im new to dakota's and 4wd trucks and i just bought a 92 dakota 5.2 4wd and i want a 6" suspension lift and having trouble finding one any ideas???

 

Welcome to DodgeForum!

The only way to get 6 inches of suspension lift out of one of these trucks is to do a solid axle swap on the front. I you aren't willing to put the effort forth to do a SAS, the most you can get out of the independent front suspension is about 3 inches by turing up the torsion bars and you can do a 2 inch body lift.

Check faq2 for more ideas.

 

it already has 3 inch blocks on the rear and torsion keys up front but i wanna go higher and im not a fan of body lifts.

 

Well if you want to fork over $2k, you can get the trailmaster suspension lift kit that drops the lower control arm mounts 4 inches, and then crank the bars up 2 more inches. Its going to be a rough ride and I've heard some pretty bad things about that kit being too weak for serious offroading.

But otherwise, like I said, your best option is a solid axle swap. I'm working on a solid axle swap right now and its going to sit over 12 inches higher than factory when I'm done.

If you don't want to take my word for it, look under your truck at the control arms. There are bump stops that limit the upward and downward motion. If you try removing the bump stops to turn the bars up higher, you'll risk snapping the bar. It can only handle so much.

It's no secret these trucks have a very limited aftermarket and are not easy to lift. I'm not lying to you here.

 

Ya sorry body lift is your last choice for an easy lift. There is nothing wrong with a body lift. No negative side effects. I got one, so does 95 318Slt.

 

Yeah, and just to add to that... I wouldn't even consider taking my body lift off even after the solid axle swap. Even with all that suspension lift I'm going to gain, basically rendering the body lift pointless, it still gives you more room to work under the truck by pushing the body up off the frame.

 

i had thought of doing a sas but wasnt sure on the best axle to use. and how much work would be involved in doing that. i want whatever suspension setup i do to flex a good bit.

 

I'm using a 1979 Ford F250 HD HP Dana 44 front and mid-70's Chevy 14 bolt rear axle for mine. I'm cutting the spring perches off the dana 44 and designing and building a custom 3 link with coil springs. I'm using 5.5" OD x 25" long coils with a 300 lb/in spring rate. In the rear I'm doing a shackle flip with custom built hangers and will most likely be changing out to a pair of late 90s, early 00s Ford F150 leaf spring packs since they measure out to a better fit after the shackle flip.

All that was decided after several months of research and one already failed attempt at using the late 70s ford radius arm suspension setup.

But to answer your question, any driver's side drop axle can work. The best choice is a full size truck axle. Yes, it will stick out a few inches on either side, but it will give the truck a much wider stance for off-camber trails. No chevy front axle is driver's side drop, so you can rule out looking for one of them. I believe all ford solid axles are drivers side drop, and a few Dodge axles are too. The dana 44 is strong enough for most any tire you can stuff under these little trucks, but the dana 60 would be nearly bulletproof in these trucks... if you can find one in your budget.

For the rear axle, just get something to match the front. Setting up the rear is as simple as welding spring perches and shock tabs in the right spot.

I hope this helps.

 

Check the FAQ2 in this section for a good 10 links for the SAS.

 

when you put the body lift on is there anything else that needs to be adjusted, like the steering column or anything of that nature