I have a 1988 Ford F150 1/2 ton with the tow package.  351 engine - extra coolers - heavy overload springs.  I bought a set of 33X12.5X15 tires which will mount on 15X10 wheels.  Everything is factory. OH, it is 5-lug.  will I need a lift?  Thanks in advance.  

I have an 85 ford bronco, and i am running 33x15.50 claws. I was running some 33x12.50 all terrains before with stock suspension. I had some serious rubbing on the frame and sway bar at full steer. Before adding the claws I put a 2" lift and some 1 1/4" wheel spacers. I still experience a little rub at full steer when I fully compress the shocks on one side or the other. A 2" to 4" lift should prevent you from having any trouble. Proper backspacing of the wheels will be of greater advantage to you than anything.  

Something else to remember, that truck has the darn swing axle/ TTB front end so you cannot simply put spacers in coils to lift it as it throw camber way off and can cause tires to wear a lot quicker and funny too as well as handle funny. The only proper way to try to lift the truck is with a kit that repositions front axle further from frame so that proper camber angle can be had when static or a body lift. No other way is really acceptable.  

Thanks for the replies so far.  The rims I am going to get are US Wheel 15X10 5 on 5.5 with 4" backspacing.  It looks like the back would be OK but was wondering about a leveling kit for the front.  Any advice?  

You need to understand that you cannot simply level front end at any hight you want to if you want to have any kind of tire life and reasonable handling. On that front axle design, "level" is when axle camber angle is correct when truck is sitting static. (it is really a very primitive design) Any other height setting is not right. If you want true freedom to raise and lower front end easily with no camber angle concerns you need to scrap the front axle and install a solid front axle. TTB was clearly not one of Fords better ideas.  

Snoman,  I don't really want to spend the money on a suspension lift.  Will a body lift help to level the truck out.  Or do I have to realize the only way to level the truck is by using a susp. lift? Thanks.  

Static your front tires should have about 1 degrees )give or take of positive camber (top of tire further out than bottom) As you extend axles out in suspension the camber can go wildly positive and as you compress it it can go negative. You can add spacers in could to raise truck some of caster is negative now (bottom of tires further out than top) but there is only a range of a 1 inch or so in height variance static the camber is correct. A body lift would really be a better way to get tire clearance on your truck if you do not want to to a proper suspension lift.  

I wouldn't recommend a body lift because this will do nothing to make room between the tire and frame. 4" of backspacing is probably going to cause problems as well. Did you measure the backspacing on the factory wheels? My stockers were 2.5" and I had alot of rub with 33x12.50's. 4" will set the wheel back further into the wheel well, thus closer to the frame, wich is opposite of where you need to go. Something you need to understand about Snoman is, that he really doesn't like TTB suspensions, at all. I have had my bronco for a few years now and I love the TTB. You get the smooth ride of an independent and the durability of a solid axle. I strongly agree with the statement about not using spacers on the front end, they will throw the geometry off. There are alot of great kits out there that include axle pivot relocation brackets as well as improved radius arms. Some have radius arm relocation brackets, I wouldn't recommend this unless you are not concerned with ground clearance. The kit I used is from rough country along with pivot arm brackets from jeff's bronco graveyard. One thing sno was right about is the funny tire wear compared to a solid axle. Personally I rotate my tires every 5k miles and get about as much life out of them as I did with my solid axle xj. Giving up just a little because of the weight difference of the two. Another thing that can cut down on tire wear and that "funny" handling that was mentioned, is to check and/or replace all the bushings in the frontend. This is something often overlooked by many people who just write it off as being a design flaw of the TTB or a bad alignment. If you need to replace any one bushing, replace all of them, because the others will just give under the strain of the new ones. I would also suggest using polyurethane because they will outlast the OEM replacements and provide better performance.  

Yes I am firmly against a TTB. It is like the rear transaxle from a 65 VW. It was lot tech then and even lower tech in 80's and beyond. Very crude and primitive and hard on tires too. Ford FINALLY quietly laid it to rest (and long overdue) after Explorer roll overs that they blamed on tires that Ford spec had under inflated anyway. The swing axle up front can tuck during control loss with a rear blow out and give you a quick one way ticket to a roll over. Ford was real quite about scrapping TTB and lowering Explorer CG too in 03 because of course it was not because it was a problem to begin with or the real cause of roll overs because no car should roll so easy with a tire failure.  

One more thing to note: Lifting a TTB Ford requires a lot of patience because a number of the front suspension components that will need to be removed are held in place with bolts and rivets. There are dozens of them, and they each need to be removed by drilling off the heads and then driving out each rivet with a punch. It can be done, of course, but it's time-consuming, which will translate into more shop time, which = more money if you're not doing the work yourself. Check out this storyfrom our archives about a lift we installed on one of our TTB F-trucks.  

if you set up a ttb right you can get nice travel and ride but it is hard on your tires and has werid handling, i would rather have a real solid axle becasue they are a proven design and are easy to lift.  

the TTB front ends did not cause the explorer to be prone to rolling.
 gen 1 explorer;s 91-94 were built after a truck.And was meant to been like a "truck". Almost like a van even.

 80 newer broncos, 80-96.5 F150's,83-97 ranger's
91-94 exxplorers,84-90 bronco 2's.....you can put a leveling kit aprx 1.5-2 inch lift coils with out the need of any drop brackets.  You will need eccentric(camber/caster) bushing's to get the aliment back in spec.

 The ford F250's with the dana50 leaf sprung TTB, is a turd.That whole concept fights against it self.And will always ride and drive like crap.Unless everything is in "like new" condition.But still not great.

 problem most people have with ford TTB & TIB (those funny split like a pair of scissors axle thing) is understanding them.

 Also your better off using a good rubber bushing over the polys.The rubber is more elastic.and works better with the design of (TTB) twin traction beams  and radius arms.remember the traction beam pivot point twists during travel due to the radius arm rolling caster.Its just the nature of the beast.

 if you want to lift a TTB truck, there are a few way's of going about it.  you can ether buy a "kit" with the drop brackets for the TTB pivot points.To lower them down for camber correction, along with ethier longer radius arms or radius arm drop down brackets to correct caster.(That's where you get in to grinding all the rivet's)
and a drooped Pittman arm.

skyjacker,superlift, trailmaster,pro comp,rancho etc.......some are way better kits than others.

 another way, is with cut and turned "beam's"  (twin traction "beam's"). Where the beam is modified to correct camber, and no longer a need for lowered pivot point's to correct camber.A apair of extended radius arms are a must.AS the stock radius arm mount cross member can get in the way of the front drive shaft.but the benefit's justify the cost.with the rewards of travel

Some company's that make cut and turned beam kits,you do not need a drooped pit man arm for the full size trucks.and a very small one for the small truck's.And can get in the 16 inch travel range with relocated upper shock mounts, and about 12 with the stock shock mounts..with 4-5 inches of lift.
Also the stock 15x7.5 rims that come of the fullsize trucks work the best with the cut and turned beam kits.tires up to 35x12.50 can clear with with some a little fender,bumper,trimming,and some clean up of the fire wall.
33's with very little,usually just the front bumper needs a little shave.

autofab.com  I know the bronco kit says like 2700 , but you can tone it down and get a basic cut and turned kit with radius arms kit for about the same price as a stage 2 drop bracket kit with radius arms.

 


 
  Im not saying the TTB & TIB 's are not "crude" cause they are.And Im not saying TTB & TIB (TIB twin I-beam) can or will suit everyones needs.cause they cant, no more than a solid axle can.But if alined correct they will not eat up tires over night.Any worse than any other truck thats out of aline.be it, beams, a-arms, solid axle.

 they dont respond well to lift's over 6inches.so not really good for mud trucks,but they work great as a "tuff truck" or playing with speed in the dunes,blasting loging trails,fire roads, in the desert etc. and can do pretty well as a trail truck for not much and a little tinkering.for a trail truck it comes down to the right springs for the use and relocating the upper shok mount.
  They do cost more than say a straight axle chevy with cheap springs(pick your favorite lift shop house springs) to lift nor can you lift one as high.but once you start getting high lifts, your getting in to the same cost.cause you "Should" be turing the knuckles back to regain your caster.if your worried about a good driving truck.And if your looking for HIGH and a good ride you know that going custom springs and those arent cheap at 600 plus for a pair of leaf springs. But the fullsize d44 TTB's are just as strong as a chevy,dodge, ford staright d44.

 But if you have the needs for dana 60's and tires bigger than 35's, your probably looking to build a brutal mud truck or some crazy slinky for the rocks.and the TTB is just not up to those tasks.

  but for a over all truck, the TTB is a different but rather good, strong simple set up, when set up right.
 And that can be done with either cut and turned beams or drop brackets depending on budget and over all use.and a ailment shop that knows how to align TTB's.AS alot of people just don't understand them.