Hey there looking to put on a three inch lift kit on my 96 ram 1500. I am going to do 3 inch coil spacers up front and 3 inch blocks in the rear and of course new shocks all around. The one thing i was wandering is about a track bar relocation bracket and sway bar relocator. I am looking to stay on a low budget. I was not going to buy these two pieces. What are the pros and cons. Can I leave them stock? Is there anything else I forgot with the three inch lift??? Thanx.

96 ram 1500 sport
regular cab short bed
5.9 cold air intake
electric fans
stainless dynomax dual exhaust
285/75/16 on cragar soft 8's

 

I'm pretty sure you need longer control arms with the 3 inch spacers. Beware, that with that much spacer front and back that truck is going to ride like a stuck liberal. I mean pig..

 

Ok I looked around and I think I would need the longer control arms....okay another question I have front coils off of a 2001 1 ton dually. Any ideas what my expected amount of lift might be by swapping them out. Surprisingly summit said I would not need longer control arms. They said all that would be needed, since I don't wheel a ton, would be the coil spacer, rear blocks, new shocks, and track bar relocation bracket...Have heard a bunch of different things from different people....im a college student on a budget...thanx

 

I just installed 2.5 inch spacers on my 4x2 this week, and I am right on the verge of needing new arms.

Try searching around, this topic has been beat to death many times.

Welcome to the forum.

 

As you move the front axle away from the frame it will swing down and to the rear. The more you lift the front, the more it will move back, this is why you may need control arms depending on how high you go. I am using a 2.5 spacer like Viper and Im almost ready to put new control arms in just because I can see the front wheels are not centered ion the wheelwell, its starting to eat away at me from the inside out. That being said, their may be some clearancing issues with the fromt bumper if you move the axle back to its original placement. although 285s should be ok.
The idea behind spacers is that it is a cheap way to lift and it retains the stock spring rate, so it will be as soft as it was before.
As for the track bar and swaybar. I would say the swaybar should be ok but im not sure how they are mounted on your truck, on mine it is a non-issue. For the track bar, i would look into an aftermarket one. you will probobly be ok, but these things go so often you may as well consider the options. Dont forget the way your trackbar is designed, as the axle moves away form the frame it also moves toward the driver side. so an alingment will have to compensate for it.

 

For 3" of lift you do not NEED new control arms, sway bar brackets, or even a track bar drop bracket. Heck, some of higher end 3" lifts that come with new control arms are the exact same length as the stock units. But, that being said, without them (like helms had already stated) your axle will slide to the drivers side slightly, not be centered perfectly in the wheel well, and the sway bar ends will be kinda stressed. I know this for a fact because I have just over 3" of suspension lift with all factory components (aside from springs and shocks).

The diesel springs will net you around 3-3 1/2" of lift on your half ton. Thats is what I have been running for over 9 years now. Two add-a-leafs leveled the rear (that way I didn't have to add another block). I went this way for the same reason you want to... CHEEP.

 

do the 1 ton coils ride allot stiffer?

 

Yeah but you'll get used to it

I would at least buy the track bar bracket and recenter your axle. The truck will look goofy with one wheel sticking out. It's not that expensive.

I have found that being cheap in the short run has always cost me more in the long run.

 

So either a new aftermarket track bar or trackbar drop/relocation bracket will center the axle?

 

Yep... much stiffer. It gets annoying on bumpy roads, but out wheeling I like it better... the half ton coils are too dang soft.