What is an Any Level Lift?

What is an Any Level Lift?

The patented Any Level Lift adjustable suspension system allows you to drive lifted, lowered, and any level in between. We've broken down how the functionality, the installation, and how it works!
Reading What is an Any Level Lift? 10 minutes Next The 6.4L Bible - Everything a 6.4L Owner Needs to Know

An Any Level Lift is much more than just a lift kit, it’s a completely new suspension system for the 17+ Superduty F350 & F450 SRW & DRW. We know it’s not the most basic suspension on the market, so we have come up with a few common questions and answers to explain just how this lift works. 

Update: The Any Level is now available for the 2011-2022 Fords

How does it work?

The Any Level Lift works by replacing your existing springs with new King Shock coilovers on each corner, the coilovers are attached at the top to an adjustable lever arm.  The lever arm is connected to a hydraulic ram that controls the angle of the lever arm. The suspension moves up and down by the upper mount on the coilover being pushed up or down by the lever arm.

Any Level Lift Coilover

Mounted in the bed of the truck is a toolbox that houses the hydraulic system and batteries that control the hydraulic rams. The hydraulic system is a powered by a 24V electric motor that spins a hydraulic pump when the switches are pressed.

The switches open the specified valve and send oil to the diverter valves which are mounted either on the front or rear of the truck. The diverter valves split the flow to ensure that equal amounts of oil are sent to both front or both rear rams at the same time.   

This is how the system stays level side to side while adjusting. The lift allows you to raise and lower the front and rear of independently from the cab of the truck or from your phone via an app for showing off in parking lots.

Dirty Diesel Customs SEMA Truck Build

Driveline Angles & Steering Angles

Where it gets really interesting is in the engineering of the driveline angles and steering angles.  Anybody can make a truck go up and down, but Any Level is the first that made it drive the same whether it’s at stock height or lifted 13”.  

The 4-link system holds the front and rear axles to the frame.  It is built so that as the truck goes up and down, the wheelbase doesn’t change more than a ¾” from stock to full height.  While holding the axles in the stock location, they also roll the axle as it goes up and down keeping the driveshaft angles correct which means you get no driveline vibration at any height.  

My personal favorite is the steering drag link and track bar (pan-hard bar). The bars are triangulated like a scissor lift and use a slide on one end to keep the pivot points stacked above each other no matter what height you’re driving at. This keeps the alignment bang on and everything at their key specifications at any height.

Any Level Lift - Dirty Diesel Customs SEMA Truck Build

How does it ride?

The number one question we get asked about Any Level Lift is how it rides.  All we need to do is take someone over a few speed bumps in one of these trucks to prove how they handle.  The front suspension ends up pretty close to a stock ride with an upgraded shock. However, the rear of the truck is normally where any rough ride comes from on the newer trucks.  Plain and simple, heavy leaf springs just do not offer a smooth ride, no matter how you slice it.

By removing the leaf springs entirely and installing the coilovers, this gives you a much smoother ride in the back. The kit is available with a dual rate coil to keep the load capacity if you plan on towing with this lift. With the Dually trucks, the optional rear airbag subframe is now on the market to give you the ultimate load capacity on your F350 or F450 Dually.

Any Level Lift SEMA 2018 Dually Build


What trucks do they fit?

Currently, these kits are available for the 17+ Ford Superduty F350 and F450, both single rear wheel and dual rear wheel.  I know they will be working on more applications, but as you could imagine, there is more than just a few hours goes into engineering these systems.


How do you install an Any Level Lift?

Step 1: Clear the entire week because this is a 5 or 6-day project for 2 experienced technicians.

Day 1

Strip it! We remove the stock suspension, this includes axles, springs, shocks, radius arms, track bar, steering, gearbox, driveshafts, and the actual truck box.

Day 2

Bring your earplugs because we are grinding all day. We remove the factory front coil spring buckets and weld up the seams along the frame, remove the rear axle shock brackets, and a few other minor trims along the frame and axles. Once all the grinding is completed we sand and finish the spots we’ve cut and repaint those spots on the frame and axles.  

Dirty Diesel Customs - Stripping 2018 Ford Superduty Axles

Day 3

It begins with mounting up the front and rear lever arm brackets which are drilled and bolted directly into the frame.


2018 Superduty Any Level Lift Install Dirty Diesel Customs

Then, we prep the lever arms and hydraulic rams and install them into the truck and mount up the hydraulic diverter valves on the front and rear and run the hydraulic hoses required to extend out to each hydraulic ram on all 4 corners.

Lever Arms - Any Level Lift Dirty Diesel Customs

Day 4

We prep each axle with the new coil-over brackets for the rear and all the new steering bracketry for the front.  We mount up the new modified steering box which includes ports to run a hydraulic assist ram on the tie rod. Next, slide the axles back under the frame and connect them to the truck with the new front & rear 4-link bars, pan hard, and drag link.   

Installing Axles on a 2018 Superduty with Any Level Lift

Day 5

Finally, we get to mount up the hydraulics!  We mount and wire up the hydraulic pump and valve stack assembly and mount it into the toolbox in the back, this includes the Ride Controller, 2 Optima batteries, a battery charger, and literal pounds of wiring.

Ride Controller & Hydraulics for the Any Level Lift - Dirty Diesel Customs

Next, the technicians re-install the truck box and mount the toolbox containing the hydraulics system into the bed of the Superduty. Once the hydraulic system is mounted and installed we can run the hydraulic hoses from the valve stack out to the front and rear diverter valves. Once the lines are in place, the lift is functional and we could use the hydraulics to mount up the 4 King coilovers to the front and rear axles.

Any Level Lift - 2018 Ford Superduty by Dirty Diesel Customs

Day 6

We have a baseline of where to start for all the 4 link bars.  We set each bar to these lengths and spend the day tweaking each bar to sit the axles perfectly square and even under the truck.  We adjust the steering to ensure it’s correct as well as the ride height on all 4 corners. Once this is all done, we sit back and stare at it for at least one hour while we enjoy a couple Bud Lights!

Why would you do this to your truck?

The Any Level Lift gives you the ability to have a truck that literally does it all. You can drive it around at stock height on stock tires and surprise the hell out of people at traffic lights (which is quite fun, trust me) or you can throw 42’s on it and drive it around at 13” of lift and be an absolute beast driving down the road but still have the ability do normal things like park in a garage, use parkades, and go through a carwash. If you stick to 38” or 40” tires you’ll be able to drive it at any height you like with no issues.

Dirty Diesel Customs SEMA build


Pavement Princess or Real Truck?

Yes, most of the trucks that have had these systems installed are show trucks, but there’s a few out there that use and abuse their truck and get it dirty every weekend.  There’s nothing in this system that can’t handle the abuse, everything is equivalent or better than your stock components. All parts are sealed up and designed to get wet, muddy, and take all the abuse you can throw at it.

Being in Canada, we’ve found the hydraulic system moves a little slow on those below freezing days, but everything still moves up and down as it should.   


Why do they cost so much?

When a kit starts at $23,000 for parts, we get this question a lot. However, this is a completely new suspension system for your Superduty; when you look at all the components provided including effort, engineering, and labor that goes into each system, it begins to make sense. It's more of a marvel in engineering more than a lift system. 

Dirty Diesel Customs SEMA Truck Build '18 Superduty with Any Level Lift

All the parts provided for the Any Level Lift are all built in the United States and include top of the line components that have been tested and proven to last.  The Coilovers are provided by King Shocks and that alone doesn’t come cheap as we have all seen their impressive product line. Also, the hydraulic controlled kit is no walk in the park and must be installed by a certified dealer. The full system most definitely isn’t for everyone, however, if you are interested and looking to save a few bucks, keep reading.


Is there a cheaper option?

If you want the benefits of this kit but don’t quite want to go all out, or it’s a bit out of your budget. The guys at Any Level Lift have recently released a manually adjustable lift.  It still incorporates all the same components underneath, but instead of hydraulicly controlled lever arms up top, you get an upper coil mount that is adjustable by removing the hardware and selecting a different mounting hole.  This still gives you a range from stock height to 13” but comes at a  discounted price and doesn’t require a certified Any Level installer for installation.

Any Level Lift Manual Lift System

As much as I wanted to keep this from turning into a sales pitch for Any Level Lift, it’s hard not to brag about how well it works. I wasn’t sure what to expect when these Americans came up to the Great White North to teach us how to install these lifts but to say I was impressed is an understatement.  After 6 long days of training and a few beers, we quickly became family with the Any Level team and are proud to be their Certified Canadian Dealer.

Powerstroke Any Level Lift

 

Want to see the install process from start to finish?

 


Currently, we have the only Any Level Lift in Canada, and we’re looking for the next truck to go under the knife. Questions? Drop a comment below!