lift kit questions

[JS 45]

i was looking at lifts and the kits with blocks for the rear are about 500 bucks cheaper from what i saw. i was looking at a 4" kit. is it worth the 500 more not to run blocks in the rear? if so why..

also which company has the best quality lift for these square bodys

[RHINO75]

I have a 75 and im installing rough country's 4 inch lift with blocks it cost 389 shipped with springs for the rear it would have been about 599 shipped depends on what you plan on doing with the truck. I will be plowing snow and doing some mudding in the other months so i just went with the blocks but if your gonna be getting into some heavy rock country then id go with the springs as the blocks in the rear will be expieriencing a l9ot of "side to side" force

[JS 45]

where did you order your lift from?

[~Super~Midget~]

i'm running a rough country 4" lift also on my 77, front spring/block rear... i've beat the crap out of my truck since putting it on and haven't had a problem from my blocks, got it off ebay from rough country for around $250 shipped... had to order the raised steering arm seperate but my truck already had lift shocks and longer brake lines so i didn't need the full kit from their website, its a blessing and a curse honestly, the front springs are so stiff (could become softer over time but after 6 months they are still super stiff) before i put my bumper on it was a dentists dream truck with all the fillings it could rattle out on a rough road.... but hanging a 150 pound bumper and soon to have a 12k winch on it settled down the springs and it supports the extra weight nicely

[GreaseDog]

honestly, i'd look into a better spring. as super midget just told you, the springs are absolute crap. the spring rate is too high, and they ride like a log wagon.

buy a good quality spring from Tuff country or BDS, add a shackle flip to the rear and be done with it. good ride, good flex, cheaper than the stiff ass springs.

[~Super~Midget~]

i like the stiff spring like i said it supports the extra weight i'm carrying up front, thats why i went with that brand, every truck/driver is different

i see alot of people go with the tuff country ez ride springs, my setup will only be on the truck for another year at the most then its all getting rebuilt from the frame down.. no need to go crazy with a high dollar spring i went cheap on purpose... the PO of my truck had 3in lift blocks on the front so i had to get rid of those asap

[JS 45]

thanks for the info.. i dont need anything too stiff, i dont mind a little stiffer. what kit and springs should i look for? are the ez rides good? also i will definately probably go with the blocks in the back.

another question. will i need to extend the driveshafts, drop the t case and get longer brake lines? if not what will i need other than the springs and the shocks.

[bigbob6988]

buy a good quality spring from Tuff country or BDS, add a shackle flip to the rear and be done with it. good ride, good flex, cheaper than the stiff ass springs.

Do this!

[RHINO75]

your going to need a longer steering arm, you can extend the brake lines or just fab up a bracket to hold them lower, and you will need shocks

[JS 45]

yea the kits that i am looking at have a bracket for the brake lines. with this do you need longer ones or is that all you need? also it has a a steering arm extender.

so now with a four inch lift do you have to extend the driveshaft?? also are the ez rides the most preferable springs? and i dont know anything about a shakle flip can someone go into more detail about that?

[Your41Plague12]

yea the kits that i am looking at have a bracket for the brake lines. with this do you need longer ones or is that all you need? also it has a a steering arm extender.

so now with a four inch lift do you have to extend the driveshaft?? also are the ez rides the most preferable springs? and i dont know anything about a shakle flip can someone go into more detail about that?

No driveshaft work is needed with that small of a lift. The EZ Ride springs tend to sag a little after putting them on, but they do ride nicer. I'd personally live with a worse ride and a sturdier lift, but it's all preference. A shackle flip is basically an installation of taller leaf spring hangers. Rather than putting blocks between the spring and axle or getting a whole new taller spring, it uses the stock spring with nothing between it and the axle. It extends the way your spring eyes attach to your spring hangers, giving you a greater distance between the spring eyes and the frame. This ultimately gives you lift, but using the stock suspension for a stock ride.

[~Super~Midget~]

also when i did my 4" lift i did as recommended in the instructions to move the (shocked they were still there) factory spacers to drop the t-case cross member about an inch from above the frame to between the frame and crossmember... it also said to avoid issues during extreme flexing you need to do a little grinding on the front drive shaft, it has tabs on the t-case end that are supposed to keep it from hitting the road if it ever comes apart from the front axle, when you lift the truck it adds to the drive shaft angle and may cause those tabs to be an issue, but i've flexed the crap out of mine and never needed to grind any on it

[JS 45]

No driveshaft work is needed with that small of a lift. The EZ Ride springs tend to sag a little after putting them on, but they do ride nicer. I'd personally live with a worse ride and a sturdier lift, but it's all preference. A shackle flip is basically an installation of taller leaf spring hangers. Rather than putting blocks between the spring and axle or getting a whole new taller spring, it uses the stock spring with nothing between it and the axle. It extends the way your spring eyes attach to your spring hangers, giving you a greater distance between the spring eyes and the frame. This ultimately gives you lift, but using the stock suspension for a stock ride.

ok i understand what shakle flip is now.. do you flip the stock ones or do you have to buy a new shakle and how much lift do you get from this... and with the 4 inch ez ride you get about 3 inches or so of lift??? my truck is all stock so it wont sag as bad as say super midgets truck would with the hevy duty bumper and winch


super midget i wont be doing any flexing so that probably wont be an issue.. how long did it take for you to instal the lift?

[~Super~Midget~]

ok i understand what shakle flip is now.. do you flip the stock ones or do you have to buy a new shakle and how much lift do you get from this... and with the 4 inch ez ride you get about 3 inches or so of lift??? my truck is all stock so it wont sag as bad as say super midgets truck would with the hevy duty bumper and winch


super midget i wont be doing any flexing so that probably wont be an issue.. how long did it take for you to instal the lift?

my front end doesn't sag at all, that is how stiff the rough country springs are, it was VERY bouncy until i put the bumper on, it didn't sag it just acted like a counter weight to stop the bounce

from what i know of a shackle flip it reuses the stock shackle but the flipped hanger gives you right at 4" of lift

i put on my lift with 1 floor jack, 2 6 ton jack stand with blocks to raise them up enough to reach and in impact... i was by myself and i think it was around 3 hours start to finish... BUT that is useing 4" blocks in the rear so it went quicker than something like a shackle flip would and that doesn't include the raised steering arm i put on 2 days before i did the actual lift, that took a total of about 6 hours in itself, my advice on the steering arm is take the 3 nuts off, give it a good spray down with lube and walk away for a while, then take a hammer and start going from end to end beating around the edges up and down the length of it, once you can get 1 of the wedges to come out the rest come out easy but they are in there good on those studs...

[~Super~Midget~]

now i could put on a raised steering arm alot quicker but it was the first one i had tried to tackle so i had to run on trial and error, then the internet to find the best method of removal

[JS 45]

good stuff i appreciate it

[GreaseDog]

No driveshaft work is needed with that small of a lift. The EZ Ride springs tend to sag a little after putting them on, but they do ride nicer. I'd personally live with a worse ride and a sturdier lift, but it's all preference. A shackle flip is basically an installation of taller leaf spring hangers. Rather than putting blocks between the spring and axle or getting a whole new taller spring, it uses the stock spring with nothing between it and the axle. It extends the way your spring eyes attach to your spring hangers, giving you a greater distance between the spring eyes and the frame. This ultimately gives you lift, but using the stock suspension for a stock ride.

the springs will only "sag down" to their advertised lift. when you initially install them, they will sit a little higher. reinstall the front sway bar arfter the lift, and you won't need the "sturdier" lift to rattle your teeth out. you'll be able to enjoy a decent ride.

[JS 45]

yea i will probably go with the ez rides.. how hard is it to do the shakle flip. is it just unbolting the springs and fliping the shackle and then bolting them back up? is the skackle what holds the springs to the frame?

if i use a shackle flip then i could piece together my own lift with just springs, shocks, and steering arm extender, and the brackets for the brake lines and that would be much cheaper than buying a whole kit right?

[JS 45]

alright i just looked into the shackle flip and ord wants like $130 for their kit. that seems like a little much. especially when i wont be doing anything too crazy where a rear block wouldnt work. what are your thoughts?

[bigbob6988]

You'll be fine with a block in the rear...