hey guys got a question. i was reading up on leveling kits to get rid of the lower front end. i was wondering if it is still possible to do a leveling kit and still do a 3" body lift as well. if so i think i might do that instead of cranking my torsion bars. is this possible?

 

Hey,
I put a 3" body lift and cranked the torsion bars. I now have 285/75r16s under the fenders, with no rub! You can view pictures here: http://www.cardomain.com/id/Cookmans

 

well with ur cranked torsion bars have u had any problems yet and are ur tires wearing quick cause i hear that u go through tires like crazy. how difficult was ur body lift to do? im also wanting to do that. and by the way nice truck

 

I would like to know also about if the tires die faster with the torsion bars jacked up I need to do something I chaged rims and my tires are rubbing bad.

But I did the 3� body lift with 3 people and it took less then 4 hours.
I had a guy that was moving taking what ever needed to be taken off before I could finish saying it and I would say it was almost 1 guy doing all the work.
What helped is we used transmission stands for the bed and lowered the truck on the lift it made every thing stay pretty straight placed the blocks and raised the truck back up.
The only pain problem was I have the 5 speed so the shifter needed an extension piece to be welded on.
Over all it was quick and painless
If thinking of it just make sure the kit comes with all the parts needed.
I used performance accessories no problems and lot of pictures.

 

Hey guys. as far as the torsion bars go. it just depends how far you crank them out. if you go way out on them you will get bad tire wear because the tires are toed way in. you can do a body lift and leveling kit. that is actually a really safe way to get a nice looking lift. you had to weld the extension on your 5 speed? i had to do it b/c mine is an auto. i was told 5 speeds you dont have to b/c there is no linkage for the park, reverse, ND21. What linkage did you have to extend? but back to the topic. yes do the body lift. its easy. i lifted the bed by hand while a buddy slipped the blocks in. make sure you do the cab one side at a time and have someone under the hood checking the ground wires when they extend. also, the steering shaft. if you have a 1 piece there is knuckle that comes with the kit you will have to install on the shaft, but no big deal.

 

I've had no problems yet, but I do have unlimited alignments at Sears. The tires are from Sears too and only cost about $120 a tire and are very capable in all conditions including mud. Also, you should remove the front torsion bar before serious off roading. I know a guy with a Durango that has bent two of them from serious 4 wheeling. Whenever you do heavy offroading that you end up stuffing the tires or flexing the suspension to the max, you are going to need an alignment. This is inherent to all IFS front suspensions, just read the articles if you don't believe me. As far as the body lift, it only took two people one day in my garage on a hot summer day to get it done. If I had to do it all over again, I would have purchased the Flex-A-Lite Extreme 180 electric fan and removed the stock ones and the shroud. If you have the shroud that has the coolant overflow and washer fluid reservoir, replace them with ones from a 97 Dak. The hardest part about cranking the bars is that they are not set at the same amount of turns to begin with. Each torsion bar has its own flex rate due to the nature of the metal. Remember to measure all four corners of the truck before and after to make sure its level, and also take it over a few speed bumps to let the springs settle in at their new tension.

Good Luck

 

i dont go off roading much. but when i do i want the clearance. i love the look of it too. so i figure if im gonna do it might as well do it right the first time. so i might just spend the money and get the leveling kit and not risk f-ing up my tires