2016 f350

**kb0zke** · 03-11-2023, 08:09 PM

In anticipation of getting a travel trailer, we bought a 2016 F350 at the very end of December. The only thing we didn't like about it was that a previous owner put a 6" lift kit on it, as well as oversize tires. One of our neighbors here at The Ranch opined that it may have been owned by a fisherman who participated in contests, as it has a bed slide, a box mounted on the ceiling of the bed cap for fishing rods, and a roof rack. That lift kit makes it a bit difficult for a couple of old geezers to get in (gravity helps getting out, although the landings can be a bit rough). About a month a go we arranged with a shop to bring the truck back to normal, as they had done a lift a few years ago and still had all of the parts from that job.

I was assured that we could just get new tires, since the ones that were on the truck are too large to provide clearance when the truck is lowered, but that the wheels would work just fine with the new tires. Nope, won't work. Eventually they found a set of wheels that are just what was needed. Everyone that looked at the truck said that the rear would be the easy part - just remove the tall block and put in the shorter one using shorter u-bolts. Not quite. The lift kit had the u-bolts coming up and around the axle. Ford has them coming down in front of and behind the axle, which means that we need a "perch" or "saddle" on the top and bottom of the spring-and-axle sandwich. Ford sells the u-bolts individually, with nuts and washers extra. Those "perches" are only sold as part of the whole spring set!

I took the truck in on Tuesday of last week, and was told that there would be about eight hours of labor in the job. They have had the truck for nine business days now. Yesterday they loaned us a car so we won't have to beg rides from the neighbors. Today (shop closed) they were going to hit up some salvage yards to see if they could find those "perches" somewhere. Given the number of F350's running around here (oil field) I suspect that they will be successful in the search.

I'm not complaining. They found a problem and fixed it (part of the job, so no added expense), then told me about it. I've been kept informed of all of the progress, or lack thereof. When I asked about the bill, I was told that it would be right at the estimated amount. I suspect that they will resell the wheels and tires, and maybe the lift kit, and that's fine with me. I don't want to hassle with that.

The only bad part is that we were planning on heading out on Monday. That won't happen. Oh well, Big Bend NP will still be there in the fall.

**Soundsailor** · 03-12-2023, 09:24 AM

Quite a story @kb0zke, hopefully, it has a happy ending. With the crazy market for TVs, stories like yours are probably more common than one might think.

**pilotpip** · 03-12-2023, 07:47 PM

That stinks. Hopefully you get it resolved. This is also why I'll never buy a modded vehicle.

**kb0zke** · 03-14-2023, 06:43 PM

The shop said they had to order the whole rear spring kit in order to get the small parts that are actually needed. The current thinking is that we will be able to give them back their car and get our truck late Friday. We have worked out a more direct route to our hosting gig at Graham Cave SP (west of St. Louis, right on I-70) that actually cuts nearly 500 miles off of our original route. We're going to do the 1,053 miles in five travel days. We'll leave here on Monday and arrive at Graham Cave on Wednesday of next week.

We thought about leaving Saturday morning and going directly to where we were going to be that night (San Angelo SP, San Angelo, TX), but decided that that was rushing too much. This will let us get things done in a more orderly fashion. I'll hitch up (but not plug the trailer into the truck) Sunday afternoon. That will speed the departure a bit on Monday morning. That's out longest travel day (228 miles) and we're going to be at a free city campground with only a few first come sites. We've stayed there several times before, so I'd like to get there as early as possible.

**kb0zke** · 03-18-2023, 05:26 PM

The truck was supposed to be ready at 5:00 yesterday. We went up, and they weren't done yet, so we got supper and went to Wal-Mart. Went back up this morning and it was ready, so we got the truck, got lunch, and went to Wal-Mart. Just now one of the neighbors brought over his impact wrench and we moved the hitch ball up. Tomorrow I'll grease the two zerks on the hitch and we should be mostly ready to go. The shop wants us to bring the truck back in Monday morning just to check it over, so we'll leave Tuesday morning - a week later than planned.

The truck is 6" lower to the ground, and has all new suspension parts, as well as new tires, so it really rides nice now.