2008 ford f250 suspension help

[Aaronb]

I've got a 2008 Ford F250 with the 6.4 powerstroke. I bought it a few months ago. It seemed like the previous owner had stripped it when they sold it. I quickly found out the head gaskets were out, so I got that fixed. Luckily only costing me 500 dollars out of a 6000 dollar bill. Thanks to dealer help and warranty.

When I bought the pickup I noticed the front seemed to set lower than normal at least compared to the back. It wanders around a bit too. From what I figured out it has 1 ton blocks in the back. The front is missing the isolators on top of the coil springs. I'm assuming he had a leveling kit he removed and kept the isolators for some reason. I'm planning on putting a leveling kit in. Should I just get new isolators and leveling springs and then take it to alignment shop and let them make sure everything else is right? Is there anything else I should look at to make sure it's how it's supposed to be before I take it for an alignment?

I'd like it to be as close to right before I go get it aligned. I am a little concerned with the loose feel in the steering. From reading doing a leveling kit makes the steering feel loose and wander, so you have to adjust the caster. If the front is technically sitting lower than stock since the isolators are missing. Shouldn't it feel tight in the steering? I'm not even sure if the front springs are the right ones. There's maybe 3 inches between the bumpstop and the axle. I don't know if that's close to normal. The rear bumpstops are about a foot from the axle.

What leveling springs would you suggest for the best ride? What all parts do I need? If I get a kit that doesn't come with caster adjustment could you share with which one I need to order and where? I don't know if there's a standard caster adjustment for a leveling kit, since some come with the new caster cams.

Thanks for any help.
Aaron

 

[Aaron S]

Icon springs come with the required cams for the correct alignment. Or they can be bought seperatly if you go with something like Carlis springs. Get some isolators too.

If the front end feels loose, something may wearing or worn out. If its the frame side of the trac bar, that's ok because the bar should be replaced with the leveling kit anyways. Its good to check all steering and suspension joints though.

 

[florida 6.0]

With that kind of previous owner I would get the entire suspension and steering looked at by a reputable shop . No telling what bolts are loose , missing and what kind of beating it took .

 

[Aaronb]

Thanks. I'll climb under it and see if anything feels loose. It's actually a little better, because the tires only had 50 psi. I pumped them up to 80. It seems to ride just as well and feels a little more solid on the road.

I'm glad I like working on my vehicles. I could have done without the head gasket job, but it was a good time to do head studs. The egr and dpf had been deleted. It only had enough exhaust on it to get behind the cab. I put a 5 inch diamond eye exhaust on last night to fix that. It has black steel wheels I'm going to have to do something about after I get the suspension taken care of.

I can see that it had traction bars on it that were removed. I'll probably put some back on. I know it must have been nice at one time. It's in good shape though, so it's a nice project.