Hi guys,

Im wanting to get started on a lift for my 97 3500 but im running into some snags and could use some help. First off, im partial to the BDS 4.5 inch long arm lift but bds told me that it isnt tested on duallys and may require a custom ujoint. So first off, is anybody running this kit on a daully and/or know if and why i would need a custom ujoint? Second, i want to go with replacement springs rather than blocks but the springs they supply with the kit would sacrifice a decent bit of my payload capacity which i cant do, so does anybody have any recommendations for 5-7 inch lift rear leaf springs? Or a good quality full suspension 5-7 inch lift for the second gen duallys? quality before price and i dont mind weld on kits. Third i have become extremely concerned about having my axles moved back with a lift, im not too familiar with suspension so if anybody could tell me what id need to keep the axle/steering geometry correct i would really appreciate it. Lastly, does anybody have any other recommendations for parts i should add while doing the lift? i plan to be on 40s (maybe a little bigger) and really want the truck to ride decent, fairly straight, and be somewhat practical overall and im willing to chock out the cash to do it correctly (actually maybe i should see how much everythings gonna cost first) Thank you guys and any other input is definitely welcome!

 

The long-arm kits are designed to keep the axles in essentially the stock location. That won't work well on the rear though..... What you could do for the back, is just do a shackle flip. That will give you right around 5 inches of lift or so....

 

What the heck does a ujoint have to do with a lift? I think they meant to say you would need an "indexing ring" for the transfer case. A 5" lift should be easy with any 2500/3500 trucks. Only difference is the leaf pack and duals. Frame, axles, and steering all the same.

 

i was thinking the same thing, turns out im just an idiot and misread the email. U bolts not u joint

 

Replacing u bolts when doing anything with springs is standard behavior. If they give you blocks for the rear in the lift, they should also include longer u-bolts.

 

The shackle flip will get you close. An auto spring shop by my house was able to bend my springs bit by bit until I got it level without any blocks in there. It took two tries which was a bit of a pain since the ubolts I used are like 80 bucks..