131 0406 Pro 06 Z - Photo 9058596

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This trick laser-cut template shows precisely where to drill the crossmember mount for a second support bolt. By just lining the hole up with the top mounting bolt and the bottom up with the A-arm mounting hole, you can easily mark and drill the pilot hole through the smaller hole on the right.

Removal of the factory parts starts after the truck frame is secure on jackstands and the tires are removed. Removing the spindle nut should be easy, but can sometimes pose a slight wrestling match that requires two flat screwdrivers.

With the front driveshaft disconnected, and the spindles, A-arms, and crossmembers removed, it is time to drop the front axle assembly. Two people are helpful, even if you are working on the ground. When you reinstall the axle it will be hanging from drop brackets to keep the halfshaft angles within reason.

The driver side of the rear A-arm crossmember frame mount needs to be trimmed to clear the differential after it is lowered. Simply mark the front of the mount with a vertical line 3/4 inch from the bolt hole, and the rear 1 3/4 inches from the rear hole.

Connect the two vertical lines across the top, and cut along it with a reciprocating saw or cutoff wheel.

This trick laser-cut template shows precisely where to drill the crossmember mount for a second support bolt. By just lining the hole up with the top mounting bolt and the bottom up with the A-arm mounting hole, you can easily mark and drill the pilot hole through the smaller hole on the right.

Here you can see how the passenger-side sway-bar lowering mount ties into the rear A-arm crossmember and frame as well as the passenger-side differential drop bracket. All this makes for a very solid support system, but it is then given the added gusseting of the compression struts that tie into the crossmember that runs below the transfer case.

The rear suspension is a simple lift block that goes under the factory block, since the factory block has the axle's bumpstop surface. The rear of the truck also requires a brake-line drop bracket, parking-brake drop bracket, and new ES 9000 Nitrogen shocks.

The Pro Comp kit we installed used a coil-spring spacer that attaches to the top of the factory coilover shock, and effectively lifts the truck while keeping the factory spring and shock valving. Pro Comp also has a coilover replacement shock that should greatly improve the F-150's handling and driving characteristics, and which should be available by the time you read this.

With the front end back together, we were able to mount a set of Mickey Thompson 35x12.5-17 Baja Claw radials. We have found these aggressive tires to be formidable in the mud, and have even heard of some teams running them in off-road desert racing. The 17x9 Pro Comp Extreme Alloy faux bead-lock wheels help add to the F-150's new aggressive look, and should hold up well to any off-road thrashing it should see in the future.