I really liked what silver dodge did with his truck with the 2" lift and i was just curious on what the final price was if you dont mind me asking....Im 17 and have a 99 4x4 quad cab w/ 360 and was looking for a small lift but nothing major......the problem is i need new tires and im already lookin at 800+ but if i got a lift AFTER the tires i might not get the right size AKA lift = bigger tires. I realize there are cheaper ways spacers/blocks but im not into half a$$..although in reality i realize its not that half a$$ to do it that way


P.S what tires are you running and what CAN you run with a 2" lift all around "although the front is really the only limiting factor right"

 

I'll be honest with you, I did a lot more then what was "necessary", so my final price is not relative. I did these extra's because of how my pickup is used, and what kind of life I want to/need to get out of it. Let me break it down though based on what you really need, and what is optional.

Lift: The lift that I used, by itself only cost about $210 (Skyjacker D201K from Summit Racing or Jegs). You could achieve similar results with a spacer instead of springs, and blocks instead of add-a-leaf. Could even get a set of springs out of a 2500 (like from a junkyard), and results would be similar, just stiffer. Lots of ways to do 2", most are pretty cheap. This is really the bare minimum you would need, and would get the same look roughly that I have.

Shocks: You can definelty run a 2" lift on stock shocks unless you do a lot of hardcore off-roading. If all you do is drive on the street, you can save yourself the expense of new shocks. I actually just happened to need new shocks whether I did the lift or not, and the reason I got the Rancho 9000's was because they were buy 3 get 1 free during the month of April. Buying 3 of those came to just a little more then buying 4 of a cheaper shock or replacement stock shocks. New shocks will run you about $150-$200.

Steering Damper: This is not needed to do the lift. I just replaced mine because my steering damper shock was looking pretty worn. I know guys who don't even use a steering damper because they don't like how it can mask a steering problem.

Tires: I have 285/70/17. They run about $190/each. I think they are a good size for the lift I have. No rubbing in the front. If you have 16" wheels, then 285/75/16 would fit good too, doubt it would rub, and price would be about the same. You could probably go as high as 295 with out rubbing. 305's would likely rub, plus the bigger you get, the more expensive the tire. Now that I have the lift on, I don't think I would want to run a tire any smaller then the one I have today.

Wheels: I had the 16" stock steel wheels, and bought a set of 17" aluminum Off-Road wheels from a guy who had a 2001 Off-Road Ram. He was putting 15" wheels with real big tires. I got them for a really really good price. This would be totally optional for you.

Gears: This is the big expense for most people. I knew that if I went with bigger tires, I would lose some power. I changed my gears from 3:55 to 4:11. Now, I have plenty of power (more then I did before with 3.55 and stock tires). However, I know plenty of guys who run a 285 tire (basically 33" tall) with 3.55 gears. It all depends on what you use your pickup for. I like to tow a lot in the summer (camping), and I drive a lot in the mountains on steep roads. So, for me, 3.55 would have really killed my power in these circumstances. For others, 3.55 are fine, so this is optional. Gears will run you $1200-$1500 for a 4x4, plus about $300-$400 more if you wanted some type of limited slip (again, optional).

-Track bar - Again, not needed to do the lift, just something I did to get rid of the wobble I had in the front when you hit a rut of bump. If you want to do a track bar, they will run from about $200 for replacement OEM type bars to about $500 for custom bars that are supposed to last longer. Mine is just a replacement OEM bar, but it has a lifetime warranty, so in reality, it will last me the rest of the life of the pickup, just have to change it whenever it goes bad.

So, the way I see it, for about $200 bucks or less (plus tires), you could have roughly the same look that I have. From there, you need to just decide how you drive your pickup and how hard you are on it and how long you want things to last. These things will make you decide what else you need above and beyond the lift. Hope this helps.

 

I dont mean to hijack your thread, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
My 2' lift front spacers 100.00 4 wheel parts rear add a leaf 35.00 4 wheel parts I still have factory shocks and they do fine, but if you drop off into a big hole they will bottom out. when they wear out im going to replace them.

tires remington mud brutes 305-70-16 on factory rims 635.00 ( dont rub a bit not even articulating on a hill or rut)

gears are the biggy and a must 1,250.00 total (4.10)

so your looking at 2 grand minimum like he said, and I did mine the cheapest way possible.

 

Not quite what I said. What I said was that he should be able to do just the lift for under $200. The rest is optional, depending on how/where he drives and what his vehicle is used for.
With 285's, he wouldn't necessarily need gears, but it would be recommended (above 285, probably definelty need gears). He is already getting tires anyway, so all that is left is the lift and shocks, and changing shocks could also be optional if he doesn't off-road hard. So that leaves just the lift, which, for example, you were able to do for $135 (which by the way is a really good price). So, like I said, under $200 bucks is the minimum, depending on his need.

 

Thanx guys i think due to the fact that i dont NEED new shocks ill stick with stock and just due the lift, ALSO i dont due any off road driving or towing the worst the truck sees is snow sense my road doesnt get plowed "no biggy"

I do have 1 Question how bad would it truly be with 295's and no gears also what is the Widest tire/ tallest you can fit on stock rims ??

 

In my opinion, I wouldn't do 295's with 3.55 gears. 295's add height too, so you will really be pushing those stock shocks. If it were me I would not go beyond 285's. Just my 2 cents.

 

I went the 3/4 ton spring route, $25 bux for the front and $40?? bux for the rear blocks. I had 285's on stock suspension w/o rubbing on stock tires. now with about 2.5" of lift in the front and the MT classic II's there is still no rubbing and now I'm on a 295 tire, still w/o rubbing. actually there is about an inch to spare from what I've seen.

when I had the 285's and stock gearing the throttle response was pretty poor and it seemed to bog a little too much for me, after the 4.11's, still on 285's it rocked. now i'm on the 295's and it's still pretty good but with the bigger tire, it takes away from the performance of the motor (heavier, bigger diameter tire)

 

---gears will run you $1200-$1500 for a 4x4, plus about $300-$400 more if you wanted some type of limited slip (again, optional).


If I have limited slip 3.55 and want 4.11 they dont have to do anything with the limited slip parts do they. I wont have to rebuy anything related to limited slip will I?

Thx

 

I think if you already have posi then it's just a gear change...

 

posi will stay the same, unless it was trashed like mine. I had to put new clutches in mine when I had the gears done. If you have the factory trac-lock in the rear you can get new clutches for $50.00.