Lil’ Red No More - Lifting a 2006 Ford F-150 2WD

20. You’ll reuse the stock tie rods, but they get flipped over before they go into the Skyjacker knuckles. Carter holds the tie rod into the knuckle’s tapered bore in order to get the castle nut tightened.

21. The brake lines stay stock, but they get dropped down using a Skyjacker bracket. The bracket as well as the rigid portion of the brake line needed a little massaging to get the tension out of the brake line at the full-droop, full-lock position. In this case, “massaging” means “tweaking” and “pulling.” No parts had to be cut, pinched, replaced, or welded.

22. Here’s another worm’s-eye view. This time, the Skyjacker parts are in place. The crossmembers and brackets went on easily. It’s common to need to elongate a mounting hole or two, but that simply wasn’t necessary this time.

23. An add-a-leaf will lift the rear of the truck, while an aluminum pinion angle shim will prevent driveshaft vibrations before they start.

24. Skyjacker Hydro 7000 shocks are a basic twin-tube replacement shock that performs well and is easy on the wallet. Thanks to the ’04-to-’08 F-150’s design, they’re easy to install. Make sure you have the “can” down and the shaft up.

25. Just as with the front coils, you have to know how to safely work around springs to successfully (and painlessly) install an add-a-leaf. This isn’t a substitute for real training, but we will say that Vise-Grips and C-clamps are mandatory for working with leaf spring packs.

26. New U-bolts come with the kit. After you’ve got the add-a-leaf and the pinion angle shim installed, cut the excess length off of the U-bolts. You can’t tell from the photo, but Greg’s wearing safety glasses.

27. We’re adding a little extra light on the front end of this truck, too. By bolting a Pro Comp light bar to the front stock bumper, we can keep the stock bumper and low-profile look while getting some extra light to find the way back home at night.

28. Upon first opening the light bar box and instructions, we thought this was going to be a huge pain in the butt. In reality, we ended up taking more time figuring out how the brackets and light bar installed than actually installing the light bar. We’ll save you some time: There are four brackets included, but two are for the 2WD F-150 and two are for the 4WD F-150. Try and actually read the instructions.

29. Allen bolts go through the bumper to hold the light bar on at the four places it meets the stock bumper. Four holes need to be drilled to get the allen bolts through, but it really is very easy.

30. Three Pro Comp 55-watt Biolight halogen lights with plastic guards for the glass lens will make a nice addition to the truck. Plus, there won’t be any crying (like there would with an HID) if a rock takes one out.

31. We’re pretty pleased with the whole package—especially considering that it took less than a weekend’s worth of time to complete. The total parts bill came out to about $4,100—certainly not a cheap endeavor, but the truck needed new shocks and tires anyways, and now there is a little more fun afforded with the extra equipment.