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2000 Ford F-350 - Power Stroke Puller - Mud Life Magazine

2000 Ford F-350 - Power Stroke Puller Kevin McNulty Former Editor, Mud Life Photographers: Chris Hamilton

We’re not sure we really have to mention it, but tow rigs are an essential part of our work and recreational time. We wouldn’t get to many events without a good strong truck dependably chugging down the highway when we are hauling our mud trucks and swamp buggies to the shop or an event. The ’99 Ford F-350 dualie we picked up as a project a few months ago is doing just fine and rolling on the road to recovery after living a hard life. It’s definitely not a show truck and a looker; in fact, it looks like a pack of rats lived in the interior! We have a lot of work ahead of us to make it presentable. But the truck runs strong and rides even better now that we installed a high-quality suspension.

To date, we’ve performed all the necessary engine maintenance, swapped out a few factory parts for components like a higher-quality high-pressure oil pump, installed a high-flow air intake and Optima batteries, swapped all the fluids for top-of-the-line Amsoil fluids and coolant, and installed KT Performance exhaust with a DIY bolts-in stacks for the truck bed.

The suspension on the truck was beat up, and the tires were well past needing to be replaced. So next on our list was a new suspension. We’ve always had excellent luck and performance with BDS Suspension, so we hooked up again with BDS and ordered a 6-inch list system with new progressive leaf springs for the front, blocks for the rear, and Fox shocks on all four corners.

Lifted 1999 Ford F 350 On Road Photo 63632132 The on-road ride of the old F-350 is amazing, a night-and-day difference. It is smooth, comfortable, and controllable. We are extremely happy with how the truck rides now. It’s like we took it to obedience school!

We also called our friends at General tire and ordered a cool set of E-rated Grabbers. These are excellent tires, and we have tested them numerous times over the years. We have found that they offer excellent traction in mud, snow, and wet conditions. Now we get to test them on a much heavier F-350.

Once we had the suspension in the back of the truck we headed over to DV8 Motorsports in Lake Park, Florida, for the installation. We’re really impressed with the guys here. They take great pride in their work and strive for excellent customer service. The guys are exceptionally friendly and very easy to work with—we like that in a shop.

PhotosView Slideshow The BDS suspension system for Ford trucks comes with everything you need for installation. The Fox shocks are an optional upgrade for the lift. The system also includes front leaf springs (rear leaf springs optional), a drop pitman arm, drop brackets for the track bars, shocks, u-bolts, sway bar links, bumpstop brackets, steering stabilizers fasteners, nuts, and washers Removing the old factory springs and shocks from the Ford is straightforward. The key is doing it safely and having the right tools. If a suspension install is going to be done in the driveway, we recommend hosing all the bolts and fasteners down with something like WD-40 the night before. Make sure that all the nuts and bolts, washers, and anything else are kept to be reused if needed or as spare parts down the road. Parts like these come in handy now and then. It was a welcome sight to see the old two-leaf front springs go. They worked and were safe, but they didn’t offer much in the way of a performance ride. When we used to take the truck off the asphalt and onto the dirt or a bumpy road, the old springs made the truck ride like an 1880s buckboard. There is a considerable difference between the factory spring and the BDS leaf springs. The crushed and worn-out factory spring offered little in the way of a comfortable performance ride. The BDS leaf pack not only offered the boost in height, but the Glide Ride leaf springs have antifriction pads between the leaves, which offer a smoother ride with better travel and articulation. We can’t help but notice the difference between the factory shocks and steering stabilizer and the Fox and BDS components. The engineers at BDS worked with Fox on valve-specific shocks for each application, which means better performance on or off the road. The front end also used to steering stabilizers, and that means better steering control and comfort. Once Daniel Winters, a technician at DV8, had the springs, shocks, and drop track bar bracket installed, he measured for alignment and steering. Alignment is extremely important for steering safety and proper tire wear. A misaligned, out-of-whack front end will quickly eat through tires, which are not cheap! Front suspension all done! We’re really happy with the BDS suspension and ease of installation. The springs, shocks, sway bar links, and track bar bracket fit perfectly and have left the truck with proper steering geometry and suspensions and axle (driveline angles). Winters knocked out the rear suspension install quickly. He installed the rear add-a-leaf, lift blocks, track bar bracket, and sway bar links in record time. The factory rear springs were just about the only parts on the truck that were in decent shape, so we didn’t mind using them—which also saved us some hard-earned cash. The factory springs are rated for heavy-duty towing, which is perfect for hauling our big-ass swamp buggy around. The rear suspension can be done in under a few hours, and that includes a few beer breaks. The crew at DV8 has done this kit so many times that the instructions were never even touched. Everything with the suspension went smooth and we were ready to get our new 285/75/16 General Grabber tires mounted and balanced at Value Tire in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Brandon More has more than 10 years experience in mounting all size tires including buggy and tractor tires. They also have a badass swamp buggy that they use for hunting so if your in the area, stop by and check it out. balancing general grabber tires value tire and alingment shop The new tires look great and the ride height is perfect. This will give us added clearance and support when we’re towing a heavy load. The upgraded steering stabilizer will take care of some steering wheel slop, and the new shocks help it ride better than factory. Taking an F-350 off the asphalt and into the dirt, wet grass, and mud can sometimes be a problem. How many times have we witnessed a tow rig laden with a trailer stuck in a not-so hardcore situation in a field? Too many! We didn’t want that happening to us, so we went with the aggressive General Grabbers, which give a truck far more traction than the average street truck tire. When the Grabbers first came out we got a hold of a set and tested them in every condition around: mud, snow, ice, dirt, rock, and sand. The Grabbers performed exceptionally well in all of the tests we put them through. We also didn’t notice any chunking, tears, cuts, or missing lugs, and they didn’t make that howling drone on the highway that so many mud terrain tires do. stock 1999 ford f 350 lifted 1999 ford f 350

Special Thanks To:
Value Tire & Alignment
Royal Palm Beach, Fla., 561.790.7228

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