hey guys, my name is chris and i finally decided it's time for me to join this rowdy bunch of misfits. i've come here many a time for advice before when my daily driver was a 95 reg cab with the 2.5 and 5spd manual, but the throw out bearing went out and i'm tired of throwing money into it. the new ride is a 97, club cab, 4x4 with the 318 and again, a 5spd i'm lovin the upgrade more than you can even imagine... but, now that i have a semi decent vehicle it's time for some upgrades. the plan is probably just a simple 3" lift with some 33x10.50's, i already picked up a set of fender flares from the junkyard for 40 bucks (steal), then a brush guard and some lights. i had to make a sacrifice to find a 315/5spd combo nearby and in a hurry, so the truck is currently purple with metalic flakes... yes, it belonged to an older woman... but i have a bit of an obsession with and am going to work for CAT so the plan is to re do it gloss black with yellow lettering.

so now down to business, i've spent a long while looking up threads trying to find a cheap lift kit and have found a lot of the same thing over and over.

there is obviously the tuff country, but i can't come near affording that.

next there is the simple torsion bar key and block method. simple and gets the job done, but i want the look of something beefy if i can get it.

one link posted in here (http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/17.asp) seems like a good kit for the money but appears to only be for the 2WD setup.

i have also found another site selling just 3" lift springs for the front, but do not remember whether they were for 2 or 4WD. would i need to buy new struts to match if i were to go this route? (if i were to do this, i may still crank the torsion bars up a little bit and go with blocks and add a leafs in the rear for maybe a total of 4-5")

i'm really just new to all of this and would love to hear your opinions. thanks.

 

personaly ive done the 2 inch blocks and new torsion keys and still have a rake, these lift kit companies fail to mention about the front bump stops. which is what i hit and failed to level it out. also i had really goofy angles up front with the ifs.

there is no such thing as front lift springs for the 4wd version, since our torsion bar is what keeps the front end up on the lower control arm

if i were you i would crank your torsion bars to level out the front end and then add a 3 inch body lift and extend your gear shifters 3 inches for the stick and transfer case.

 

i kept looking after i posted that and then realized that i had made myself sound like a complete retard asking about the springs but couldn't figure out how to edit the post. oh well lol.

and what do you mean exactly by "weird angles" are we talking camber issues?

 

if logged in you can go back and change any post look for the edit button

 

I TRIED!!!!! lol i'm still figuring this all out, give me a break

 

camber in from top and front drive shaft angles

 

I gave mine New keys and add- a- leaf for the rear and aside from a wheel alignment have never had any issues with hitting the bump stops... I do some serious 4wheeling with mine, apart from breaking the stock shock bolts, have never had any issues with bottoming out or lack of travel. I also have Rancho 5000 series shocks that help soak up the majority of the bumps. I agree with Brian, level out the front end and go with a body lift.

 

yea i thought about it for a while today and realized "what in the hell am i thinking about blocks for when i could go add-a-leafs?" i'm probably just going to do those and the torsion keys and call it good for now, but i MAY give in and do a body lift down the road. who knows, maybe by the time i start looking again someone will have come out with a new complete kit...

 

Do an SAS

 

i'm on a college kid budget... lol i would love to though if i had the time and resources