As you all probably know I've been trying to get at a leveling kit for the front of my truck, winters around the corner and I really want to get it on before the snow start coming and I'm plowing, so I'm going to get a 2" leveling kit by rough country you install the springs under the factory front springs, but also I need to do shocks and I'm going with rancho 5000's, when ordering the shocks it asks for if theres a lift + or - do I order them with +2" ?? and If I get the shocks before the leaf kit can I still install them, also have any of you done a body lift with hockey pucks? can that be done on these trucks

 

yes you want for a 2" lift shock, don't think i would install them without lift on truck as they might bottom out, and bend or bust.

 

thanks just what I was lookin for, what about the hockey puck body lift? how does that work

 

hockey pucks cost more then blocks lol... go here man. Lifted Body Spacers cant beat the prices.

 

awesome thanks oreos, so how many of those do you need? I think there are 4 cab mounts right? but one thing I do not understand about body lifts is that you put those spacers in, but then the cab will sit higher than the front fenders and hood and looks funny right?

 

6 for the cab/radiator core support. 6 for the bed atleast. there are 6 bolts. there are 4 more places that you should put blocks but theres no way to secure them. you would have to drill some holes and throw bolts in OR weld a stud on the frame and slip the block over it. when you bolt the bed down it will hold it in place just fine. you lift everything, not just the cab. the only thing you have to do is move the bumpers up because the gap will be off.

 

couldnt I leave the flatbed the way it is? and just basically lift the front of the truck? so the front fenders and hood assembly will be raised by moving the core support? I need to really take a look tomorrow, how did you lift up your cab to do your body lift oreo?

 

you only lift the cab on your truck, full body lifts are for people with pickup beds.

 

if you have a flatbed then you dont need to lift that. just the cab and radiator core support. i lifted my cab with a hi-lift jack. one can be had at harbor freight for pretty cheap. if you jack it up where the fender and cab meet then that will lift the front and center enough to get the block under there, then lift the back from each side to get the rears. its easy enough. just a pita because you first have to get the bolts off (under plugs in the floor board in the front and open in the rear) then take the bolts to a hardware supply place and get matching bolts, just however many inches longer to make up for the body lift. i suggest grade 8 bolts.

 

if the spring he is getting goes under the existing spring pack he can get stock shocks because the distance from where the shock mounts to the upper mount and down to the top of the spring does not change in distance iirc

 

The front shock's lower end bolts up to the square plate on top of the leaf pack, right? Even so, a longer shock will be needed if a leaf is added, unless the leaf is a zero-rate (which is basically a low-profile block) - adding a regular leaf to the pack makes the entire pack stiffer and thus it doesn't flatten as much under the truck's weight, which results in the top plate sitting further away from the frame. You are correct, however, in that the shock's length increase won't be as large as it would be were the shock attached to the axle itself (like the rears are), cause then you not only have the spring stiffness coming into play, but also the thickness of the extra leaf itself...

 

gotcha i just figured that with just one extra leaf under the front, and the shock being mounted at the top of the spring pack the stock shock should still be long enough to take up that little slack, iirc the ranchos he is going with are just a hair longer than the stock ones, but i could be mistaken

 

ok heres what I don't get now, so the add a leaf goes Under the factory front leafs, wouldnt that push the srping plate shim that is mounted ontop of the leafs up toward the wheel well because of the leaf being on the bottom?

 

thats what i was thinkin but lcam is right after he explained it... yes it will "push" it up but the extra leaf will not let the front end frame sag as far down towards the axle which means the shock wont be compressed as far... i think i said that right lol

 

gotcha coalroller, just read over his post 3 times and can now understand it, my mind is a little slow today, not sure whats goin on with me, maybe its from welding all that galvanized steel... LOL just kiddin