How To: OBS Ford Coil Conversion & 4 Link

[@TroyAnthony25]

the truck looks better in person when i saw it today! your local UPS guy approves!

[@thomascrown493]

Seeing that 6.4L in the fleet got you a new subscription.

[@Mustang66289]

Hey man, started installing my MDK coil kit yesterday. I really appreciate your in depth video. I've reviewed it a couple times during my tear down. I'm not good at video, but I am taking pics. I'll send you a few when I'm done. Thanks again!!!!

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Bad ass! Can’t wait to see it!

[@TheRoadhammer379]

This turned out so friggin nice. I wish I had thought of the blocks when I initially lifted mine a few years ago. Using Highboy lift springs cut my load hauling capacity in half. I am probably going to re-install the original cab and chassis springs and do what you did. Awesome build Doug, thanks for putting this out, now I can order the coil set up

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Glad it was helpful. Make sure to share your finished result!

[@TheRoadhammer379]

​, well MDK is impossible to get a hold of so I went a different route. I took your vid, pics of the components and a local machine shop is building the entire kit. I left the truck with them and they are building to it on the spot.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

@TheRoadhammer379 sorry to hear. John at MDK is a nice guy and I’m not sure if he has too many sticks in the fire but I have heard from several people, privately, that getting ahold of him can be tough. He is relatively slow to get products shipped but he does get them shipped and the quality is second to none. Can’t wait to see what your local shop is able to do for you and make sure to reach out along the way and when it’s complete!

[@Mustang66289]

Looks Awesome. Ordered mine a couple months ago, still waiting, can't wait to install it!!!

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

It is 100% an improvement over stock.

[@TheRoadhammer379]

Mustang... sssshhhh,don't tell everyone, you are going to upset some old boomers or young jerkoffs who want to make rude comments about your purchase. Just ask Doug.

[@mikestephenson2201]

Glad to see ur back videos are awesome

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

🤛🏻. Between the F700 and the dually swap we are doing, there should be some so-so content coming up!

[@BLUEBLOODish]

Great video, bad ass truck! Im definitely going to do this to my 1995 F350

[@Janceschlottog]

I’m currently building a 1997 ford f350 and was wanting to do a coil over swap

[@RIDDYxMUSICH]

Lookin good brother. Clean set up.

[@tannpants9532]

Just got finished doing a RSK with x-codes in my 96 F350 CCLB, had no idea this existed.. Considering selling the RSK & doing this. Would you say this is worth doing over the RSK? How does it ride compared to a 05+ truck?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Idk if you’d be happy with the increased ride vs the rsk, given that you just did all the work of the rsk. It’s more expensive, for sure, to do this lift. If you hadn’t done the rsk already, I’d tell you to do it. I also have a 96 but it’s a sclb 4x4 with a 460. The rsk was a huge improvement on that truck. I’m glad I did this conversion but probably wouldn’t redo any work if it already had an rsk. It’ll ride comparable to an 05+ with this kit though, especially with yours being a long bed.

[@tannpants9532]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 Great answer, thanks for the fast reply!

[@killacali4283]

i currently have a 2wd 1995 f350. its hard to find a OBS straight axel. would it work with a 2003 f350 straight axel

[@dereknewtown615]

I see you said it was a 2.5” lift, I have a dually looking to go similar looks but what’s the wheels are tire set up. Thanks

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Yep, the first 2 minutes or so of that video have the truck with a 2.5” leaf spring lift. Tires are 35x12.5x20 Gladiator XComps. Wheels are 17x7(?) Pacers.

[@Nova-m8d]

Why would you do this? The leaf springs are clearly stronger than coils.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Leaf springs are out outdated and do not provide much benefit IN THE FRONT. Why do you need to be able to hold more weight in the front? Even if you have a snow plow, coils can easily handle the weight and give a better ride than leaf springs. There’s a reason why the “big 3” truck manufacturers all use coils up front and it has nothing to do with cost. It’s about ride quality and engineering. That’s why you do this.

[@Nova-m8d]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 You obviously have no clue.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Then enlighten me 🍿😂

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Can’t wait to hear what you have to teach us. Hurry up.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Come on! Let’s hear what you have to say. I’m sure you’re going to be able to teach a lot of people by being super smart. Tell us all why putting coils on the front, instead of leaf springs, is such a bad idea 😂.

[@davidjaggli6511]

You and your mom can wear gloves, LOL, old-school

[@KeithKalawa-bk4jn]

I m enjoy your videos because you build ford 😉 stuff ,

[@munklikescheese9507]

How much lift you got on that blue regular cab without the stars on it? Nice looking fleet.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

2.5” leveling in front and that’s it.

[@munklikescheese9507]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 looks nice - kinda what I'm shooting for. Level by add-a-leaf of shackle kit? Man that coil conversion looks like a ton of work! Cheers

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

@munklikescheese9507 I bought the truck like it sits. Whoever “lifted” it used some ghetto lift blocks to do it. I have another video with some more details about that blue truck from when I first bought it, if you want more info on it.

[@clevesewell]

I agree with the wearing gloves . Some people are soft some folks are not

[@OBS_karson_on24s]

@heyitsmedouglas heyitsmedouglas is that an 8 inch lift or 2.5? i ask bc the leaf spring suspension can be short lift than the coil suspension. i heard both and got confused on what it truly was. i just bought the same kit and had it powder coated just waiting on my truck to get out of paint.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

It depends on what you want to classify it as. The 2.5” coil springs for an 05+ , with the new mounting points make it a 7-8” lift from a stock 92-97.

[@technicalitems731]

I would like to do this to my 1987 ford f250 7.5 460 4x4 manual truck. But, stock height. Do they offer stock height? Nothing weird. Smooth and calm and smart. Not seeking attention with the truck. Want to be factory stealthy sort of. Thanks

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Not sure about that. Contact MDK to find out. You can always cut the coils down to work for your desired ride height (blah blah shut up about progressive spring rates and just live life you internet losers) and adjust whatever shocks you buy for the reduced ride height from what I posted.

[@Janceschlottog]

What’s his website called for this lift?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

mdkustomz.com

[@Janceschlottog]

Okay thank you!

[@dylant4104]

How did you fit 35s I got a stock 89 f450 I’m wanting to do a lift and wider tires but idk how wide I can go on it it’s on stocks and 10 lug 16s

[@Mustang66289]

Hey man, me again... lol. Everything is together, but I think I need a sway bar. What year truck sway bar did you use? Thanks again!!!

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

05-07. It might be the same for other years but mine was off a coil spring 4wd 6.0L so it was 05-07.

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 thx

[@backpackingWY]

Is MDK the only 4 link coilover kit you found? Still happy with it? Any wobble or bounce? I'm not wanting to swap dana 60 and 10.25" sterling rear out for 2005+ axles. The only other option is RSK, but front coilovers seems superior.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

It’s not a coilover. It’s just coils with shocks. You could do coilovers with it, I suppose. It rides fine for being a single cab dually and it’s definitely an improvement over stock. Rides better than an rsk for sure.

[@OBS_karson_on24s]

@heyitsmedouglas heyitsmedouglas i’m going to be installing this kit in a few weeks. could you tell me everything that i need to get outside of everything i’ve gotten from MDK? so like anything you had to get to make it work outside of the stuff you got from MDK.

[@Mustang66289]

Hey man got it all together, drives a little squirrelly though. I had to panic stop and the axle rolled/slipped in the brackets. I got the bolts hella tight too. Did you have this issue? Thx for your continued help.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

No issue. I tightened them down pretty dang good. Not sure on the torque specs bc I didn’t have any to go off of.

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 thanks man

[@bobbywalter5320]

any death wobble yet?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Zero

[@flonga2302]

Awesome video thanks for uploading

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Thanks for the positive feedback!

[@ss1943-xe5pw]

Hey, question: What kit did you order from MDK? The leveled or 4"?? I want the same result you got

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

I believe I did the 2.5” but it actually gave around 7” of lift with the Icon coils.

[@RIDDYxMUSICH]

FORD 4LIFE.

[@robertentrican8246]

Did you ever figure out why a 2.5 inch lift spring resulted in 7 inches of lift? I just ordered my COIL conversion kit, but I need to purchase the springs and shocks. I'm currently at a 6" lift on a 97 F350 on leafs (29" from the center of the hub to the edge of the fender) and I want to preserve that. If I do the simple math, your setup resulted in 7 inches of lift on a 2.5 inch lift coil, and if I were to purchase the 6 inch ICON coil, it would seem to result in 9.5 inches of lift ... which I do not want.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Not sure but it for sure gave that much lift. I took measurements before and after and I know it had a 2.5” front spring lift in front when I started so I accounted for that in my numbers. It’s most likely bc they are coils that are supposed to be for an 05+ Superduty which weighs more. Since I kept the stock ‘95 Dana 60, the coils are really the only thing that could explain the lift height.

[@robertentrican8246]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 I appreciate the quick response - so just to clarify, you started with 24 inches from the center of the hub to the fender, and after the 2.5 inch spring you were at 30 inches?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

@robertentrican8246 it has been a minute since I looked at the measurements. When I took the initial measurements, the truck already had a 2.5” leaf spring lift in front. When I took my AFTER COIL SPRING SWAP measurements, I took into account the 2.5” lift that was already installed. Basically, I adjusted my “starting” numbers to pretend that there was not already 2.5” of lift on the front so that someone could take measurements on their STOCK truck and compare them to what mine would have been at the beginning to what they were after the coil conversion.

[@robertentrican8246]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 ok - so then as it sits right now, with the 2.5 inch on it, you have a measurement of 30 inches from the center of the bun to the fender? If not, what is it? If so, do you remember the model number of the fox shocks you chose?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

@robertentrican8246 there is NO 2.5” on it now. It was leaf springs before with a 2.5” lift which was removed and is now converted to be on coils. Assume there was never a lift on it before…the measurement that I put in the video would be the total amount of lift height. The Fox shocks are part number 980-24-039.

[@timlange8469]

I will be doing this install soon. Are you sure that’s 2.5 lift coil? I ordered a 4.5 lift. Your truck sits higher than I want to be at

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Positive I got the 2.5” Icon coils from PMF. Part PMF-FRD-8000-510

[@timlange8469]

Damn you ended with like 8 inch of lift though

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Yep. I think it came out to 7”. Not sure where it came from but they are for sure 2.5” coils by Icon for 05+. I’d be curious to measure a stock 94.5-97 vs an 05-07 and see what the difference is from the center of the hub to the top of the wheel well. That may be the difference.

[@timlange8469]

Could get me your measurement from center of axle to top of wheel well. Thanks for getting back to me

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Passenger front started at 26 1/4” (keep in mind that it already had 2.5” lift springs in front). It now sits at 32”. Soooo, 2.5” plus 5 3/4” equals 8.25”. In the rear, I did an 8” PMF block and it sits barely nose-high in front.

[@lukeduke1573]

What wheels are those? Tire size front and rear?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

35x12.5 17 tires and wheels front and rear. 17x6.5 wheels.

[@BomarBuilds]

​@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312tires and wheels look good, how much of a spacer did you have to run between the rears?

[@Mustang66289]

Hey man, gonna pick your brain again, sorry. How long is your track bar from bolt hole to bolt hole. Thanks again.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Keep asking questions, if you have them. It’s 25 3/16” center of hole to center of hole.

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 thank you, I appreciate you. I'm getting close

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Are you waiting to do the rear until you see how much lift you get out of the front?

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 yeah, I already have 6" lift leaf springs with 4" blocks. Probably gonna do a shackle reversal and build a custom leaf pack. I have 4 or 5 sets of different leaf packs to choose from

[@TheRoadhammer379]

Doug, do you have MDK contact info. He doesn't have comments turned on, his website is shit and there's no way to contact him. I had questions, and I was waiting for your video to drop before ordering. Also, is your truck a true cab and chassis? I ask because there are no lift springs available for our trucks, our frames are different width than the F350 pickup. I ended up using custom lift springs from my 1972 F250 Highboy when I first lifted my 95. They were the only springs I could find in 2.25" wide, 26x26" long.

[@TheRoadhammer379]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 done, and I edited my original comment

[@kobiemitchell196]

Will it work on my 2wd 95 f350?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

No.

[@johnhill5307]

I'm curious as to why. Other than missing the front axle, the kit appears to come with all the brackets required.

[@fightinggator4398]

Man I have a 97 F-350 dually 4x4 chassis cab and I want to do something with the rear suspension. It beats me to death.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

If it’s riding on your overload springs, you need to fix that, if you want any improvement.

[@fightinggator4398]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 I want to do air ride in the rear but I can't find anyone that makes it for this year

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

The guy that made the kit that the video is about makes one. John Hensley. Madd Dog Kustomz.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

@md_kustomz

[@fightinggator4398]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 thanks bud, my truck is almost exactly like your btw

[@Mustang66289]

Sorry to keep bothering you, but was your track bar too short, thx.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

The MDK kit comes with a new adjustable trac bar. It fit like it should.

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 thanks, mines too short. I appreciate it.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

The MDK version or the stock version?

[@Mustang66289]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 mdk version. My truck is gas

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

How high of a lift did you go with?

[@CR500R]

Bolt-On kit huh? 😁

[@alanwoodwind5265]

Call me obtuse, wouldn't a Super Duty coil swap kit be better?

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

It IS a Superduty coil swap. 05+ coils.

[@alanwoodwind5265]

Dude how the hell did I get to this video? I was watching the Carrick Customs one. Damn fingers.

[@davidmcnerney3048]

I think that should ride alot better. My F-Super Duty rides like a mule untill she has her 9.5ft VPlow mounted. Texas guys are spoiled with how clean those trucks are.

[@hondaxl250k0]

If your truck squats with out a load…. You probably squat to pee….

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

I don’t squat. I fully sit down when I pee. Probably like yourself with your Honda 250 😆.

[@hondaxl250k0]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 I have 78 vintage bikes. And 2 obs fords. One 351w and my 7.3 powerstroke. None of us squat.

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Well, I have 79 vintage bikes and I converted them all to squat.

[@hondaxl250k0]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312a one of them trans foke.. good luck too ya sir mam it helicopter..

[@davidjaggli6511]

The truck was better the other way, what a waste of time and money,

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

To each their own. Still have the same towing capacity, same size tires/wheels, and it rides better than before. Seems like a win.

[@davidjaggli6511]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 I get it, I'm old and I grew up with the old leaf springs and I just like that better, reason less moving parts to wear out, I do think the truck is awesome

[@TheRoadhammer379]

@@davidjaggli6511 so you refuse to accept a better technology and use age as the excuse to be a snarky dbag... ok boomer.

[@TheRoadhammer379]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312, man I didn't know you could hurt so many fragile egos by doing that conversion! How dare you use your money to improve your vehicle, shame on you Doug

[@davidjaggli6511]

@@TheRoadhammer379 you're the only one that got his feelings hurt

[@jackkrinkov9273]

The welds actually look like shit in the kit!

[@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312]

Almost as shitty as your AK

[@jackkrinkov9273]

@@heyitsmedouglasheyitsmedou1312 Im not knocking you , I dig your channel and love your trucks but i had to call out those welds!