I'm going to be doing a lift on my son's '90 F150 this summer. The last truck I had that was lifted was a '76 f150 that I sold in 1988. I had a Trail Master 4'' kit on it and I was real pleased with the ride,handling etc. That kit had add a leaf in rear, not blocks.I was just wondering what is out there on the market today. What's good,what's bad etc. He wants to buy a cheap kit as soon as he gets enough money saved. I think we might be better to save a little more to maybe get something better. The other disagreement is 4'' or 6''. I say 4 he says 6. Planning to run 33x12.5 tires. Sure that you guys have some opinions and advice. Thanks in advance.

 

Most people on here seem to say 33's work best with a 4" lift. Might look a little small with a 6".

 

Four inch with 33s is a great match. Price wise, maybe a little less depending on the manufacturer. Less reliance on blocks, less stress on steering, less stress on driveline (angle), brake line extensions, dropped pitman arms, dropped beams, etc...Besides, any rubber larger than 33 inches on a half ton is really hard on axles, bearings and steering components. Not to mention the regearing and then of course the braking will be deminished.

My point being, the more elevation, the bigger the check to be written. And since you already mentioned cheap...

Keep this in mind though while looking around. Ive found that a lot of "4 inch" lifts for these trucks often are not exactly 4 inches so to speak. They will be a 4 inch front, 2.5 rear lift. Nothing wrong with this but be aware of the fine print. Some kits may cost less according to the POS, but what does the kit or system have the other doesnt, but you need to buy seperately.

 

We're not necessarily looking for CHEAP. My son is impatient. He has a part time job and wants to buy the first kit he can afford instead of shopping around. I was hoping I would get some info here from guys about what they have on their trucks and whether or not they are satisfied with what they have.

 

Well, theres cheaply made and inexpensive. But, like i posted before, inexpensive kits usually lack other components you need anyway so do what you already planned on doing and get the right kit first time. My comment about cheap was simply saying cost is certainly a factor and a larger lift will require more mods to make it safe thus, more expensive.

I'm looking at a 4 inch lift for my truck but its a 250 so I cant help you there, though I can say Ill probably go with a SoftRide system, less the shocks because I want to go with the Bilstein shocks which seem to be popular on this board.

I did put a lift on a CJ-7 that was an add a leaf kit from Rough Country and it was ROUGH lol. But, it was a jeep so...

Personally, I dont like blocks at all but if I have to then I have to.

I did have a 79 F150 years ago that I hillbilly lifted using E-350 Ambulance rear springs and hangers and front coils off of something that I dont know what it was lol. All I know is they fit and gave me 3 inches up front, and with a little trimming I fit 35's with plenty of clearance even for off roading but again it was a rough ride, though extremely inexpensive.

Good luck on your project and post some pics of his ride, we would love to see it.

 

Heres my experiances, for what theyre worth

On my 89 F250
I was just like your son, wanted to lift the truck AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! So, saved up 600 bucks, and got the rough country 4" lift. They are price wise one of the cheapest lifts out there, but I have to admit, I have been VERY impressed with it. I wheel this truck, and have beat the snot out of it off road, and the lift kit has given me ZERO problems. The brackets for the front end are very beefy and stout, all componants are well made and have shown no wear or damage from my multiple off road excursions.
But not everythings perfect. The thing rides like a brick ****** house, has little to no ride to it at all. Maybe yours would be different, i have leaf springs up front whereas you will have coils, so that may not even be a factor for you. The lift did come complete, with everything I needed to lift the truck 4", from pitman arm to springs to shocks to u bolts. One note here, they did send me doubles of one part and none of another, I called them up, let them know, and they had the correct part out to me next day. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Rough Country lifts.



On to my 95 F150

This truck has a 6" BDS Suspension lift, and 33" tires. I have had TONS of problems with this lift.
The shocks are an install once, cut to get off kind. This may not affect you, but while doing some maintenance to the front of my truck I had to cut the shocks off and buy new ones.
The front lift brackets would not stay tight, and all the holes on the brackets egged out, causing me to need new ones. BDS did replace them under warranty.
The brackets themselves are made of thinner metal than my rough country ones, with less bracing and NO cross bracing to speak of. All aspects of this kit are just lighter duty than the same parts on my rough country kit.
Also, the suspension is VERY soft, almost too soft for a full size truck. Even with new shocks all the way around, the truck sways and dips and weaves over all bumps/dips in the road, and on rough roads is actually kinda hard to control.
One last note on the BDS lift, the lift came with a 4" drop pitman arm, not the 6" needed to keep the steering good. BDS doesnt make a 6" drop arm. All in all I have not been happy with the BDS lift, and would not buy one or recommend them to anyone


And this is on 33" tires

 

I did a 4" Tuff Country lift on my 94 F150, I also did 17" wheels and 33s. Don't buy the cheapest lift around unless you hear nothing but good things about it. I'm pleased with my lift, it was $850 if I remember right, it came with all the parts that you should need, add a leafs, shocks, coils, radius arms, and all the brackets, etc. I would probably go with 16" wheels if I was to do it over though, that would keep costs down a little on tires.

Heres what my truck looks like now.

 

Thats a nice lookin truck man.

The problem Im having is most of the lifts Im looking at use blocks in the rear, but my truck has factory blocks already. I wont stack blocks for obvious reasons so...If a 4 inch lift uses 4 inch rear blocks, I wont be gaining crap in the rear if I have factory blocks right? Or is my thinking off?

 

Those are some nice looking trucks guys. Thanks for the input. Hopefully we will get some more feedback. Need to take time some day to get some pics of my ride on here.

 

My lift used the factory block with a add a leaf in the rear. No stacking and no new blocks. Well maybe it came with a new block, but I'm pretty sure it's the factory block.

 

I want to put 33 inch tires on my 88 F 150 4 WD that has no lift kit presently, does anyone know if this can be done ?