On my 1999 Ram 4x4 I've done a 2" leveling kit in the front, and evidentally my rear must be sagged as it has a noticeable feel like I have a large load in the rear. I want to lift the rear 2" now to compensate.

Do I choose an AAL, blocks, or shackle? Suggestions? Experiences? Thanks!

And I do occasionally tow horse trailers, boats, etc but I don't want to worsen the ride and it seems fine as is as far as towing goes.

 

if it seems fine for towing then just throw yourself a set of blocks in the rear. add a leaf will stiffin everything up.

 

I would go get a autozone add-a-leaf thing there like 30$ and poss a lift kit from there, All it is is blocks.

 

Anyone have any experience with shackles? I had them on my YJ Wrangler and didn't seem too bad. I had blocks and AAL in my old '77 GMC and that wasn't too bad either.

I've heard that lift blocks on Rams have issues with axle-wrap/wheel hop, is that true? Thanks for the input so far.

 

I put a 2" lift block in my rear and has worked great for me so far. I'm planning on putting an add-a-leaf in sometime though. The ride isnt too bad for blocks in the rear on my truck...i noticed a slight differenece in ride but i'm happy. No wheel hop

 

im running blocks and personally i would rather have the blocks over the AAL because of ride quality.

 

You only get 1/2 the lift from extended shackles - so you would need 4" shackles to get 2" of lift. It will also rotate your pinion angle up. You can correct that with shims.

Lift blocks are OK, but can contribute to axle-wrap if you like to mash the gas a lot. The reason for that is that there is a longer "lever" arm between your axle tube and the spring, which means more wrap.

There is also a shackle flip method of getting lift - which gets you something like 4" if I remember correctly. But it messes with the location of your rear axle, and you need to modify your perches to move the axle back. It's been a long time since I looked into it... but I think you need to add some plate to extend the perch, and drill it to move the axle back to the normal location. The benefit here, is that many people remove all the lift blocks so you won't see as much axle wrap. If you look for BSD shackle flip you'll probably find some info. I know there were a couple of threads about it on pavementsucks.

If it was my truck, I would opt for a new spring pack or add-a-leafs.

Good luck,
Cartman

 

I would personally go with blocks, axle wrap can be an issue because it changes where the axle is in comparison to the springs and give it more leverage to wrap things up. The thing about it is the 5.9 or 5.2 doesn't have near as many problems with this as the Hemi would. There are a ton of guys over in 3rd gen with Hemi's and they run blocks without any complaints of crazy wheel hop or axle wrap. If you do get blocks and do experience a noticeable amount of the two you could always throw traction bars on there to keep your axle from twistin.

 

If you go with blocks everyone that Ive talked to says that you shouldnt stack blocks so if you go that method get 4" blocks and take the stock ones out.

 

Ok, so I got add-a-leafs and installed them along with Skyjacker 7000 shocks. I replaced the front shocks a week ago and did the AAL and rears last weekend. The shocks are meant for a 2" lift. It feel VERY firm in the rear, almost like I'm getting bucked. I'd say it is noticeably worse than my uncle's '03 2500 Cummins (longbox) and '01 F250 (shortbox). Would this be caused by too long of shocks?

I have been playing with the idea of switching to blocks to get a full 2" and hoping for the best, or just replacing the shocks with different ones (Bilsteins?) meant for a shorter lift. It sits perfectly even right now, and I like it. Not that I would mind a little more height in the rear if I had to... But that might make my 265s like too puny 'til I get my 285s on.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!