I'm sure this was posted somewhere at some point but I couldn't find a thread on it.

I have a 1994 Dakota 5.2 4x4 extended cab, does anyone have a similar truck they can measure from the ground to the fender flare?

My truck seemed to sag a lot in the front end, with 200k miles I'm not real surprised. I decided to crank the bars until I got something that resembled what the truck should have looked like from the factory. But I'm not sure what the factory trucks should have sat like. The CV shafts where pointed up slightly toward the wheels, and now they are straight in line from the diff to the wheels, which I imagine was the goal from the factory, so I should be close.

I ended up with:

33.5" Front
36" Rear

If I could get a couple people to measure their's so I know what the factory baseline is I would appreciate it!

 

Here is a before and after:

Before:



After:

 

I too wanted to know my ride height. I just got a 92 Dakota v8. My front was the same as yours,but my back was an inch taller. I'm on 30x9.50x15

 

Yeah I was just curious what "stock" is on the 4x4, I'm guessing I am pretty close to what it's supposed to be now. Without knowing the factory height, I would do what I did and just level it until the CV shafts are straight from the diff to the wheel. So far mine seems to ride much better, and certainly handles a lot better.

 

The factory suspension height on a 4x4 is set by comparing the inside and the outside of the lower control arm according to the factory service manual.

That may be why you're having problems with the ground-to-flare measurement; it's not the factory setting.

It's a comparative setting; the outer should be X amount lower than the inner ( 1.5" ), when you measure the inner between the webs for the inner pivot, and the outer right inside the turn stop, on a 1995.

(This may vary for different years; I'd HIGHLY recommend the factory service manual to verify where and how much for a particular year.)

RwP

 

Interesting, I'll grab the 1995 FSM and check, that's not something I thought would be in there. Mine is a 1994 but that should be close. I didn't see a 1994.

It wasn't that I have a problem with the measurement, I'm actually really happy with the way it sits and drives now, but I was curious how much higher/lower/close I am to the stock measurement. When I bought the truck the tires would rub even though they are stock size and caused binding on low speed tight turns. Cranking the bars fixed all that, but I wanted to know where I am at compared to stock - so I'll check that FSM and measure like they do as you said. Thanks!

 

tire size will make the ground to flare measurement different between one truck and another..... mine has 235/75 15s. my door sticker says 215/75 15s. Im sure it would look really silly with those on it. That's what I have on my 2wd.