ok so im new to the ram scene and ive searched the forum but havent come up with my specific questions. so heres my deal:

i wanna do a 3' bodylift.
1. are the bumper brackets neccesary? does the bumper look hideious without the new brackets?
2. is it somthing i can do in my driveway on a weekend? ( i have the abilities its just im not at work and dont have a hoist although ill bring all my tools home from work)
3. it comes with the steering extension but do i need to modify anything else? brakelines etc. its my dd so i want everything all together in order to start the project. like say the 4x4 shift lever . will it lower into the floor when u do the lift?

5-6' susp lift

1. do i need to modify driveshafts etc (whats the biggest lift i can do without modding all of those things?)
2. is welding required to put susp lifts in? im new to trucks (again i have the skill but i woudlnt trust my mastercraft welder to hold my rig together)
3. does everything come in the kits for the lift? say a skyjacker one will it come with everything you need to do it? aside from shocks or whatnot.


thanks alot guys i no its alot of questions but ive only taken apart and rebuilt mustangs in my past so lifts are way new to me :P

 

i dont think it requires and welding, the kit comes with everything you need. I would use the bumper brackets cause it does look kinda stupid saggin down. My advice would be to take it somewhere to have the lift put on if you aint experienced in that area...

 

take it in to do the body or the suspension?

 

id take it in to do either, but thats just me. Id screw somethin up. At least its nice to see someone with a 4x4 wantin a lift and not just a wanna be with a 2wd

 

Or a douchebag with a car, wanting to lift it to fit 24"s. No experience with lifting, but when you do it, lets see some pics of that bad boy!

 

Body Lift:

Yes, you can do this in about 6 hours in your driveway. The Performance Accessories kits come with front bumper brackets but not rear brackets, however for about $40.00 more you can get the rear brackets as an accessory. The bumpers look stupid as hell IMHO when left unlifted, but thats just my take on it.

The only special tools you will need are a good floor jack and then just a good supply of basic hand tools and impacts. There will be extensions you need to weld in for the shifters and possibly the t-case (depends on year). For my 1999 with a manual tranny, the transmission shifter was all that needed to be extended. The t-case shifter on my year goes up and down with the body, so just a minor adjustment to the linkage was all that wasnecessary. On the earlier years, the t-case shifter is bolted to the t-case so an extension to the shifter needs to be welded in. Also, on auto trannies, I believe an extension needs to be welded in to the shifter mechanism, but not 100% on that.

Brake lines do not need to be extended, so your good there. The kits come with a steering extension that goes in between the steering shaft and the steering gear, but most guys don't put it in as the Dodge shaft allows for the needed slip.

Gas tank filler and vent hoses come with the kits as well, but on mine I did not have to extend them other than loosening the clamps on either ends of the hoses and pulling them out about 1/2" on each end (I have a 3" body lift BTW).

Again, the body lift is a very easy mod and can easily be done over a weekend.

Suspension:

The 5" skyjacker is a great kit. It rides nice and is a very complete and well thought out kit. I had this kit originally, and ultimately replaced it when I went higher.

For the same basic price though you could also get a Fabtech 5.5" kit which is a better kit IMHO. It uses a lower long arm (vs SJ's short arms), and has a better highway ride than the SJ kit. Some guys do not like how low the long arm hangs down though, so if your going to be twisting your truck up on the rocks, maybe stay with the SJ kit. If your building a Daily Driver that is only going to see occasional off road with rocks, or primarily a mud trail truck, the Fabtech would be my choice for that.

As far as installing either one of these kits, the axle brackets are going to be the biggest PITA. You will need an angle drill capable of drilling 1/2" holes. You basically have to take out the front axle to install the brackets.

They can be installed in a weekend. I did my SJ kit in about 5-6hrs in my shop (no hoist, just basically a big garage) with the help of one other guy. We are both experienced technicians with a well equipped shop, but I still think you could do it over a weekend in your driveway.

Another suggestion:

If your looking for simplicity and still get usable height and performance and get out with a smaller budget, I would do the following:

3" Skyjacker lift (with replacement front springs and single flex control arms)
3" Bilstein or Rancho RS9000 XL 9- way adjustable shocks
3" Body Lift with rear bumper brackets
36" Irok Radials on 16" x 8" wheels

This package will offfer a great highway ride, a good off road performer, an axle freindly combination and not break the bank. Then when you have some more money and you want some better perfomance, through a Detroit locker and some 4.88 gearing at it. The difference between a 5" kit and a 3" kit is huge in cost and difficulty of installation, and quite frankly it's not that noticable of a difference with both trucks side by side, so this suggestion would save you some big $$$$ and still get a great looking and perorming combo.............just a thought.

 

your gonna be welding .. 95 right ? ..i should of bet these guys who said no welding...lol.... let me know on that 5-6 hour install..lol....

 

i love the longarm look. and since its my dd im not gonna be climbin rocks and stuff frequently. i just like to hit the mud pits ocasionally. i just like the look of a huge truck. so im goin to order the bodylift next pay and install it when the weather gets nicer, its freezing rain now and the truck needs brakes lol. are you serious about the diff between 3-5.5 isnt that big of a difference? ive heard people say that the lifts arnt usually 100% accurate but i dont know. anyway its a long time before i can buy the susp lift. i work at a kia dealership thats basically going under lmfao!! ok thanks alot tho guys appreciate it

- Vince

 

i havea 5'5 fabtech lift, on my 97 its a true 5'5 lift, about the other 90% lifts will say a 6 but its only like a 4. This lift is amazing and never had any probloms, i have taken it to hell and back and is still kickin ***, i would tell any1 to get the fabtech lift.

u can see in my front pic that it dosent really hang down to far.

 

Well 5-6 hrs is a pretty average time for a body lift if you have done one before. I have put two on other trucks before this one so we went pretty fast even with the welding of the shifter on mine. But a weekend is definetely doable, and if you are mechanical at all, one day (well under 8hrs) is very realistic. Some things like rusty corroded bolts, unfamiliarity with the procedure (read the instructions several times in the days leading up to the install it helps tremendously), and not having good tools can take lots of time. But I started on mine at 9:00am and was pulling into my driveway at home at around 3:00pm and that was with the both bumpers lifted and the stick shifter welded, painted and reinstalled, and a trip to the auto parts store for some vacuum booster hose, so it can be done. Whether you can do it or not I don't know but most shops bid body lifts at 8hrs (flat rate designed to make them money!).

I really like the Fabtech lift myself and if you have $1K to $1500 vs $500.00 then the Fabtech over a 3" lift is the way I would go as well. I just thought I would through out another suggestion for you because a 6" lift (3" body and 3" suspension) is big enough for 36" tires and it is a very porportional look at considerably lower price.

Take a look at my truck and figure out which way I went.......lol

Here in Colorado where rock crawling is popular and being so close to Moab, I can tell you that the long arm brackets are not as desirable as leaving your lift a short arm. Even though the brackets don't hang down that far. they do hang down, and in this area of the country at least, guys are always searching for a way to eliminate the stuff that hangs down and can get you caught up.

Also the arms that Fabtech supplies with the kit are strong, but if you slip off a rock and come down on one, they bend rather easily. Some guys I know have upgraded the arms in the Fabtech kit to homemade DOM tubing and Johhny Joints after they have bent them.

It sounds like though that the Fabtech lift would work great for what you want. I too like the look of a big *** truck (I'm running 10" of lift and 38.5" tires andI think mine needs to be bigger.....lol). Get the body lift on there and start saving for your lift.

I will caution you though, if you want a tire bigger than 35", you will need to regear. Here is where the biggest decision of your build needs to be considered. You can throw $2k in gears and lockers for your 1/2 ton axles and still have 1/2 ton axles which are not ideal for 37"+ tires. Or you can make a comittment to finding and upgrading your 1/2 ton axles to 2500/3500 axles that can be made strong enough to handle that big of a tire.

You have to decide that quickly in your buildbecause you don't want to have to buy two sets of gears/lockers, two sets of wheels, two sets of tierod-draglink,etc....

Good luck,
Bill