Want to fix the F150 leveling kit problems? We got you. We all know how great leveling kits are.
They allow the user to fit bigger wheels as well as new tires underneath.
But, if the leveling kits no longer works, everything gets quite messy.
In this article, we’ll explain some of the most common leveling kit issues for the F150 and how you can fix them on your own.
Also, you’ll learn about a leveling kit that has caught our attention for the F150.
That said, let’s dive in to learn more about most problems regarding the leveling kit.
Contents
DIY Guide: How To Fix F150 Leveling Kit Problems
Here, we’ll explain some of the most common problems regarding the leveling kit on the F-150. We’ll also cover how you can fix them on your own.
Without any further ado, here are the most common problems on the F150:
01. Humming Noise
So, you’re going down the road, everything is quiet, as usual.
But all of a sudden, you hear a rather alarming sound coming from what seems to be the wheels?
Well, it’s most likely the actuator messing up the leveling kit.
When installing a leveling kit on the F150, some people tend to force the lower control arm and then push the cv joints in at the same time.
This poor management causes the actuator to break.
If you want to fix this issue on your own, here is how you can replace the actuator:
What You Will Need
For this job, you’ll need the following tools:
- Grease—when installing the actuator, you’ll need grease to protect the actuator from corrosion
- An impact gun—the best way to remove bolts from any vehicle is by using an impact gun, which is why you want to use one of them
- A flathead screwdriver—there is a lug nut you need to remove, and the flathead screwdriver comes in handy for such situations
- A hammer—there is a bolt you need to remove, and the hammer will make it easier for you to take it off
- Penetrate oil—the oil will allow you to reduce the heat and all the rusted parts
- A wire brush—you’ll need the wire brush to remove rust once you take off the wheels
Remove The Wheels
Here, you’re just going to raise the vehicle and then remove the wheels.
- Jack up the truck. Then take off the lug nuts from the wheels and then remove the truck’s wheel.
- Now, you want to spray rust penetrate oil over the upper ball joint and the outer tie rod end
Clean The Threads
Once you’ve removed the wheels, follow these steps:
- Now use a wire brush to clean the threads. Apply as much pressure as needed to clean the upper ball joint and the outer tie rod end.
- Next, there is a vacuum on the back of the actuator; you want to disconnect it
Remove The Lug Nut
In this section, you’re going to be doing a lot of work before you can install the new actuator. That said, follow these steps:
- There is a little lug nut in the middle of the caliper. You need to remove it using a flathead screwdriver and a hammer. Get the flathead underneath the lug nut and then hit the back of the screwdriver using a hammer to apply enough pressure for the lug to come off
- Now, remove the bolt from the outer tie rod end with the impact gun. Tap on it using a hammer to loosen it up. Now it should pop right off.
- Then take off the upper ball joint nut. Once you’ve removed the nut, tap on the knuckle using the hammer. Hold the caliper when doing this, as the caliper will come off right away. Pick the caliper up and get it straight.
- On the actuator, there are eight-millimeter bolts. You need to take them all off. Now take the actuator and pull it out. Now proceed to clean the shaft using brake clean to remove all the dirt
Install Everything
There is a lot to do here. You’ll install the new actuator and then you have to put everything back on.
- Start by cleaning all the dirt inside the steering knuckle.
- After that, put some grease inside the needle bearing as well as the shaft.
- From there, take the new actuator and put it back on the shaft, and then proceed to get inside the hole. As you’re placing the actuator inside, the actuator will separate from the shaft.
- Position the actuator and make sure it fits in nicely. Now put all the bolts back in. Once you’ve done that, grab the caliper and push it back
- As you’re pushing it back, you need to put back in all the bolts you previously took off to secure the caliper. From there, you want to turn the hub until it has locked into place, and then tighten the lug nut that goes in the middle. And now all you have to do is put everything back on
Got stuck somewhere in the process? This excellent video might help you:
02. Parking Brake Lights Won’t Go Away
Did you recently notice some F150 leveling kit issues after installing a new leveling kit to enhance the beauty of your truck, such as parking brake lights that won’t go away?
If that’s the case, you probably didn’t disconnect the battery before installing the leveling kit.
If you do not disconnect the battery, the system will get damaged, causing the parking brake light to stay.
To verify that the wheel speed sensors are in great shape, follow these steps:
- Take a look at the wires on the wheel hub. If you notice any bending or any worn-out cables, that means they got damaged during the installation process
- However, you might be lucky enough where you only might have to reconnect them. Sometimes, they get disconnected, causing the vehicle to malfunction. That’s how you can fix the problem
Now, if you’ve determined that the wheel speed sensor is indeed the culprit, here is how you can replace it on your own:
What You Will Need
Here is what you need for this job:
- A floor jack and jack stands—for this job, you need to raise the vehicle to remove the faulty wheel speed sensor
- An impact gun—as always, we suggest getting an impact gun to remove bolts
- A flathead screwdriver—when removing the sensor, you’ll find a little bracket on your way; you need a flathead screwdriver to remove it
Jack Up The Car
First and foremost, you need to jack up the vehicle before replacing the wheel speed sensor.
- Jack up the vehicle. You must use jack stands to secure the car as well as the floor jack. Once you’ve jacked the up vehicle, use your impact gun to take off all the lug nuts holding the wheel
Remove The Wheel Speed Sensor
Here, there is a lot to do before you can install the new sensor. That said, please follow these steps:
- Now that we have access to the wheel hub, you should see the wheel speed sensor on the rotor’s back. There is a bolt holding the sensor; you must remove it to take off the sensor.
- Next, get a flathead screwdriver and get underneath the sensor to take it off
- Take the wire and remove all the clips holding the wire. And finally, this little bracket is holding the wire; use the flathead screwdriver to remove it. After that, head over to the engine to remove the connector
- The connector can be found just above the control arm. Remove the sensor from the surface that it is mounted to. Now you should be able to remove the sensor from the vehicle
Install The New Wheel Speed Sensor
And now, you must install the new sensor. Don’t worry, though; this part is pretty straightforward.
- Now, get the new sensor under the rotor and plug it in. Put the bolt back in and tighten it down. Next, fold the new wire around and put it back on the clips to secure the sensor. From underneath, you want to feed the wire through the finger wheel until you’ve reached the top
- Then remount the wire into the surface you previously took it off from. Once you’ve got that out of the way, proceed to reinstall the wheel
And now you’re done. If you want to watch a video for this process, we suggest watching this one:
03. Clunking Noise
The F150 leveling kit noise is incredibly annoying.
If you hear a clunking noise coming from the wheels after the installation, you probably did not tighten the sway bar end links.
You might hear this annoying noise every so often after installing a leveling kit.
If that is the case, there is a high chance you’ll find the sway bar end links lose.
If you want to get rid of the annoying clunking noise, follow the steps down below:
What You’ll Need
For this job, here is what you need:
- A 14mm socket and ratchet—to tighten the bolt on the sway bar links, you need a socket and a ratchet
- A floor jack and jack stands—to tighten the sway bar end links, you need to raise the truck
Raise The Vehicle
- Use the breaker bar to break loose all the lug nuts from the wheels. Raise and support the vehicle.
- Once you’ve raised the car, go ahead and remove the lug nuts by hand, and then take off the wheels
Tighten The Sway Bar End Link
- You should now have access to the sway bar end link. There is this considerable bolt that is probably loose. So, what you want to do is tighten that bolt to get rid of the clunking noise
- Use a 14mm socket down below, and then use the 14mm ratchet on the top and now proceed to tighten the bolt
After going through those steps, the clunking noise should be gone.
04. Wheels Rub A Lot
Are you rocking some new wheels, but the F150 leveling kit rubbing can’t seem to stop? Well, if that’s the case, you might want to consider replacing the wheels.
If you’re running 35’s with a 2” leveling kit, the wheels will probably rub a lot.
That is not the case for everyone. For instance, if you’re on a 2015 F150 with a 2.5” leveling kit, 34” tires should fit in just fine without causing any rubbing.
However, if you recently installed a leveling kit to fit in bigger wheels and the constant rubbing started after that, you need to replace the wheels.
If you want to change the wheels on a Ford F-150 on your own, follow these steps:
What You’ll Need
Here is what you need for this simple job:
- A floor jack and stands—when replacing a tire on your Ford F-150, you always want to raise the vehicle
- An impact gun—using an impact gun to remove lug nuts is a great way to save time
Jack Up The Car
- Remove the lug nuts from the wheels. Now, you want to raise the vehicle using a floor jack and jack stands. Once you’ve jacked up the truck, proceed to remove the lug nuts by hand
Install The New Wheels
- Next, you want to remove the wheels. Now that you got one tire off, you need to install the spare one
- Placing the new wheels might take some time before you get it right, so no need to worry about it. Once you’ve installed the wheels, you want to put back on all the lug nuts you previously took off
And there you go. The rubbing issue should now be fixed.
F150 Leveling Kit Problems Replacement Cost
This replacement cost section aims to point you in the right direction on how much money you should expect to pay for any damaged part of your vehicle that might cause the leveling kit to malfunction.
Any given price is subject to change depending on several factors, such as where you live and how much money your dealer charges on average.
Nonetheless, it’s not a bad idea to know the average cost of any problem.
Actuator Replacement
You’d be surprised by how common it is for the actuator to go bad. It just happens sometimes.
So, how much money does it cost to replace an actuator? The actuator itself costs about $90, and the labor for this job is about $180.
Wheel Speed Sensor Replacement
Installing a leveling kit is somewhat of a challenging job. So, it’s not surprising to screw up during the process.
If the wheel speed sensor got damaged during the leveling kit’s installation process, you should expect to pay about $220 for a new wheel speed sensor.
As far as the labor cost goes, the estimated price is roughly $50.
Best Leveling Kit For The F150
Are you in the market for a great and reliable leveling kit for your gorgeous F150? Well, we got a sturdy and reliable leveling kit just for you. That being said, let’s take a look at that leveling kit!
Rough Leveling Kit F150
To make the buying process a lot easier, we have an excellent and reliable leveling kit from Rough for the F150.
This sturdy leveling kit will allow you to get that extra highness you need to throw in some bigger tires underneath the truck.
To start off, we noticed that this leveling kit is 2 inches. Some F150 owners prefer leveling kits this instead of 2.5 inches for high compatibility.
Apart from that, 2.5-inch leveling kits tend to cause a little bit of trouble.
And finally, the best thing about this leveling kit from Rough is that it is made of a durable and resistant heavy-duty material that is pretty resistant to rusting from water.
What we Liked
- It’s easy to install
- Boasts a corrosion-resistant build
- Perfect size for fewer issues
- Excellent performance
Cons
- Installing the kit can be difficult
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Want to know more about leveling kits on the F150? If so, we’ve got a couple of common questions we answered so that you could learn a thing or two about leveling kits. That said, here are those questions:
Does a leveling kit affect ride quality F150?
No, installing a leveling kit won’t affect your ride. You might get a slight drop in mpg—less than 1mpg, but that’s about it.
Will a leveling kit mess up my truck?
No, the leveling kit won’t damage your truck unless the leveling kit is poorly installed. If the leveling kit is incorrectly installed in your car, you might hear a clunking noise.
Is a 3-inch leveling kit bad for your truck?
Some truck owners don’t like 3-inch leveling kits as they tend to get damaged faster than the smaller ones.
What are the cons of using a leveling kit?
With the extra weight of bigger wheels and tires, the lifespan might be decreased due to the unusual weight from the wheels and the tires.
Final Words
Overall, we went through some common F150 leveling kit problems that most F150 owners experience.
A poor installation causes most of these problems. You’d be surprised by how much damage a rushed installation can cause to the vehicle.
If you’re installing a leveling kit on your own, we suggest taking enough time for the process.
Otherwise, you could skip some important stuff only to realize it later on.
Also, if you take the vehicle to the dealer, you might want to do some research on the company before they do anything to your truck, just to make sure.