https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk4lJqZEYS8

How PowerNation Lowered a ’94 Ford Lightning Using DJM Suspension

In this video a ’94 Ford Lightning gets  DJM drop I-beams up front, DJM shackles and hangers out back, upgraded brakes, traction bars, Bilstein shocks and new tires.

The build is from PowerNation’s Trucks!, Season 10, Episode 12, first aired August 23, 2008, with hosts Kevin Tetz and Ryan Shand.

It’s Part 4 of MuscleTrux Wars, a PowerNation series building up factory performance trucks.

The Lightning’s power build

The goal is about 400 horsepower from the Lightning’s otherwise stock 351, with help from a turbo.

• BBK headers and throttle body
• STS Stage 3 turbo, mounted under the bed
• Mass-airflow conversion and Summit boost-retard module
• TCI torque converter, B&M shift kit and a stand-alone transmission controller

The Lightning came from the factory as a performance model with heavy-duty drivetrain parts, and it already sits about an inch lower than a regular F-150.

Front end: DJM drop I-beams

Ford introduced its twin I-beam front suspension in 1965 and used it in two-wheel-drive trucks through 1996. The factory beams are forged steel and barely flex, which makes a lowered replacement hard to build just as strong.

DJM Suspension builds its drop beams from DOM tubing and CNC-cut plate steel, welded in fixtures for consistency. On a regular F-150, the beams plus DJM’s rear shackle and hanger kit give about 3 inches of drop in front and about 4 inches in back.

Since a first-gen Lightning already sits about an inch low, the hosts said the 3-inch beams would bring the total to about 4 inches, roughly an inch more than they wanted. So they ran standard F-150 coil springs with the beams to get their target stance without tire clearance problems.

Install notes:

• New hardware comes with the kit, but some original bolts are reused, so keep track of them.
• The DJM beams come with urethane pivot bushings installed. The old ones were worn out, and the crew suspected them of causing a clunk on an earlier drive.
• Move the upper ball-joint eccentric from the old beam to the new one, and clean powder coat out of the bore first.
• If alignment is out of spec afterward, an alignment shop can supply an adjustable eccentric.
• With no kingpins on this truck, the hosts call it an afternoon project.

Bushings, brakes and bearings

• Radius arm bushings. The drop beams reuse the stock radius arms, whose bushings were worn out. The crew installed polyurethane replacements from O’Reilly Auto Parts. Urethane is denser than rubber, giving a firmer ride and more precise handling.
• Coil springs. The standard F-150 springs were sourced used from All Star Auto Salvage, then cleaned and painted.
• Brakes. The front rotors were due for replacement. The crew installed EBC rotors and Greenstuff pads for more clamping force, a better pad compound and better heat management, plus a black anti-corrosion coating.
• Wheel bearings. Packed with Royal Purple synthetic grease, which reduces friction and vibration so bearings run cooler and last longer.

Front sway bar fitment

ADDCO offers a sway bar package for regular F-150s that helps control body roll. The Lightning’s factory front bar already matches the ADDCO bar’s diameter, so the crew kept the stock bar.

Tip: a tape measure can’t give you an accurate sway bar diameter. Without calipers, use the open end of a wrench to find the size.

The drop beams change where the steering linkage sits, so the sway bar has to be relocated:

1. Swap and reverse the end-link brackets to move the bar up and away from the steering linkage. On some trucks, that’s all it takes.
2. On this truck, the front mounting brackets didn’t fit. The crew made new brackets from 3/16-inch flat plate that bolt to existing holes in the frame rails.
3. They welded bent scrap tubing to those brackets, added brackets for the bar’s D-bushings, and added gussets.

The hosts also recommend Lightning owner forums and club websites, where many owners share solutions for these mods.

Rear: DJM shackles and hangers

The hosts call DJM’s rear kit a do-it-yourself job, but it means removing large factory rivets, so you’ll want a good grinder and chisel.

• Rivets. The best method they found: cut an X into each rivet head with a cutoff wheel, then drive it out with an air chisel or a hammer and cold chisel.
• Tighten last. When replacing hangers or leaf springs on any vehicle, don’t tighten the spring bolts until the truck’s full weight is on the suspension. That keeps it sitting level and avoids binding the bushings.
• Adjustable shackles. The rear shackles have several adjustment points. The crew used the lowest setting to see how much drop they could get.

In stock form, a snubber on the rear leaf pack helps keep axle wrap and wheel hop in check. With the turbo’s added power, the hosts say putting power to the ground can get unpredictable, which is where the traction bars come in.

Traction bars, rear sway bar and shocks

Lightning Force Performance 58-inch traction bars. The bars mount with a front bracket that saddles the frame and a rear bracket under the axle. They bolt on with no welding, and the kit includes everything needed.

1. With the spring pack apart, remove the leaf carrying the snubber. The traction bars will prevent axle rotation.
2. Install the axle mount first, since it sets where the rest of the bar goes.
3. Bolt in the bar, let the front mount saddle the frame, then line up and drill the mounting holes. The crew used KnKut bits, which needed no center punch or pilot hole.
4. Install the front mounts.

The hosts note the bars’ length also adds stability and helps weight transfer, acting somewhat like frame connectors.

Rear sway bar. Regular F-150s don’t come with a rear sway bar, and ADDCO’s kit includes everything to add one. The Lightning already has one, so it only needed ADDCO’s D-bushings, urethane end-link bushings and some hardware.

Bilstein shocks, all four corners. Bilstein’s monotube design sheds heat to the outer tube faster, and a cooler gas charge performs better and longer under heavy use.

The hosts’ point: the lowered roll center, traction bars and stronger sway bars work together to give the truck a tighter, more controlled feel.

Wheels and tires

Kevin’s old tires were dry-rotted and worn out. He kept the first-gen Lightning’s 17-inch alloy wheels for their signature look, and the crew added a second set for the drag strip.

Setup	Wheels	Tires
Street	Stock Lightning 17-inch alloys	Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza: 275/55R17 front, 275/60R17 rear
Strip	Mickey Thompson 15×10 aluminum, 4.5-inch backspace, multi-bolt pattern	Mickey Thompson ET Street 28×11.50-15 (DOT-approved, no burnout needed)

On the street setup, the Bridgestones’ siping and channels are there for wet and dry traction. The rears keep a taller sidewall, while the shorter front sidewall suits the lowered stance. The stock wheels are hub-centric, but the Mickey Thompson wheels had to be opened up at a local machine shop to clear the rear axle flange.

Wrap-up

The hosts say the drop gave the Lightning a more muscular stance. They add that this work can be done at home in a driveway without unusual tools, though this build did involve welding the sway bar brackets and machine-shop work on the strip wheels. Their advice for Lightning and regular F-150 owners alike: lower it a few inches, add good tires and performance shocks, and beef up the sway bars.

Chassis parts used

Brand	Part
DJM Suspension	3-inch drop I-beams; rear lowering shackle and hanger kit
All Star Auto Salvage	Front coil springs
O’Reilly Auto Parts	Polyurethane radius arm bushings
EBC Brakes	Rotors and Greenstuff brake pads
Royal Purple	Synthetic performance grease
ADDCO	Sway bar bushings and hardware
Lightning Force Performance	58-inch torque arm traction bar kit
KnKut	Performance drill bits
Bilstein	Heavy-duty performance shocks, front and rear
Bridgestone	Dueler H/L Alenza 275/55R17 and 275/60R17
Mickey Thompson	15×10 wheels; ET Street 28×11.50-15 tires