TexasA&M
New member
Well, I have been saving my money for a while and finally pulled the trigger on some different parts a couple of months ago. After getting everything together, the work started last weekend. The list of things that are going on the truck is as follows -
Firestone R4 Tech rear suspension
Icon 2.5" coil springs and Bilstein 5100s for the front suspension
BD Adjustable Track Bar
Viair on board air system (I have heard that the Firestone system that comes with the R4 kit is junk)
MBRP 4" Exhaust
B&W Turnover Ball hitch
NFab nerf bars
TGC dual steering stabilizers
Second set of air horns
Line X bedliner
So far, I've got the front/rear suspension done, along with the exhaust, on board air, and nerf bars installed. I'm hoping to wrap up the rest of it this coming weekend.
I had to pull the bed off to remove the old gooseneck hitch, which kind of spurred all of this into motion... I figured that it would be easier to do the bulk of this work without the bed, and I got a little trigger happy and ordered it all at once. Getting the bed off was pretty easy, except for one stubborn bolt that had to be cut. While the bed is off, I plan on doing the harpoon mod to the fuel tank.
Anyhow, on to the pictures -
Bed removed (you can see the stock exhaust, old hitch, and my old helper air bags) -
I missed a few pictures, but I pressure washed the frame and sprayed it with rubberized undercoating. I removed all of the old accessories as well. Here, you can see the stock springs gone, and the R4 springs and brackets in place.
The brackets are well designed and fit really well. The instructions on how to install them, however, left a LOT to be desired.
Springs bolted down, J Spring in place, air bags and height control valve installed -
Passenger side airbag and shock -
Air lines run and hooked up -
Viair compressor -
System complete!
I don't have a picture yet, but I have a gauge in the cab that shows tank pressure, and the pressure in the driver's side air bag (I figured that both bags would have roughly the same pressure, so no reason to see both). I mainly want to see how the pressure changes with different loads, which is why I put a gauge on the bag.
On to the front -
Icon springs and shocks installed -
Overall pictures (you can see the MBRP exhaust and nerf bars) -
I can't wait to get the bed back on and see how it all looks. The rear is sitting 2" higher than it was stock (sits as high as a stock F350 now) and the front is 2.5" higher.
I still have quite a bit to do... there is a small leak on the tank side that I have to track down and I am going to clean up all of the wiring that I have installed (wrapping it in wire loom). The hitch has to be installed, but I can't tighten that all down yet because I have to line it up with the hole in the bed. Harpoon mod still has to be done, as well as the alignment cams and adjustable track bar. Hopefully I can knock that all out this weekend. I haven't even taken it for a test drive yet because I ran out of time, and it's been raining the last two days.
I'll take some more pictures and post up when I make more progress. Tires will be coming in the next couple of months to complete the package! :clapping:
Firestone R4 Tech rear suspension
Icon 2.5" coil springs and Bilstein 5100s for the front suspension
BD Adjustable Track Bar
Viair on board air system (I have heard that the Firestone system that comes with the R4 kit is junk)
MBRP 4" Exhaust
B&W Turnover Ball hitch
NFab nerf bars
TGC dual steering stabilizers
Second set of air horns
Line X bedliner
So far, I've got the front/rear suspension done, along with the exhaust, on board air, and nerf bars installed. I'm hoping to wrap up the rest of it this coming weekend.
I had to pull the bed off to remove the old gooseneck hitch, which kind of spurred all of this into motion... I figured that it would be easier to do the bulk of this work without the bed, and I got a little trigger happy and ordered it all at once. Getting the bed off was pretty easy, except for one stubborn bolt that had to be cut. While the bed is off, I plan on doing the harpoon mod to the fuel tank.
Anyhow, on to the pictures -
Bed removed (you can see the stock exhaust, old hitch, and my old helper air bags) -
I missed a few pictures, but I pressure washed the frame and sprayed it with rubberized undercoating. I removed all of the old accessories as well. Here, you can see the stock springs gone, and the R4 springs and brackets in place.
The brackets are well designed and fit really well. The instructions on how to install them, however, left a LOT to be desired.
Springs bolted down, J Spring in place, air bags and height control valve installed -
Passenger side airbag and shock -
Air lines run and hooked up -
Viair compressor -
System complete!
I don't have a picture yet, but I have a gauge in the cab that shows tank pressure, and the pressure in the driver's side air bag (I figured that both bags would have roughly the same pressure, so no reason to see both). I mainly want to see how the pressure changes with different loads, which is why I put a gauge on the bag.
On to the front -
Icon springs and shocks installed -
Overall pictures (you can see the MBRP exhaust and nerf bars) -
I can't wait to get the bed back on and see how it all looks. The rear is sitting 2" higher than it was stock (sits as high as a stock F350 now) and the front is 2.5" higher.
I still have quite a bit to do... there is a small leak on the tank side that I have to track down and I am going to clean up all of the wiring that I have installed (wrapping it in wire loom). The hitch has to be installed, but I can't tighten that all down yet because I have to line it up with the hole in the bed. Harpoon mod still has to be done, as well as the alignment cams and adjustable track bar. Hopefully I can knock that all out this weekend. I haven't even taken it for a test drive yet because I ran out of time, and it's been raining the last two days.
I'll take some more pictures and post up when I make more progress. Tires will be coming in the next couple of months to complete the package! :clapping: