I have a 2001 Reg Cab F150 and it seems bouncy on the freeway. On the right road it feels like my insides are shaking apart. I drove a Super Cab and it felt worse. What mods can I do to make the truck feel more like a car at least on the freeway? Shocks, springs, seat?

 

Buellwinkle,

I installed a Hellwig rear sway bar to primarily help cornering on my SCrew, but a secondary benefit was a noticeable reduction in the usual "empty truck bed bounce".

 

Buellwinkle-

I was having similar problems. Changed the shocks out last night.... and this morning, feels like a new ride. Examined the old shocks and could compress them with my hands. Makes you think how much they were working with 5500 lbs on them, eh?

To check, go to each corner of your truck and press down with your body weight. See what kind of response you get. If its an excessive bounce and/or super slow...time to upgrade to some Edelbrocks.

Good luck! I can't wait to get off work so I can drive my smooth riding truck again.

 

The general ride before or after shocks and anti-sway bars on the F-150 is firm and bouncy on rough roads; typical on rear straight axle/leaf spring setups. The ride is greatly improved over previous models. I tried shocks, rear anti-sway bar, then front anti-sway bar-- one at a time evaluating each one for a few weeks. The combination made a nice improvement, each one helped independently, but BY FAR the most noticeable was the front anti-sway bar.

 

Max,
Did you have any problems installing the rear bar? I remember reading that some had problems installing with the limited slip differential.

Does anybody have a good web address for Hellwig? I tried www.hellwigfirst.com and get some Earthlink server notice.

 

I had no problems. I've read of several people having problems installing it, but none because of the LS. It does require a bit of work to install it correctly. Some people can't even seem to install it above the axle. You have to bend the brake lines slightly to get the U-bolts around the axle. You have to bend the emergency brake cable bracket out of the way if it hits. Most importantly, the U-bolt/bushing brackets must be installed at the right angle to allow the bar to clear the ABS sensor casting area on the top/ front of the axle housing.

 

Thanks for all the responses. It seems that half the folks that put in better shocks say there's improvement and half say no improvement. I don't need better handling as the bench seat I have can barely keep me in place on straight roads. I decided to get the BFGoodrich Velvet-Ride Shackles (www.velvet-ride.com). I checked several boards and there were several inquiries on the velvet-ride but no one had them. I have little to lose as they offer a 30-day return policy and they are backed by BFGoodrich. I'll update this post after I had a chance to try them out.