I'll start with a few, but i've got a ton of questions about small lifts. Hopefully this summer i'll be able to put a little money into my truck. So....with anything more than a 2" lift in the front I start getting into having to buy new lca's, shocks and that sort of stuff correct? Also with a leveling kit i don't need new front shocks? I'm thinking about a leveling kit but I don't want the back of the truck to sit "level" or lower than the front because I hate how that looks. Also I will be towing our jet ski's from time to time so I don't want the rear to be lower when i'm doing that. I would want it to sit level when i'm towing them. Is there anyone that makes a 1.5" leveling kit for the front? Would that be worth it? What size tires will i be able to fit and what backspacing with a leveling kit? So if I get a leveling kit is there anyway to lift the rear only about an inch? Bigger blocks or a softer AAL? Or has anyone heard of someone doing a bastard pack with the leaves in the back to get a little lift out of them? Thanks in advance.

 

If you go over 2" of lift you may or may not keep your lower control arms, your choice.

If you decide to go for a huge lift you'll certainly have to alter your chassis but not necessarily lower control arms, although it might not hurt to do so.

How old is your truck anyways, and how many miles does she have? Maybe it's time to get new shocks anyways, and an upgrade wouldn't hurt would it?
I'm not an expert. So keep asking around. But with just 2" of lift I think those factory shocks can do the job.

If you don't like the look of the level Dog Ram, use a measuring tape and a jack to be certain. If and when you are certain that you don't like the look, quick fix is this, find a shop that can re-arch your rear leaf springs or one that can add some leaf springs to your rear end to; 1. increase payload capacity, and 2. lift the bed of your truck. Just do not add blocks. Somebody wrote somewhere that blocks throw off the geometry of your suspension and make the suspension more prone to failure. I don't know who said it, but in the last issue of Jp magazine, I read about it all over again. Check it out, it should still be on the shelves. The article was on the suspension of full size jeeps. In this article it described the weak points of blocks to lift trucks and that changing the leaf spring setup was better.

As far as that 1.5 inch lift is concerend, you might want to look into getting some new coil springs if you want 1.5 in. of lift. call a off road accesory shop, go on the internet, check catalogs, etc.... that might be the way for you to go.

And last but not least, keep on reposting this thread. Maybe you'll get lucky and someone will tell you just what you need to know in order to do this.

 

Thanks for the input. I did not think of the new 1.5" lift coil spring for the front or of getting the leafs rearched a little. Adding leaf springs to my stock pack was what i was talking about with the bastard pack. I was wondering if anyone added leaf springs themselves to add a little lift to the rear. I measured my truck a few days ago and the rear does sit exactly 2" higher than the front. But I just don't want it to sit lower if I tow something, am hauling stuff, or my leafs sag a little.

 

Forgot to add info about the truck. Like my sig says its an 01. I have about 54k on it right now. I agree new shocks couldn't hurt there's skyjacker sets on ebay for $135. I might consider those after I get her lifted and everything.

 

So if you only want 1.5" in the front, and then maybe an inch in the back, why bother? First, answer this - what is your goal for lifting or leveling the truck? For looks? To fit bigger tires? If so how big? For ground clearance? I just don't see a scenario where 1.5" of lift is going to make even much of a noticable differnece.

A 2" leveling kit (i.e. a 2" taller coil or 2" spacer for the front) will make your truck level. But as you have guessed, as soon as you hook a trailer on or put something in the bed, the rear is going to squat as much as it does today. That will generally make the front look like it is up in the air. This is part of the reason Chrysler gave these trucks the racked look to begin with. Try this: hook up your trailer or load the bed, then take a measurement ot how much higher rear is. This will tell you if doing anything in the front would be a good idea or not.

I completly agree about blocks vs AAL's. I personally think for a small lift (1-3"), an add-a-leaf is the best way to go. It will give you a firmer ride in the rear and help support loads much better so you don't have as much sag. I also agree that if your shocks are still the factory shocks, your probably getting close to needing to replace them anyway.

Here is my recommendation. If you want to lift it, get a 2" or 3" lifted coil or coil spacer for the front. Then get a 1.5" aal for the rear. Both require no other changes except for shocks, and even those are not necessary if you don't plan to off-road it. After having had both of these setups, I think the 3"/AAL combo is better then the 2"/AAL combo in my opinion. The truck will really sit more level with the 3", but because you have an AAL in the rear, you will not hardly sag at all unless you put on a very heavy load. With 2" in the front and AAL in the rear, your truck will basically sit like it does today (front lower then the rear), only both will be slightly higher then they are today.

3" lift really looks funny without at least a 33" tire. This will start to make your perfomance suffer as the 3.55 gears you most likely have are really designed for a 31.5" tire. This is just something else to consider as you decide if you really want to lift or not. You can fix this with a gear change (I highly recommend 4.10 with 33's), but the cost is starting to add up on you now.
-2" or 3" lift coil lift= $150-$200
-1.5" AAL = $50-$75
-new shocks = $150
-set of tires = $800-$1000
-gears = $600-$800 installed (twice that for a 4x4)

 

That's a lot of exactly what i wanted to know. Thanks. The lift will be for looks. I don't do any off roading. I'm beginning to realize the 3" lift is probably the way to go. Anything less than that and either i won't notice it or i'll notice the rear is too low if i just do a leveling kit. Performance wise...actually how bad is 33's with 3.55 gears? I'm not racing anyone so i'm not too concerned about pick up. I have already accepted that 12mpg for my truck is excellent so getting slightly worse mileage won't bother me all that much. Only thing i need to be able to do is pull jet ski's. 2 3 seaters and their trailer, around 2000lbs i would estimate. How bad would towing those be with 33's and 3.55's? You hit on another point also...$$$. I'm in college and don't want to pour money into my truck. Just make it look slightly better. I figure

3" lift $200-$250
shocks $150
Crager soft 8's around $200
retreaded tires (bad idea or no) from treadwright $400

Ideally i'd like to keep it under a grand.

 

33's and 3.55's won't be bad, but you will notice a slight drop off. You may or may not see a mpg change. If you do a lot of city driving, you might see a slight loss. On the highway, you may see a slight gain (be running at a lower rpm). It is a very usable cobo still, but if your intune with your truck, you'll notice a difference.

 

Summit racing has got the coil spring spacers for $89.95 in various sizes up to 2.5"... Not too bad I guess, but keep us posted on what you find because I'm sure everyone is going to be interested in how much you spend or save and how everything will look after you finish. well, maybe not everybody, but certainly I will seeing as how I was planning something very similiar to what you are doing.