Need some advice on lift

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Chad Merry

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As the title says I need some help. I have done the TT/Shackle lift and I then proceeded to put big tires on my ST. A little to big though, I put 285/70/17 BFG's. I did the normal trimming of the inner fenders, but I still get some rubbing on the slash guards, and it is starting to get annoying. And I would like to take it offroad sometime and enjoy it. So my question is would I be better off just doing a body lift or should I get the 4" suspension lift? Obviously the body lift is about $1400.00 cheaper, but is it as safe? And will it be a pain to put my brush guard back on? I dont really want to spend that much money for a lift, but I want it to be safe.



Thanks
 
Suspension lift would be better for you and IMO safer than a bodylift. I doubt your brush guard or even the tow hooks will work with a bodylift.
 
I have the body lift, it wasnt tough for a shop to do, done by the end of the day. I have no afety concerns either and I fot my 285/75/16s with no rubbing once i did some minor trimming.



As for your brush guard, any metal fab shop could mod your brackets or make new ones for pretty cheap. I am getting a welding friend of mine make brackets in his back yard for a safari bar. It wont be hard. If you have the money to spend then get the suspension lift, if you want to save a few bucks there is nothing wrong with the body lift.
 
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phew i am in the market for new tires... looks like i know not to get that size. however i'm assuming you have some kinda after market rims too.
 
the body lift is nice, but id rather have the suspension lift, thats what i plan for next. keep the bd lift and get suspension lift. as for the grill guard i just took my brackets that came with it, and flipped and switched sides, redrilled new holes in the brackets, and it works fine. i havent figured out what to do about the tow hooks yet, i mean, id like to have them but i dont wanna cut my bumper. so ill do without for lil bit of time



any1 seen any decent prices for the superlift kit? local screw up shop wants 2300 with no options. i had seen on ebay theres a shop selling for about 1500, and when asked about the kit, u get a link to the superlift website for info...
 
The tires fit, but I could not do ANY offroading with them at all. I no longer have the goodyear tires, they were junk. Now I have BFG and when I bought them I told myself to get the 265 instead but I liked the look of the 285.



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Everyone seems to have really good point of views. The best sounding option to me was to sell the tires and get a slightly smaller size. BUT, if you can handle going smaller (I understand that pain) I would start working extra hard and saving money for the suspension lift. I waited 3 years and worked a little harder then usual. Bought the suspension lift I wanted and I am extremely happy. Everyday I can't believe my truck is owned by me :)



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Snooze,

How did you raise your back end? I found a front lift kit from Superlift that I can get real cheap. But they want almost 400.00 for the rear kit.
 
Hi Chad,

Can you post some closeup pics of the front and rear tires and the clearance issues? I'm considering doing exactly what you did in the next few months. Are you using the stock rims on the truck? Also, what year truck is it?

--Bob
 
chad, where ya gettin the front kit from?!? i found the rear leaf springs for superlift, fairly cheap at the link....

 
Bob,

The best pics I have as of now are in my library. It is an '02 ST.



shvdnlayd,

I bought the steering knuckles from the superlift scratch and dent store on ebay. I called superlift and they told me these are the most expensive part of the kit, and I would save about 400.00 if I bought these from their ebay store. So now I just need to buy the rest of the kit, which comes to about 1000.00. And then lift the rear end of the truck.
 
I know that a suspension lift is superior, but when it comes to price you cant beat a bodylift. I have that and a tt\sl for about 5'' of lift. I wheel it often and at no time has the bodylift given me any trouble. 5" of lift isn't bad for around $300 if you install it yourself. Just something to think about.
 
Thanx Big D. I will do something for you and the tires :)



Chad,

I will send you a detailed explanation a little later, but there are many solutions. Check around for leaf springs, shackles, u-bolt dimensions, and you might need a shim (on top of the leaf springs) to re-angle your rear differential to the drive shaft.



A good way to go about finding these parts, if you do not want to use the superlift rear-kit, would be to find the parts list to the superlift rear kit and then do a parts search.



Downfall to using parts that are not part of a kit is that shops will have a hard time with being legally scared of doing the install. It helps to call installers and see what you can get away with.

 
chad,

good look on the ebay store for them. i just checked, they have the steering knuckles on there for 200 and a replacement front drive shaft for 250.
 
Yep that is what I just bought. Those knuckles are going for 600.00 at superlift dealers. So as of now my lift will cost about $1100. Debating if I should buy the driveshaft, that is 60% off.
 
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Sprung-over for the rear will actually raise it more, about 7", than a Superlift kit will lift the front, about 4", if that's okay with you. Lotta welding, new spring pads, and you'll still need longer shocks, so I don't know if that would really save you money in the end. The regular Superlift Explorer kit includes higher arched rear springs because it's sprung-under, whereas their Ranger kit is cheaper because it just needs blocks for the rear. Their front driveshaft isn't totally necessary but it will last longer than the factory unit under the increased angle. It is spinning all the time because the front hubs do not unlock. You can always get the Superlift driveshaft later.
 

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