First off thank you in advance for any advice anyone can give me. I have recently gotten a new dodge (new to me) its a 1998 dodge ram 1500. I am trying to fond out how much of a lift i need to run 35'' tires on my truck? with that being said my questions are geared twards this... being that my truck is a half ton truck are 35's to big for my drive train to handle? my truck has the 5.2 in it and im not sure what trany it has in it (auto trans) but i have been told that in this year there were some trany issues.. is this true? and what should i expect out of it? i know that thies are some random questions but im just not sure what way to go so any advice is great and im sure that there will be manny more questions down the road so if you may know anything about this truck even if its not what i have asked i would love to hear the feed back on it. Thank you

The search button is your friend! you will find a ton of information on all of the topics you suggested.

you can fit 35's with 3 inches of lift, but the wear and tear on your truck will be substantial. Without re-gearing you are looking at a very sluggish truck.

How many miles are on your truck?

Many people have transmission problems, but that is with every make/model.

The truck has about 180k on it right now so im expectin some issues to arise, i have been thinking about regearing the truck but i was not sure what to go with and what was cost effective. right now the truck has " oversized tires on it but not by much. and it seems to rub only when i turn to the left..lol not sure why... i have however noticed that it is kinda slugish on the take off already but it has good speeds when it gets going.

with 180k on it and no problems, i would make sure i did a lot of preventative maintenance. Change the trans fluid and filter transfercase also, oil, fluid in rear end, etc...

The tires you have now are probably wider than stock and rub on the control arms.

what gears do you have now? more than likely 3.55s...I would wait on re gearing until you figure out what you are going to do with the suspension, the decide on a tire size... i would def not go over 35's , 33's would be easier on your truck. then decide what gears you would want.

when and if you decide to lift, do it right.

Thank you for the advice.. as far as the gears im not sure im guessing stock. i have checked the fluids just have not had a chance to change anything yet. as far as doing it the right that why i figured i would see what advice i found so i kinda knew what were good choises to go with. i like to play but at the same time i drive this truck alot. the tires that are on it right now are 265/75r16 so i know they are not stock ( not that i know what stock was either) and yes you are right its rubing on the control arm... and just out of curiosity is it a dodge trait to have alot of play in the steering? i have been told that dual stabilizer will fix but i have also been told not to waist my time with that just to get it aligned but most that i talk to tell me the alignment only helps for a few monthes.. just not sure, i realy just want the truck to stand tall and look good yet have functionality and be able to take a beating in the mud....have even thought about putting dana 60's under it but thats way down the road and by that time i hope to get in to a cummins and start over.

I want to smack you. Doing stuff like this on a truck with 180k is just BLEEP. Saver your money to fix it.

Lifting will lead to hiden trees in the fog. Long story.

SAVE THE $$$$

lol now im curios about the trees in the fog...i do realize that this may not be practical but its only a thought at the molment just kinda doing the reasearch.. you could be very right on saving the money though i do have to drive this from boise idaho to california this year more than 1 time.. just not sure what to expect is going to go wrong first.

That drive alone I would never lift my truck.

If anything I would go out and buy smaller tires.

The story is I hit a tree wheelin on a very foggy night. Costed me hold on I have to find the bill. 475.77 in parts at a discount. and 450 in labor. than 285 for tranny pan an 2k to do the exhaust.

wow that would not have been fun.... you really think 265 is already to big for the truck?

No, I'm not saying that. I'm running 255/85/16 (33) and I get 8.6 mpg.

I'm saying since you have plan to drive across the country I would get smaller tires.

When I put on my summer wheel and tires I get 10-15. 255/70/16.