I am looking into purchasing a 4"-5" x-series rough country suspension lift. I often read that sometimes lifts require addtional work to be done like break line extensions and things with the exhaust and driveshaft. Will I run into those problems with a 5" rough country? Does anyone on here even have a rough country lift? I find that it is cheap and while cheap is not always best it is all I can afford for now. Anyways any expertise on this subject is appreciated.

Oh and another quesation off subject of a lift I have is about adding bigger tires. I know it's going to reduce my gas mileage and all that crap. i was wondering about gears. Is it wise to change my gear ratio when adding a bigger tire and the lift? Or is the stock gear ratio good enough?

My truck is a 2004 1500 QC 5.7 Hemi

 

As you go up in the price of suspension lifts, you usually get better quality components and more of them (like bigger, beefier A-arms, tie rods, a full sub-frame, etc.) But the Rough Country lifts have always been considered among the better of the "bargain" lifts.

My Rancho kit came with brake line extenders, I would imagine if you need them, the Rough Country kit will provide them.

On the gearing, a lot depends on how big of a tire you plan to go to and what stock gears you have now. With anything over 33" tires, the truck is gonna feel like it lost a good bit of power with 3.55s and fuel economy (especially in-town) will suffer quite a bit. With the stock 3.92s you could get away with pretty much up to and including a 35" tire, although you'll gain a good bit of performance going to 4.56s with 35" meats. If you have the stock LSD, lose it...

 

Thanks. Sounds like I could be some what better off with higher ratio gears if I want to keep the power. Is 4.27 a good gear? Also I'm not a techy at all so I hate to ask a stupid question but, what the heck is LSD? How do I know if it is stock?

Also something I forgot to ask was, will the lift put any pressure on the rest of the truck. I hear things about the ball joints possibly becoming stressed and needing to be supported some how. Will the lift cause pressure on any parts of the stuck that would be wise of me to re-enforce or something of the sort?

 

LSD = Limited Slip Differential. The Mopar one is plagued with problems, problems that can (and often do) take out the whole rear end. (Do a search here, you'll be reading for weeks).

Available gears for Ram 1500s with AAM axles are 4.10 and 4.88, with essentially two overdrive gears, there is no reason not to go right up to 4.56s with tires larger than 33".

Of course a lift will add stress to front end components. Better kits come with drop breckets and other items to leave the angles at or close to stock level, but simply having larger, heavier tires will wear ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. faster.
Having a well designed kit should at least take out the possibility of a catastrophic failure like a snapped CV axle though.

There is really nothing to re-enforce. Thin, spindly CV joints are simply no match for a solid front axle as found in 2nd Gen 1500s or 3rd Gen 2500/3500 trucks.

If you are that worried, spend the money on a kit with a full sub-frame, larger steering knuckles, larger tie rod ends, etc. or simply don't lift it or lift it as high...