ok i have a 93 dodge dakota lifted and a stock 91 dakota. i know they both can be change over to each other but don't have a clue what to look for. so my questain is what do i look for on the 93 to lift the 91.
thanks logan

 

So you want to lift the 91? You never said if it is a 2wd or 4wd. But the FAQ2 in this section has ALL the info you need on lifts.

 

oooo sorry its 4wd

 

Actually the faq has pretty limited information. it says very little on suspension lifts very little on custom lift parts and fab IMO. What if you want a suspension lift? What if you want to use king or fox shocks? Body lifts are not very good IMO. All they do is allow for bigger tires but don't don't do anything else in regards to suspension/steering. the solid axle swap thread is much more in depth and qualifies more as a "lift". Of course if all you wanna do is put bigger tires on.....

 

Theres very little info on lifting because there is very, very limited aftermarket for lifting these trucks. FAQ2 covers it all.

But here is my honest opinion... independent suspension is not designed to be lifted. At least not in a cheap and easy manner. The only way to lift it that would be effective is building longer control arms and angling them down more with long coilovers... like a trophy truck or pre-runner type front suspension. But that will cost thousands and thousands of dollars to do it right. In the stock form, if you turn up the torsion bars, you lose a lot of downflex because you are shortening the distance between the upper bump stops and frame. You are also losing upflex because you are increasing the spring rate and preload of the torsion bars, so they cannot be loaded much more. All you are gaining is tire clearance at the cost of losing flexibility and picking up a harsher ride.

And honestly, the one lift kit that is made for these trucks... all it does is push the control arm mounts down. It doesn't give you any more articulation because the stock suspension arms, stock spring rates, and geometry all remain the same. Again, all you are gaining is tire clearance at a very high price. And it's really not much different than pushing the body up, except that it costs a whole lot more and requires a lot more work.

The front 3 linked solid axle swap that I'm working on will not only lift my truck enough to give 37s plenty of clearance, but it will also give the front end much more articulation.

 

Yep. I was thinking about this And wonding if I could frankenstein the front end suspension. Maybe extending and changing the angle of the control arms and fabricating shock mounts out of tube steel or just modifying an existing kit to fit the Dakota might be possible. I haven't given much thought into how it might affect the steering or what would need to be done to the axles etc. I assume the stock steering and axle setup wouldn't be long enough or strong enough to handle that kind of articulation/added weight. It would also require longer torsion bars and changing the frame mounts.