does anyone have any firsthand longterm experiences with 4"lifts for big broncos? i'm concerned with reliability alignment and harsh ride from new coils. is driveshaft length an issue with a four inch lift?pinion angle? who makes the best kit for this purpose?doesany one make a progressive rate soft riding coil spring? if anyone can answer any of these questions i would appreciate it.

shovelhead1
87 bronco custom 302, 33's no lift, 4-speed, manual everything

 

I had installed a 4" superlift on an 1995 f-150 I had...and now I put a 6" skyjacker lift in my present F-150. The skyjacker kit is 10 times better than the superlift, I'd never buy a superlift kit again. My ride is significantly stiffer with the new springs, but they do that to reduce body roll from being so high. My 4" kit didn't ride too much worse then the normal suspension, but my 6" does mainly because of the new rear springs. I've had it on since may, and it does take some time for the springs to settle and such (since your springs are from 1987 they are a bit soft). My suspension is still in spec after the lift, I didn't have to align it for camber.

 

mustang.. with your 6" did you go with the longre radius arms or just the drop bracket? also which rear setup did you go with? springs or add-a-leaf and blocks?

 

I have a 4" on mine with the cheaper drop down brackets. Its the superlift, which is identical to the Skyjacker except for the crappy ### shocks. Get the skyjacker shocks like I did or even something better. I have had it on for 2 years now with no problems. I originally had it aligned, they had to install 1 cam on the passenger side and that was it. 2 years later it drives as straight as it ever has.

As for the ride...I think it is rough, but it didn't change for the worse because of the lift. (I have dual front shocks)

 

I have the skyjacker class II system..top of the line..1300 bucks...longer radius arms and new rear lift springs. I can assure you that superlift and skyjacker are not the same quality. The basic design is the same, because you can only lift a TTB one way..but the skyjacker's brackets are much stronger and better designed. My superlift was WAY out of alignment, the rear blocks didnt even fit, and the brackets were cheap crap compaired to my skyjacker kit. My superlift kit was 4" in front, nad 2.5" in back with new blocks. My skyjacker kit is 6" in front, with 4" leaf springs out back. Just the stock 2" blocks are kept, no add-a-leafs or additional blocks.

 

man mustang you must have had a bad superlift kit i have experienced 0 problems with my superlift 6" the only problems i encountered were cutting off the welded-on homemade drop brackets the moron before me welded to the truck to complete his racho 4" lift. now i will agree with gamehunter the shocks you get with the kit suck. but thats easy to change. the worst kit o have seen outh there is rancho i wouldnt ever put a rancho lift under my truck even if some one paid me for it. just something about paying all that money for the name getting only 1/2 of the advertised lift in inches and haveing rear lift blocks made from aluminum. thats not exactally my piece of cake. but you know everyone has they're opinion. but sounds like you just had a bad experience dude. ah well as long as its tall and runs i like it.

 

Yeah, I would have to agree, probably more of a bad experience than anything.

When I bought my kit from National Tire and Wheel, they offered to include the skyjacker shocks for no additional cost. They seem to have good dampening affect, however if I had the money to spend, nicer shocks would be a key element. I simply bought the superlift because it was on sale at the time. Only thing I was dissapointed in was I wanted the yellow coil springs and they sent me black. As for the brackets, I have never seen a skyjacker in person to compare, but as I remember, the brackets that I put on were WAY thicker than any surrounding metal so I would say either way you are going to break other parts of the axle before any of the pieces from the lift, they are pretty beefy.

As for driveshaft length, with a 4" you will be fine. Even with a 6" you should be fine, however, on my truck I have to do some custom fab work on my tranny crossmember to go to a 6". The driveshaft will hit the crossmember. I am not really sure why either, because it seems many people are running 6 inchers with no modifications, even those who run 5 speeds. Pinin angle isn't an issue with only 4 or 6". For the rear, it is even taken care of by the use of shims. Also, I have not heard of any progressive rate coil springs for these lifts.

 

Well, if superlift is doing the same thing as they did with the superduty lifts, maybe they have improved. I got my 8" superlift for my SD and love it, great quality. who knows

 

Just be carefull when you install the lift and it will turn out good. There are also many things that can effect alignment such as bad ball joints or wheel bearings. If the shop is not good enough to recognize that when they do the lift, your alignment will not last long.

 

It's not the bracket you need to worry about, it's the crossmember cracking. The skyjacker bracket bolts in many different places which spreads the load, and they also give you a sort of backer plate that superlift doesn't. Anyonle who compairs a skyjacker lift to a superlift part for part will agree that the skyjacker is made better. It's not even that my truck was out of alignment, that was fixable, it's the fact that the parts for the skyjacker were better designed, and there were more parts (like the backer plate) that superlift doesn't have. I have heard that superlift's SD lifts for the newer trucks are good, they look good, but they dropped the ball on the F-150s IMO. I have a superlift steering system, I don't dislike the company.

 

Does anyone have an opinion on the Dick Cepek lifts and will they be around much longer?

 

Mustang, you should apply as a skyjacker sales rep!

 

I installed a 6" myself, which had the option for the 4" built in. It took me and 2 buddies a weekend to get it done. The hardest part was changing the radius arms, which would have been the same on a strait axle. Btw, it took a real good alignment job to get it right.

 

Whatever brand lift you get, make sure you get the extended radius arms, you (and your truck) will be much happier in the long run.