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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 01:42 AM
  #1  
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Lift ideas

I'm looking for some ideas in the way of a lift kit for my truck. I'd like to go 3" max and right now I don't want to be spending a ton of money (moving to bigger house soon). Any ideas of what type (body, suspension, etc), cost, and where to buy?

Also, being that this is a DD, would a lift put un-needed stress on my truck (basically tell me why I should or shouldn't do it lol). I'm still toying with this idea so any help would be appreciated. And anyone with pics speak up.

Thanks as always!
 
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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 11:34 AM
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first off, i must say, i am not a fan of body lifts. but if you are just going for looks, that would be fine. i am also not a fan of lifting a vehicle without putting bigger wheels on it. doing so will rob you of fuel efficency, but without bigger tires, looks stupid. if you get a suspension lift, make sure it has shims to adjust the angle of the differentials, because if not, you will go through u-joints more rapidly. there are many different combinations of lifts to use. just depends on your price range, and what your are going to use it for. why don't you go to a place who specializes in lifts, find one you like, that will fit your needs, then do some online research for one similar or cheaper. just my .02
 
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Old Oct 3, 2007 | 11:53 PM
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I think that the cheapest and by far easiest way to lift a truck is rear axle lift blocks, and front lift coil springs, or coil spring spacers
 
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 06:16 AM
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You can crank up your torsion bars and gain about 1.5 inches. You can also buy torsion bar leveling keys which are supposed to lift it 2.5 or 3 inches.
 
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Old Oct 4, 2007 | 11:37 AM
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Adding a suspension lift kit gives you a lot of options. It allows you to add some big ol' tries or just make your truck look more rugged. We have a bunch of pics and customer reviews on our site, which always helps when considering a big purchase. You can check out our lift kits page here:
http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/suspension-systems/20A50625A1.aspx
 
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Old Oct 5, 2007 | 12:07 AM
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Originally Posted by xjoedirt55x
why don't you go to a place who specializes in lifts, find one you like, that will fit your needs, then do some online research for one similar or cheaper. just my .02
Thanks for your .02. There are not a whole lot of offroad places around here, and the prices for their kits are outrageous. I have done a lot of research, but I thought I'd ask everyone here in hopes someone has done a budget-based lift. Aftermarket wheels are limited to 1 or 2 styles that I know of, so that's a no for now, but bigger tires would be a must.

Drakul - this is what I was thinking of doing. Until I started hearing more of what kellar posted about torsion keys and cranking. This seems to be the easist/cost effective although I'm not sure that I will gain the full 3" that I'm looking for.

So as of now I'm still thinking of blocks and spacers.

Anyone have any success and have pics, info, prices, etc? Thanks!
 
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 12:16 AM
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Since you have a 4x4, torsion keys will definetly help you out. I've actually put in 3" rear blocks on my truck 2 days ago, I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. The truck is sitting higher then before, there's no difference that I can feel between now and before, and they were only like $60. The only downside is that since this is a work truck, which constantly has easily over 500lms of tools in it, the leaf springs are naturally sagging, and once I put the blocks in, the springs just flexed up a bit. So I wound up with a mere 1.5" lift. Still looks much better. I'm prob going to add a few leafs from a junker.
 

Last edited by drakul20us; Oct 6, 2007 at 12:18 AM.
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 01:14 AM
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are you planning on hauling heavy loads? if you are then look into add-a-leaf to beef up the rear
 
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 01:24 AM
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I don't really haul that heavy of loads, no. My truck is more of a pavement queen but occasionally I get a decent box load or trailer pull in.

I'll keep researching and thanks to those who keep helping!
 
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 06:03 AM
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I would get a body lift, get the performance accesories body lift(like $200) its a very complete kit. Body lifts arent that hard to install, just time consuming.
If you wanted to get spacers and blocks you could go that way and spend about as much as a body lift. If you get add a leafs instead of blocks, it might ride rougher though. I would get add a leafs over blocks, because my truck has bad axle wrap and blocks would make it worse. But if this is a mostly street driven vehicle i would probably get blocks or a body lift.
 
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 08:37 PM
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Where can one buy "torsion bar leveling keys"? After putting on 2" blocks on the rear to level it out to the front (which I cranked up), the rear is now a bit too high... and I wouldn't mind the front eing higher yet.

Are there any issues with using these 'keys'?
 
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Old Oct 6, 2007 | 11:40 PM
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You can get the keys either at an auto parts store or on Ebay. We sell them at Carquest- just takes a day to get them. The manufacterer claims there are no issues however I think that the full 3" may be a little much of an angle on the axles causing premature wear of the CV. I am going to put a set on my 02 F150 when I get new tires.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2007 | 06:08 AM
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Thank you, kellar. Does the truck need to be aligned again?
 
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Old Oct 7, 2007 | 07:30 AM
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Yes the truck should be alligned after.
 
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Old Oct 7, 2007 | 08:17 AM
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anytime you change the height of the front of the vehicle you should have it aligned again and save you money down the road on tires. how much lift did you get out of just tightening the tortion bars?
 
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