While there's a few lower-cost coilover kits available on the market, there's not much out there that can hit a full 3" of extra front lift while keeping ride quality butter smooth. The F150lifts BOSS coilovers are the exception, and offer 0-3" of extra ride height while giving your truck a silky smooth ride on the street and improved performance off-pavement. Now, our 2012 F150 EcoBoost FX4 Project truck was already sitting pretty with its Zone 6" Suspension Lift kit, however, we here at Stage 3 can't leave well enough alone, so our dastardly plot for getting more front ride height involved swapping out our Zone Kit's lifted strut assembly with the Boss coilovers attached to pair of Pro Comp strut spacers meant for one of their lift kits. While this install basically shows you how to turn a 6" lift into an 8" lift, you can still get a good idea on how to install the BOSS coilovers on truck with stock ride height. You'll just have a heck of a lot less hassles than we did. For those of you who want to turn your 6" lift kit up a notch or two, this is basically what you're in for. Overall, we got the job done, but install wasn't quite as easy as simple strut/coilover swap. The end result is still super-impressive.
Since we had to juggle camera equipment, we handed off our truck and BOSS Coilovers to the guys over at Dyno-Comp out in Scottsdale, Arizona. We took ourselves, the F150, our parts, and our hardware out the shop where Clay, Matt, and the other Matt were waiting to help us out.
We brought the truck into shop, and up on Dyno-Comp's open lift. After it was in the air, Matt and Clay removed the wheels and tires.
The guys started the installation of the BOSS Coilovers by removing the Zone lifted strut/spring assembly from the truck. To begin that, they supported the lower control arm with a transmission jack before unbolting everything.
Next, Matt loosened the nuts for the upper strut mount.
The guys then loosened the nut holding the upper control arm's ball joint to the spindle and gave it a few whacks with a hammer to free the stud.
Clay then removed the screw holding the brake like bracket to the knuckle and set the bracket aside.
Next, Matt unbolted the the sway bar from it's stem mount on the lower control arm.
To free up enough space to get the coilover and the strut spacer up and into the upper mounting bucket, the guys chose to remove the LCA from its mounts in the Zone drop brackets, rather than remove the caliper and axle from the knuckle assembly.
They guys then swung the LCA down, removed the strut assembly's lower mounting bolt, and the pulled the entire strut and spring from the truck.
Clay salvaged the factory upper strut mount nuts and used them to attach our Pro Comp strut spacers to our F150Lifts BOSS Coilovers.
One item that's not pictured is that Clay and Matt had to drop the coilovers down to 0" of factory ride height from their 2-3/4" lifted height out the box. Once they lowered the adjustment collars on both coilovers, the guys then fit the F150Lifts coilover and strut spacer combo into the upper strut mount before slipping the lower mounting bolt through the spherical bushing on the coilovers. With the whole assembly more or less in place, the guys wrestled the lower control arm back into position using a combination of axle stands and ratchet straps.
After some work, Clay, Matt, and the other Matt got the LCA to line back up in the drop brackets, and they fit the bolts through before reinstalling the nuts.
Matt then reinstalled the nut for the coilover's lower mounting bolt.
Clay then repositioned the sway bar onto its stem mount and reinstalled its nut.
Matt then reinstalled the upper control arm's ball joint stub back through the knuckle's spindle, before tidying up the brake lines and ABS wiring so he could reinstall the brake line bracket.
The guys tightened down the upper mounting bolts on the passenger side and then headed over to the driver's side of the truck to complete the install. First, Matt removed the nut for the upper control arm stud and then knocked it loose from the spindle.
Then both Clay and Matt unbolted the lower control arm from our Zone kit's drop brackets.
Clay then unbolted the sway bar from its stem mount and the Zone strut's lower mount from the LCA.
The guys pulled the Zone strut assembly out of the truck and then harvested its nuts to install the Pro Comp strut spacer onto our F150Lifts coilover.
Once the Pro Comp spacer was on, Matt fit the coilover assembly into place through the upper strut mount and installed the nuts to finger tightness to hold the assembly in place.
Matt then fit the coilover's lower mount into place on the LCA and slipped its bolt through.
Once the strut was more or less back in place, Matt fit the upper control arm's ball joint stud back through the knuckle's spindle and reinstalled its nut.
The guys then maneuvered the LCA back into proper position using a combination of axle stands, a ratchet strap, and muscle power.
After they got the LCA back into place, they fit the bolts back through and tightened them down.
Clay then installed the sway bar back onto its stem mount on the lower control arm and tightened it down.
Clay grabbed the last nuts for the Pro Comp strut spacer and bolted them down to spec.
Matt then finished tightening down the nut for the upper control arm ball joint.
Last but not least, Matt tightened down the lower mounting bolt on the LCA mount.
The guys got our wheels and tires back on, lowered our truck back to the ground, and our installation was complete.
2 Comments
KORNIA SIMMONS
I was wondering with these 3" lift/level coilovers would you be able to keep everything else stock or would you need to buy additional parts? I currently have a rough country 2.5" level on the front an was looing to get rid of the block and upgrade my coilovers as well.
alex ibarra
what type of lift would this end up being a 4" lift? i have a 2009 f150 with a 4" lift but was looking to get better off road performing coilovers since there are not that many options for coilovers for my truck could i buy some king or icon coilovers and just add a spacer?
