a new pitman arm to account for the extra lift in the suspension. This keeps bumpsteer to a minimum and allows the geometry of the steering and suspension to stay within factory parameters.
Rough Country Ttb Kit New Replacement Coil
Rough Country provides a new... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit New Replacement Coil
Rough Country provides a new replacement coil instead of giving some type of spacer. We are pleased with what a good deal this kit is, considering we've paid more than the cost of this entire kit for just two custom springs before.
Rough Country Ttb Kit Add Shocks
With the radius arms, twin... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Add Shocks
With the radius arms, twin traction beams, and coils back in place, you'll add either one or two shocks per side (depending on what your Bronco came with from the factory). If your Bronco has a single shock coil bucket on the frame, you can buy the dual shock coil bucket from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard and replace your single shock buckets.
Rough Country Ttb Kit Installing Rear Kit
Whether you're installing... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Installing Rear Kit
Whether you're installing the 4-inch or 6-inch kit, the install of the entire front kit will be the same. The only difference in the rear will be the addition of an add-a-leaf to the spring pack with the 6-inch kit. If you're installing the 4-inch kit, you'll only have to add the block to the rear.
Rough Country Ttb Kit Hydro 8000 Shocks
Rough Country also provides... 
   
  read full caption
Rough Country Ttb Kit Hydro 8000 Shocks
Rough Country also provides a pair of Hydro 8000 shocks for the rear to match the fronts. These are a twin-tube shock design that will usually still work fine, even if you dent the body of the shock.
Rough Country Suspension
1400 Morgan Road
Dyersburg
TN  38024
800-222-7023

www.roughcountry.com
Jeff's Bronco Graveyard
7843 Lochlin Dr.
Brighton
MI  48116
248-437-5060

http://broncograveyard.com/

Discuss in Our Forums

Related Articles

Lifting an '88-'98 Chevy Half-Ton
More First-Gen Chevy 4x4 IFS Love... more
Lifted 2002 Ford Excursion - Large And In Charge
Check out Ty Mcfarland's featured off road vehicle: the lifted 2002 Ford Excursion, and see whats... more
Custom Lifted Ford Excursion - The Razor's Edge
John Llado's jumbo Ford looks like another fairground queen, but this beast is built to boogie.... more
1992 Ford Ranger - Deleteing a Body Lift Kit
We begin getting our ford ranger ready for fiberglass by first removing the body lift kit.... more