Hey all,

So I have been thinking of lifting my 1999 5.9L 1500 laramie 4wd, hopefully about 4.5" to 5". What I have recently heard from a friend of a friend(hence my skepticism) is that my truck is pretty old and won't be able to handle a lift and some 35" tires. As far as the condition of the truck it runs great, hasn't had any hiccups and has served me well while I've owned it. Basically I just need to know if this has any merit and thought you guys would be willing to help out.

Thanks!

 

You can lift it 20" with 54" tractor tires if you'd like....
Why would your truck not "handle" the lift? Parts like ball joints, hubs, and that sort of thing wear out faster than normal with more lift and bigger tires but that's about it. With 35" tires you're going to want to regear your differential to a 4.56:1 or 4.88:1 ratio, otherwise youll have a sluggish truck and your trans will wear much faster.

There shouldn't be much of a reason why your truck can't handle the lift...your friend of a friend doesn't know what he's talking about. Tons of people have lifted these "old" trucks, take this for example http://www.djgaston.com/offroad/

 

Look at Bigfoot, Gravedigger...look at the donks being built from 70's impalas/caprices......I know those are custom built, but like Matt says...anything can be lifted. Age has nothing to do with it other than having to replace normal wear components. Maybe your friends friend is jealous?

 

Holy f*ck that's a big ram! I'm guessin that's a 360 in there? A 318 wouldn't be able to pull that big truck.

 

Yeah it's a 360 V8, although the 318 puts out just 20 less horsepower and a little less torque. The engine power in the engines isn't a huge difference.

That guy sold that truck and now he's got a black V10. It's not lifted as high but it's getting there.

 

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking! My ball joints, hubs, etc. are in great condition and the truck runs great. Thanks for the second opinion, I had a feeling that was bullish*t.

 

It doesnt matter.. Once you lift the truck you are going to start going through those parts alot faster.. Thats just the way it goes

 

Jkeaton- I'm not sure if he is jealous haha, I mean he has what I think is a 2001 ram 2500 turbo diesel on 35s with some new exhaust and a lift. That's just from looking at it in the parking lot. It's a clean truck so that's why I gave what he said any merit.

 

That's kind of odd that he owns a lifted dodge of around the same year as yours and tells you your truck is too old to handle a lift..

 

Your friend is stupid. Make sure you install an adjustable track bar that compensates for the lift when going higher than 3".