Finally got around to doing something about this. I had to get tires so I shopped around on Craigslist and found some 2014 275/65/18 Goodyears on factory chrome rims with only 2000 miles. Got them for $800 and was pretty pleased since tires alone were gonna cost me nearly $800. I'm an opportunist and when new 3" Freedom Offroad struts for my model showed up on Craigslist close by I picked them up for $150. That's more than $100 off retail.
I went at this like it was gonna be easy. The first one was a PITA to get installed cause I didn't really know how to get it to droop enough to get the strut in. I did not disconnect the axle. Turns out an 18" wrecking bar and a bottle jack will help you get the bottom of the strut in place. The other side took less than 1/2 hour after I perfected getting the strut in.
At full droop the upper A arm does hit the spring. As you can see by the pic, static clearance appears to be good as does axle angle. Behind the wheel it definitely is apparent that the front end is higher and it does feel different driving. It's not harsh though. I really like the look. I didn't gain a full 3" but the difference between tire to wheel well clearance front to back is within 1/2". With stock tires and wheels I had trouble scraping the A arms and front crossmember when in a rutted farm path that was washed out. Kids used to say I had a "dad" truck. Not anymore. I like it.
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