I know my truck has both a suspension lift and body lift, but don't know how much. Is there a way to measure how much suspension lift it has? I want to order new shocks but need to be sure on the lift first.
It's a 1990 W150

 

For measuring the body lift, just measure the blocks that are installed. For lifted springs, the manufacturer usually paints the brand and model on top of the leaf spring. You can take that and look it up on their site. Also, the rear leaf spring blocks from the factory are between 3-4". If you have one taller than 4" or double stacked blocks (yuck) then you have an aftermarket lift.

 

If anything was painted on the springs, it's long gone.
Here's a couple pics and measurements:
Front

Rear

Measurements


Basically I'm just trying to figure out what size shocks to order, I can look at extended and collapsed lengths and compare to mine but I'm not sure if they measure end to end (past bolt holes), or just the tube parts (before bolt holes).

 

Shocks should be measured from center of bolt hole to center of bolt hole.

 

That's a lot of block in the back. That 4" block is definately aftermarket. My RC has a 3.5" block also. The leaf pack looks about right. You guys with the W150's, how do your leaf packs front and rear compare? My front leafs in the RC seem to be more flat that yours. Yours may be arched to give it the 4" lift in the front and the 4" block in the rear. That body lift looks just like my 3" block.

 

There is at least one extra spring in the rear pack. You have a spring on the bottom that overlaps the spring above it and that is not correct because that renders the second spring from the bottom useless except as a spacer. The front spring pack has a greater curve to it than the stock ones. Most stock front spring packs are flat at best and some actually have an inverted curve to them.

That extra 4" block is definitely a weak link for the suspension. If you are going to do any hard off-roading I would find a better way to get the needed lift. Remember that those blocks and u-clamps are the only thing that keep the diff centered under the truck. Any force that is applied to the tires is multiplied by the extra block length and adds to the torque on the u-bolts.

 

Using my measurements from bolt hole center to bolt hole center, I ordered shocks for a 6" lift. I don't plan on doing any hard off-roading, and this is just a toy/project so the less money I put into it the better.
Only reason I decided to get new shocks is because I was thinking about painting my old ones just so they don't look so old and crappy, but realized shocks were fairly cheap so replacing them was a better option.

Someone mentioned shackle flipping to me, I looked into it a little and it seems it might enable me to remove that 4" block. But I'm not quite sure I totally get the shackle flipping thing, from my limited understanding it seems to involves flipping the shackle (as the name implies) but requires a different bracket.
I also found a thread mentioning if you flip the rear on these trucks you have to flip the front as well because of the driveshaft. But if I remove the 4" (or maybe the 3.5" block) then the lift on the front should be fine w/o flipping it, right?
So does it involve more than getting different brackets and where can I get those brackets?

 

This guy is a guru on HD shackle flipping. He is a vendor on RCC. Can spend all day reading and learning all about it.
http://ramchargercentral.com/jungleshddodgecomponents/

Basically, instead of the rearmost shackle hanger having the shackle going up it will hang down from a special hanger that kinda resembles the front hanger. The reason for adding the shackle in the front hanger is to keep the differential at the proper factory angle and allow for proper lubrication of the pinion. Jungle's shackle flip will get you 4.75" lift with the factory block intact if I remember correctly.

Assuming it's not an optical illusion, you should consider flipping the bottom two leafs that SEAL noticed with the smaller one on the bottom.

Can you show us a pic of your truck's stance. Seems like the back is lifted considerably more than the front.

 

Thanks for the link, looks a little too pricey for me though. And really I think the truck sits pretty good and level as is so I don't want to mess with it too much.

 

Nice truck! Did those handles aft of the doors come on that truck, or were they aftermarket? I want something like that for my extended cab 93.