After seven years of service, this daily driven 2003 Ford F-250 was due for a change. There was just too much off-road potential to be sacrificed with the stock suspension and average ground clearance. After driving the newer coil-spring front suspension Super Duty we knew it was possible to coax a good ride out of a solid front axle HD truck, but what were our options with our older, leaf spring truck? After a few calls and some suggestions, we decided to go with the recommended set of Deaver 4-inch lift springs and all of the necessary components to give the Super Duty added capability and a better ride at the same time. A set of new Nitto Trail Grappler Mud Terrain tires and USA Forged wheels would allow the Ford to go off the beaten path, and where else would we turn to add a healthy boost of horsepower for an HD truck but Gale Banks Engineering? A complete Banks Power Pack would unleash 56 hp and 67 lb-ft of torque that we didn't know the V-10 was hiding. To handle the suspension install, we took a short drive to 4 Wheel Parts, in Redondo Beach, California, where the 4WD gurus had our Super Duty up in the air in no time. Read along and see how, in just one day, this tried and true Ford F-250 went from a boring daily driver to trail-ready rig thanks to several high-quality, bolt-on parts.
Before: We installed a set...
Before: We installed a set of Go Rhino steps on the truck in anticipation of its new, taller step-in height.
With wrenches and a reciprocating...
With wrenches and a reciprocating saw at his disposal, Joe Wilson, installer at Banks Engineering, had the old exhaust broken down into manageable sections in just a matter of minutes. The crew cab truck had quite a bit of exhaust to remove, here's the huge muffler and giant catalytic converter ready for the recycling bin.
After lifting the front axle...
After lifting the front axle and removing both front tires, Joe had easy access to the exhaust manifolds. As you can see, the log-style manifold left a lot of performance on the table.
Now we're talkin'! You can...
Now we're talkin'! You can tell the Banks headers are going to seriously outflow the cast manifold just by looking at them.
Before the headers can go...
Before the headers can go in, Joe first installed the heat shields on the starter, the sway bar end link bushing, and a large heat shield between the collector and the floorboard.
After lifting the headers...
After lifting the headers up from below, Joe torqued them to the heads with the included gasket in between.
The Banks kit included a much...
The Banks kit included a much less-restrictive Y-pipe. Here it is being clamped to the driver side header by way of a mandrel-bent elbow.
The rest of the exhaust was...
The rest of the exhaust was a piece of cake, and used the factory hangers. Joe clamped them in place before tack welding each joint to ensure nothing would ever come loose.
To get rid of the biggest...
To get rid of the biggest restriction on the intake, Banks uses a simple filter housing. After a few clamps were removed, Joe placed the new filter housing on the factory intake tube.
The final piece of the performance...
The final piece of the performance puzzle, the Banks Trans Command, was installed on the frame and plugged into the transmission to boost line pressure and increase transmission life.
Moving to 4 Wheel Parts in...
Moving to 4 Wheel Parts in Redondo Beach, California, Josh Reiter began the process by mounting and balancing our Nitto Trail Grappler tires to the USA Forged wheels. We were impressed that such a heavy combo only needed 1.5-3.5 ounces of weight for a perfect balance.
With the Super Duty on the...
With the Super Duty on the lift, Josh began the disassembly by removing the U-bolts, the track bar, and the track bar mount.