Jacob over at The Custom Connection Online graciously provided the hardware for the first ever mod to my dad's super radical Ford Van. We believe this is the gateway modification to a body-layin', frame-draggin', family-haulin' van on at least 24s. But first, here's how the install went, with install pictures snapped by my dad Glenn and brother Scott, and story write-up by my dad.
"Here's the run down on the Air Lift Ride Control kit installation on a 148K mile '97 Ford E150 Van with 4.6L engine.
The Van is otherwise stock except for the axle ratio change to an open 3.73. The step bumper hitch had been sufficient for the MX trailer, but a 10K Hidden Hitch receiver was added to handle the 600+ lb tongue weight of the Carson Rebel X trailer. A load equalizer hitch was used also to transfer some of the 7K max trailer weight to the vehicle. At the maximum trailer weight, this combination with the gearing and engine would be at the maximum combined vehicle weight rating.
As seen in the photo with the empty trailer (4K lb weight) hooked to the Van with a conventional (weight bearing) hitch, the hitch ball location was a bit low for the trailer ball receiver height. The Van, with stock suspension, was settling tail heavy, and would easily bottom in normal non-freeway speed surface street driving. This would have been a dangerous setup at freeway speeds. Scott recommended a load equalizer hitch and suspension load assist from an air bag system to stiffen up the rear.
Monica, your timing was great. The hitch receiver was landed and installed, the trailer puller mods finished (Phoenix II), the equalizer hitch arrived, and the Air Lift Ride Control Kit followed the day before the April 4/5 outing.
The timing of the installation was good, but that evening there was a heavy drizzle, and that combined with the desert buildup under the Van made for some interesting environmental conditions. Scott did 99% of the installation. I handed him tools and reminded him that we would have a dinner break between the passenger side and the driver side bag installations.
The easier passenger side installation is pictured Photo 1. The upper bag mounts, positioned per instructions, makes one of the two forward, pre-drilled holes un-usable because of the bend in the frame. A new forward position was drilled into the upper mount (in between the two pre-drilled mount holes) to accommodate the fourth mount bolt. It's hard to see in this picture, however, the same process was necessary on the driver side which is visible in one of the later pictures. The air line was routed to the driver side area.
This Van has rear air conditioning which complicates the upper bag mount and air line routing on the driver side. Photo 2 captures the air conditioner line routing directly above the frame rail. These lines needed to be manually separated in order to capture some space for the air bag line and fitting.
Photo 3, shown from beneath the axle, shows the upper portion of the bag and mount, air lines and spring clamp and U-bolt. The U-bolt threads were shortened to better fit this spring stack.
Photo 4 shows the upper bag mount and new bolt location on the forward portion. Note the proximity of the AC lines and the upper bag mount.
Photo 5 is the driver side with nearby AC lines and air lines. The air lines were joined with a single line heading up to the fuel fill area. We elected not to hard-mount the Schrader valve for this installation. The valve is easily accessed; we may add a pump and small tank to make the fill and empty process more automated.
At 100psi assist, the Van and trailer combination rode nicely at freeway speeds, didn't bottom at any time, on, or off-road, and provided a pleasant flat rear ride height. The added hitch weight and rear spring rate quickly showed that the standard shock absorbers were under-damped for the load, but I expected that mis-match. It's time to replace the shock absorbers (again), so I'll get some with heavier duty capability.
Except for the lousy outdoor environmental conditions, the installation was typical. The only surprise was the bracket placement on the frame necessitating a new hole (which Scott considered trivial). Installation time was on-par too. This was a lot like the Air Lift air shocks I installed in 1967 on my early Falcon Sprint. Those I used for a different reason, but their adjustability allowed that car enough stability to leave the line at 5000 rpm. Unfortunately, they didn't add durability to other driveline pieces including driveshaft, U-joints, and BW T-10 transmission main shafts! But that was another time!