lift kit questions

[krawlerhauler18]

I am trying to figure out how much of a lift kit I have on my truck currently. I think one of the prior owners hacked together a lift so he could run bigger tires. One of the leaf packs has one more leaf in it and it isnt even part of the actual pack (on the bottom outside of the clamps). Also, the guy removed the sway bar, didnt use a drop pitman arm, but did use a track bar drop bracket. Can someone get me some measurements of their lift kits? Like top of the tire to bottom of the fender and ground to bottom of the fender? Also, how many leaves are in the lift packs? This truck rides like a log wagon and since it seems these packs are fawked (bad bushings too), I might as well get some new ones. I am also thinking about dropping it down a few inches so I can run a 33" tire instead of a 35". My truck is my daily driver and will be used to tow a trailer, so I am hoping it would help the fuel mileage.

Here is the truck ...

Brian

 

[krawlerhauler18]

Driver side....hub to fender 30.5" Passenger side.....hub to fender 31.5

yes, there is an inch difference.

check out the lack of drop pitman, but there is a drop bracket for the track bar.

 

[Betarocker]

I think getting new leafs would be the best thing. At least you know what you have then. Drop pitman arm is not expensive. A hellwig swaybar and Icon endlinks will finish it off. The dual shocks won't help ride quality, unless they are valved properly.

My 7" lift (front) with 3" hanger/shackle and 4" Icon leafs is 30" from hub center to fender lip.

 

[florida 6.0]

Wow that's cobbled together. I cant believe the pitman arm or steering box has not snapped from the pull it has on it . I bought a 99 like this once some 6 and 8 inch lift with spare parts . Start with the steering parts first for safetys sake . I think you have some nicer front springs under there it looks like some one made a leveling shim out of a rear overload leaf on the drivers side.

 

[krawlerhauler18]

Thanks guys...I have a feeling it will have some new 4" springs under it soon.

Brian

 

[krawlerhauler18]

finally got around to getting a new kit for the truck. I went with a pro comp 4" lift. Here is a pic of the old springs VS new springs....

I am fairly certain the new springs will settle some more and it will end up being the ideal height to run a 33ish" tire. I have not done the rear yet, but plan on it today or sometime this week, only thing I have to do is change the shocks out and take the blocks out from under the springs. I also had to put the factory steering arm back on it due to the kit having the wrong arm for my truck. It definitely turns better with less angle on the draglink, but I am sure it will be even better once I get the new drop pitman on there. The difference in the two arms were in the splines. The four flat spots on the new arm were clocked different, so it made the arm be off center. In the instructions, it notes there are 2 different style steering boxes with different different sector shafts.....of course the arm I got doesnt match my steering box, my usual luck. LOL Here is a pic of how it sits now. According to my tape measure, the rear sits 2" higher than the front and the front is 2" lower than my previous measurements.

The rear lift uses an add-a-leaf and a 1" block (depending on what factory block the truck has). Since mine has lift springs and a 2" lift block on it, I will pull the block and hope the front settles some more, so the truck sits a little *** high with no weight on it. OK, done rambling now.

Brian