so i have a 85 f250 with 35" tires and no suspension lift.
its a i6 with the granny 4
ive only had it for about 800miles or so, ive heard this would mess it up and need new gearing? it only rubs on far left turns and i havent really noticed anything but what should i look for as far as damage? and how much lift before i really need to change gearing and drive shaft lengths?

 

The lift is only for tire clearance. 4 inches will give you what you want. You will need to buy a kit with all the brackets and stuff that go with it. 4 inches will let the stock driveshafts work ok.

The gearing is for the tire diameter. If you are ok with how it drives now, you do not need to change the gearing. I am sure you noticed it's dead with seemingly less power in 4th, but the rpms are down also. But if you are ok with it, then leave the gearing alone.

 

i figured that was just the old single barrel carb with the stock smog and headers and pretty much babied transmission

since im used to driving a 7.3 with the zf5, i expected that decrease in power

i also was thinking of a splitter for highway speeds since the 4 speed was much lower gearing
i can take of in third gear with barely any gas...aha

if i put 33" on it, it would liven it up? once i get to my next duty station im putting a progressive two barrel carb and efi headers on it

 

and as far as tire clearance, i doubt it, it rubs about mid tire on the leaf springs...theres a plastic spacer/dampener im not sure which, but it rubs right on it aha

 

If the tires are rubbing the leafs, you need wheels with less backspacing. If you rub the radius arms when turning they will fix that too. If you have enough fender clearance that the tires don't rub there then lifting it won't help other than giving you room for more articulation.

 

what i dont get is why it only does it when i turn to the left? when i turn full right, it stops, like the steering motor physically hits its end point and winds up a tiny bit, like when a servo hits it's farthest point and you try and keep going. but the left just grabs the leafs, and what kind of rims would do that? like a deep dish or a shallow dish? i REALLY likie the set up i have now, but im open to getting smaller tires once these run down

 

Deeper dish wheels will have less backspacing and set the tires out away from the leafs. Going from 35x12.50's to 33x12.50's won't fix the issue because the tires will be the same width.

 

so if i got skinny-er tires i would be okay?