Alright, so finally everything is working out (stars are aligning, taxes are coming....) and I am finally going to put a lift on my pickup. I want to go 4" and I want to not spend a small fortune, I am thinking somewhere around $700. I want to stay away from blocks and spacers if I can and go with bigger coils and maybe an add-a-leaf? I'm just kinda curious on your guys's opinion on doing this with a pickup with a TTB front end, I've heard of the frame and crossmembers cracking where the traction bars connect there under.

This is the lift I am looking at getting
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
Any opinions on Trail Master? I would also like to use the Bilstein 5100 series shocks

Just throw out some ideas guys, I appreciate it.

PS. This is for the truck in my Sig, 1987 F150 4X4 351W ZF 5SPD, with the 8.8 rear and D44 TTB front.

 

I went the cheaper route, with a $500-ish 4" Rough Country, shipped to Maine, from rockymountainsusp.com. My uncle bought the truck new, never hauled anything, so my leafs are sweet, and adding the lighter flareside bed actually made it ride a tad stiffer, so I went with blocks in the rear instead of an add-a-leaf.

It came with everything, even a stabilizer I can't mount because of the plow. I spent another 60-ish on polyurethane radius arm and pivot bushings (right from summitracing), and so far no complaints, even with plowing.

Granted I don't do any rockcrawling or anything extreme, mostly mud holes and beaver dams , rough roads and such where the clearance and bigger tires make life so much easier.

Some claim the rough country springs sag over time, but I've had mine on almost a year now and no problems. Someday I would like to get longer radius arms and taller coils ( 6") but for now this works well for me, especially since 6" means longer brake lines and driveshaft tending to.

And I fit 35's no prob, I only had to space my bumper out a bit, but that shouldn't bother your 87.

Anyway, here's the kit I got....

 

Rough Country is a reliable and "cheap" lift.

 

anybody really knows the pros/cons of blocks vs add-a-leafs vs new spring packs?

 

I do.

On a 150, I would consider either new spring packs or add a leaf. They are fairly soft from the factory, and an add a leaf helps stiffen them. Because they are soft, axle wrap will be bad with blocks. Trust me. I had stacked blocks (temporarily) and it was horrible. The back just felt "squishy" when braking, accelerating or turning. I personally built drop brackets for the stock leaves, but if I were you, I would throw in an add a leaf, shackle flip and lose the stock block.

 

Not my first choice in lifts.....i'd rather pick procomp or skyjacker.....but also not my last which would be rough country......

 

I really like the skyjacker lifts, but they seemed a little pricey for all of what I wanted, but I guess you get what you pay for

 

I have the Trail Master kit I bought from ebay and paired with Rancho RS9000's. It was an awesome kit. The add a leaf made the pack a lot stiffer. I had 33'' TSL Radials also.

 

Ok, so I went with the 5.5" superflex kit off of bronco graveyard with JBG new springs all around and Rancho shocks on everywhere.......it'll be here in a week ish, gonna throw on some 35" Cooper Discoverer STTs and see what she does

 

so it'll be here on Monday, anybody have any good pre-build tips before trying to accomplish this (besides lots of patience and a couple cases of beer)? Went ahead and actually got some Skyjacker Hydro shocks too so it should be a pretty nice ride

 

Start spraying down your fasteners now. Good penetrating oil on all of the fasteners will make the removal of all of the components much easier.
This is also a good time to pressure wash under the truck. I can tell you how anoying it is to have to hit something with a hammer, or squeeze the trigger on the impact only to get a face full of dust / dirt that falls from the underside of the truck.
I hate that.
Good luck on your lift.

 

thanks for the info

 

And hope your factory brackets are bolted onto the crossmember, and not riveted, or you may hafta jack up the motor to get a grinder in there.

Also torches are handy for the radius arm brackets.....the rivet on the front is hard to get at with a grinder, too.

And I would get some poly radius and pivot bushings......now's the best time to change them and they make a major difference in handling.

Don't forget before and after pics!!!

 

We gotta set of air chisels for the rivets, and I already got the bushings (I thought it'd be a good idea too) and Ill check about the crossmember thing...The only thing im still kinda thinking about is that I might need to get some sway bar drop links.....we will see...

 

Look at the TTB bracket holes, too. Sometimes they can crack because of the brackets flexing them. On a buddy's truck, we put in a reinforcing bar to try and spread out the force of the bolts pulling on the crossmember. It was just a piece of 3/8" we had laying around. Make sure they are tight. Here's a picture of the plate, and where they crack.