Stack and Leveling Kit Questions
 

What are the differences in sound and power, if any, between the sizes? I am trying to figure out whether I should get 6 inch or 7 inch.

In my intro post, something was mentioned about having to get different blocks from a 350 if I want the Sinister Level kit? Is there a kit out for the 250 that I dont have to get other parts for or anything?

Did you have a leveling kit question too or where you just wondering what height to level off off those stacks so they don't rub the overpasses? :w2:

Haha. There are two questions there.

Most of the leveling kits out there are 2.5" leveling pucks. You can just get some smaller ones from ebay if you want. I did the 2.5" pucks (aluminum blocks) and the stock F350 blocks.

As for the stacks... 6" or 7" you probably wont notice a difference. Ears will bleed regardless. Mine are 6" for reference. I think 7's are too big in a dual seutp, but a single 7" would look cool.

1. I terminated my exhaust at the axle and it can get pretty obnoxious, imagine if it was up higher behind the cab.

2. Just save your money and get a REAL lift. Slipping in a spacer can roll the axle forward when the trailing arms go down in the cause/effect cycle. This is effectively adding negative caster and making it like driving a clown car. The track bar is more sensitive to lifts in coil sprung trucks, too. Better factor in a steering stabilizer.

DON'T stack blocks when you're doing this. If you do a 3 inch lift up front, a 5 inch block from a Dodge Ram will get you leveled up in the back (stock is no lift in front and 2.5" block out back). # inch is also about all the farther you can lift a truck without needing a dropped pitman arm (althogh you will need to length the adjustment sleeve on the drag link).

99-04s are mucho more forgiving in leveling kits because they use leafs.

Agreed, don't stack blocks.

However adding a 5" block in the rear is just going to put the rear higher than the front. A 2.5" leveling kit up front on an 05-07 F250 ends up putting the front higher than the rear. They sit almost level factory. The F350's of those years sit higher in the rear (taller block) To level either one, the 2.5" spacer up front and the stock F350 blocks in the rear (F350 obviously already has these, and F250 would need them). I'm not suggesting adding the stock F350 and F250 blocks together... take the stock F250 blocks OUT and put F350's IN.

Stock F250 block is roughly 2 1/2" and the stock F350 blocks are like 3 5/8" if memory serves.

Mine uses the 2.5" spacer under the coil, stock everything else up front, no track bar drop bracket, no adjustable track bar, no steering stabilizers etc... but it's the cheap way to lift it. I will definitely be getting an adjustable track bar at some point, it just hasn't been too high on the priority list. I really want to just get the full PMF 3 link front end setup. For the rear, I just swapped on the F350 blocks and u-bolts.

Yeah, I guess a 4in front coil and a 5in Ram block would be closer to level. Personally, I like a little rake so it will level out when loaded.

But to get back on track, I did a leveling kit, shackle drop, then finally a spring lift fore and aft. I could have bought an OUO or some other high dollar/high performance lift with all the money I spent. If you even THINK that you would want a full lift, don't even mess with a leveling kit!

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Oh yeah, wouldn't a track bar drop bracket be cheaper/better for geometry? These suspensions travel in an arc because of the track bar. Therefore, while the axle will be centered at ride height, during articulation it would push more left during extension/right during compression. This is why I believe that if you use a dropped pitman arm, use a drop bracket for the track bar, otherwise they will bind sooner or later trying to follow different arcs.

I don't want to lift my truck, I just want to level it out. I think I'll go ahead and order the 2.5 inch leveling kit from Sinister, and find a set of 350 blocks for the rear.

I am going to go ahead and do the dual 6" stack on it. I almost took the muffler off this weekend, but when I looked at it, I figured it would get unbearable loud in the cabin, so I'll just wait for stacks.

Stacks are going to be the loudest in the cab for sure. I ran a stock exhaust with a cat and muffler delete before, and it wasn't loud in the cab at all. In fact I was always rolling the windows down when going under bridges etc to hear it. It screams in tunnels etc, but with the windows up there is no drone and you likely wont hear it any louder than stock.

With stacks on the other hand... I'm running 4" turbo back into 6" mitres, no cat, no muffler. I'm looking at adding a muffler. Towing anything, you wont be able to carry a conversation with the person in the passenger seat. Seriously. Once up to cruising speed and it shifts into OD and the converter locks... quiet again.

That's a pretty big contradiction you just posted there. If you think it's going to be loud without a muffler dumping by the rear bumper, how loud is it going to be without a muffler dumping behind your head!?!

No, I wasnt going to do a muffler delete. I was just going to cut it off right in front of the muffler, at the hanger. Being directly under the cab, it would be loud as all get out.

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Also looking for the stock F350 rear blocks, if you guys could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

No, it wouldn't. It will be 10x louder behind the cab. I've run my truck with just basically a downpipe before, it was WAY quieter than my stacks are. You will simply not have any more in-cab noise than you will with stacks. Trust me, been there, done that.

The blocks are going to be on the forums bud, probably not here as we don't have a very good for sale section. Check out powerstrokearmy.com or powerstrokenation.com :c:

Are the rear blocks both the same for F350's and F350 SD's?

They should be the same from 03-07 as far as I know, but I wouldn't get anything outside of those years.

What is the height difference between the F250 stock rear end and the front end after installing the 2.5 inch leveling kit? Do I have to switch to the F350 blocks or is there another way to level it?

Right now, a tape measure and a pair of floor jacks are your new best friends.

Put one floor jack under each side of the front axle, go up 2 1/2" (axle height, NOT under the tire height) with the axle straight. Presto! you just simulated a 2 1/2" front lift! Now, step back and look at the truck, it's either sitting level or it's not. If it's not, you have 2 options: 1. Figure out why and adjust the accordingly. 2. Avoid the entire see-saw thing and get a complete lift kit.

Because this is a coil sprung truck with trailing arms, your puck lift may induce negative camber. This mandates a trip to the local alignment shop to check and possibly bring the caster back to factory specs.

Reading other sites, guys are talking about whether they need flat blocks or the tapered blocks from the 350...whats that about? I am finding that the blocks seem to be extremely hard to find.

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I'm going to give that a whirl this weekend.

I also got a saaaweeeet hookup from a couple of trucker buddies today. One of them has a set of 6 inch stacks that are 43 inches. He offered them to me and no matter what I say, he won't take a dime for them. So I am going to cut them to size and weld reduction pieces to them for my truck. The other guy has a y-pipe for the bed that he was going to use on his Dodge. He decided to go with a single stack, so he sold it to me for $100. Cant beat that!! All said and done, I may end up with a couple hundred bucks in the system!

As for the blocks... I remember reading into it when I did mine, and the different blocks came on different bed/cab configurations, it's basically to get the pinion angle correct. I remember I read about it, some guys said it made a difference, others didn't... I put flat blocks on my extended cab short box, which I would think if anything would need the tapered blocks... but I can't recall. I just put on whatever I could find, no issues here.