1997-2003 Ford F150 2WD Rough Country 3 inch Leveling Lift Kit | Part# 52830

Total installation time for me was about 7 hours, mostly because I'm working in my own garage with hand tools, a floor jack, a couple jack stands, etc. Having an air compressor, air tools, and a commercial type vehicle lift would easily make this a 2-4 hour job. I would say my skill level is 7 out of 10 when it comes to shade tree mechanics, so if you're at a similar level installation of this kit won't be intimidating (the instructions included in the kit were 100% spot on when it came to my install). The hardest part was unbolting the stock steering and suspension components (ball joints)... after 173k miles they didn't want to budge and I had to rent a ball joint removal tool from my local auto parts store to break them loose. I wanted to run 33 tires on my 2003 F-150 2WD with stock wheels and this kit was exactly what I needed. Please be advised, there are a number of reviews on the internet for this kit reporting that the lift spindles resulted in a wider stance than stock. This is 100% true. I contacted Rough Country before purchasing the kit and even though they advised me the spindles would not result in a wider front stance compared to stock, each of my front wheels now sits 2.5 wider (total length from outside of driver/passenger front wheel is now 79 when it used to be 74). To compensate for this I've ordered a set of 2.5 wheel spacers for the rear axle of my truck so they will line up with the front tires. This is really the only reason I'm rating this kit 4 stars. Everything else about it (installation, instructions, quality of lift components, ride quality after installation, etc.) is great. Purchasing the kit from Stage 3 was easy and I received it in a couple business days. I would recommend it to anyone wanting more ground clearance and the ability to run 33 tires on their 2WD F-150 trucks. Just be aware that you'll have to be OK with a wider front stance or prepare to purchase wheel spacers for the rear axle so everything matches. The pic attached to my review is with my truck with lift installed and new 33 tires. If you look closely, you can see that the front wheel looks a bit wider than the rear.