Hey,
So i have had this 99 dakota sport 4x4 now for a about a month or two. I bought this truck one for the winters here in Indiana and two so i had something i could haul with.
after getting the truck for 2400 with 130000 miles (not a bad deal)

when looking over the truck more i noticed that it had an old body lift on it almost 4" im guessing and to me that large of a body lift looks stupid cause you can see your frame and everything.

so my question, what type of suspension lifts are out there to raise the actual frame up (I know about the torsion keys and all) but whats a good brand

and is there anyway i can find out how the truck came out of the factory stock so i can put the original body spacer size back on.

some other details of the truck is, it's the 318 5.2L, its a dark gloss purple with typical chrysler clear coat problems :/ (want that fixed too), and axle back exhaust (no my choice)

And if you have any advice on what to do to the truck would be helpful cause i do plan on driving it 120 miles one way to see my parents once a month in northern indiana

Thanks

 

Factory body sits about a 1in. I would do a 2in for a little higher stance(wont be able to see the frame as much). As far as lift I think there is only one company that makes a lift for the dak and it is a 5.5in lift for around 1,700 I believe. Torsion keys will get you about 2in max.

 

How would the stance of the truck look with keys and rear block put in, cause I'm not really ready to put 1700 into a suspension lift...

 

Cheapest way would just be to make your own gapguards if it's the gap between your bed and frame that you mean.

If you mean the frame hanging out the bottom of the truck then yeah there isn't much you can do. Not many suspension lifts for dakotas other than the one dodgeramguy recommended, and keep in mind they only made those for 97-99.

 

Heres how it sat stock with stock 31's

IMG_0529.jpg


Heres how it sat with just a torsion bar crank and on stock 31's(about 1 1/2in-2in higher than stock)
1220101340.jpg

^^^ Yours would sit a little higher than this with keys and blocks^^^^(tires would be the same)


Then 32's no change in height.
IMG_0857.jpg

 

So in a nut shell it just be better to save up the money to get the 5.5 inch lift if I wanna give the truck any height

 

Personally scrap the ifs and do a solid axle swap. You would have just as much money into it. Plus you have a stronger axle and you can go tons of cheap routes for lifting it. I wouldnt even waste my time on a ifs lift for the dak. I would do a 3in body lift and torsion keys and blocks and be able to stuff 35's under it.

 

This. I'm planning a SAS for mine in the very near future. Though it will probably end up being more expensive than the IFS lift by the time it's done.