Belltech Lowering Kit on a 2006 Ford F-150
Einstein, whose lesser-known hobby was building custom trucks, once said, "Lowering a truck isn't hard. What's tricky is raising the rest of the universe so the truck looks lower."
Everyone knows that lowering a truck isn't rocket science, and you certainly don't need to be a genius, you've just got to have the right parts. That's where Belltech comes in. They've developed a great new lowering kit for the 2004-up Ford F150. The kit consists of replacement lowering coil springs in the front and an axle flip kit in the rear. Unlike lowering kits for other applications, this one does require a little cutting. The lower control arm mounting holes need to be widened for alignment purposes.
Due to Belltech's impeccable quality and craftsmanship, the installation was smooth and uneventful. The installers did have just one bit of advice: Wear proper eye protection.
Let's check out the installation. Click on each photo to see a larger expanded view.
The Front Suspension Installation.
With the truck supported safely, remove the front tires. |
Remove the bolts securing the top of the coil-over strut. |
Next, unbolt the lower strut mount from the lower control arm. |
Now it's time to unbolt the lower control arm from the crossmember. This is the front bolt. |
Finish unbolting the conrol arm from the crossmember, this is the rear bolt. |
To lower the control arm, you must unhook the sway bar end links. |
Have a friend support the control arm so you can remove the F-150's strut assembly. |
Now the coil-over strut can be removed. |
The spring is now compressed for removal from the coil-over assembly. |
Now remove the factory Ford F150 spring from the strut assembly. |
The new Belltech coil spring can now be seated on the strut assembly. |
The top plate can now be attached. |
For alignment purposes, you must widen the lower control arm mounting holes. |
Mark the area to be widened. |
Now it's time to trim the mounting holes. Our installer used a grinding wheel. |
The holes were widened by about 1/2-inch each, but check the instructions for specifics. |
Now the assembled coil-over unit can be installed back onto the truck. |
Line up the lower control arm... |
...and bolt it into the crossmember |
The sway bar needs to be loosened and adjusted for the truck's lower stance. |
You can now attach the sway bar end link. |
Now, bolt the strut assembly back onto the lower control arm. |
Repeat everything on the passenger side and put the wheels back on. The front is done. |
The Rear Suspension Installation.
With the rear axle supported, the leaf spring bolts must now be removed. The driver side front leaf spring bolt cannot be removed without removing the gas tank. |
It's easier to cut the bolt head off and pull it out the other way, then replace the bolt. (The kit does not come with a replacement bolt - see your local Ford service dept. for a new one.) |
Don't forget the rear leaf spring mounting bolts... |
Next, unbolt the U-bolts that are holding the spring and the axle together. |
Now remove the leaf spring from the truck. |
Here are the U-bolts and lower mounting plates that were removed. |
A new axle mounting bracket must be attached to the leaf spring pack, using the leaf spring pack's original bolts. |
Here is the axle mounting bracket. In this photo, the bolt holes are being cleaned out. |
Now attach the rear of the leaf spring back into it's mounting bracket. |
The leaf spring is now ready to be lifted and attached to the axle. Click the photo, the arrow points to the previously mentioned axle bracket. |
The new U-bolts now mount over the axle. Click the photo, the arrows point to the U-bolts. |
The lower mounting plate is attached to the U-bolts. |
Now tighten the lower mounting plate. |
The driver side, front leaf spring bolt must be trimmed for clearance. |
Now insert the bolt into the front leaf spring mount and tighten. |
The shocks can now be attached. |
Here are the Belltech Nitro-Active shocks mounted in their location. |
Now trim the lower end of the U-bolts. |
The finished install is clean and professional looking. |
The Belltech lowered stance on Stylin' Concepts' sweepstakes F150 is hot and mean looking. 
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