What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Any good write ups of installing a lift?

Williebeaman

Williebeaman

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jan 4, 2019
Posts
108
Reaction score
27
Location
Austin tx
So I have a 3 inch body lift and it’s missing the middle mounts bushings and I don’t like the look. My plan is to uninstall the body lift and install a 3 inch suspension lift. Is this a job I can do alone over a weekend? Is it a straight forward job?
 
Depends on your level of rust. It is a simple bolt in deal but rusted bolts up the difficulty level significantly. If all the bolts come out then a good set of hand tools with a decent jack and stands will get it done. You will need to correct the steering for the lift and those bolts can be tough ones too. Driveshaft is probably ok at 3", you may also need to relocate or lengthen the brake lines.
 
I did a 4.5" lift on my 2001 2500 ram in a heavily tilted driveway with a scissor jack, cinder blocks (buy jack stands), a 150pc socket set from Sears, and an oreilly's torque wrench in a weekend with 1 friend while in college. If you are half decent with wrenches you should be able to do yours in a weekend. Soak literally every nut//bolt//washer//bushing in a mix of 50/50 acetone and atf for a couple of days and everything should come loose easily.
 
If it's a auto be sure to keep an eye on the shift linkage. Mine was lengthened and needed stock linkage when I went from a 3" to a 1" body lift. Also make sure you chock the wheels, my truck shifted out of park and went rolling down the street when I was dropping the body back down on the frame.
 
i like having a 1" body lift when working on the rig a lot . do body bushings also the old ones will prob be spanked anyway . plan on new hardware .

the rear body bolts are tack welded from the factory in the floor so this is prob why no one did the block there .

the rear tailgate springs if there still on will be TIGHT against the bumper or sitting on top . you might need to pull the bumper until your back down to help clear them .

check for steering shaft spacer . some do them some dont . fuel filler hose extension some do them some dont . fan shroud spacer kit or drop kit might need removed if it was installed .
 
Thanks for all the info guys. It’s a Texas truck so rust is pretty dang minimal I think with a little pbbblaster they would come right off. I wanna do all new suspension not just blocks in the rear as I believe this is still the origional suspension so I’d like to know it’s all fresh. Is this a good one if I did 1 inch body spacers so I can keep the current height of the truck? https://www.roughcountry.com/gm-suspension-lift-kit-235-88-92-20.html?rrec=true
 
skip the rough country brand of lift = hardest ride off the shelf kit's .there is a reason there kits are so cheep in price.

go tuff country or bds for top 2 best off the shelf ride kits .

and shocks are the big ticket for quality ride on good springs . bilstien shocks are the big ticket now .

read up a lot here and ask before you buy so you dont get a crap product or bad seller/place of purchase .
 
Last edited:
For a generic lift, rough country isn't bad. Personally, and the way I'm going, I'm going with an ORD system. Better tailored to our rigs.
 
I have put a 4" suspension lift on two different K5's. The hardest part may or may not be removing the steering arm on the front axle. 2nd hardest part may or may not be the leaf spring bolts.

As said before, soak everything in PB Blast for several days before attempting this. On my 89 K5, we broke a sledgehammer handle while trying to get the steering arm off. On my 86 M1009, we removed the steering arm with a few taps of a ball peen hammer. On my 89 k5, some of the spring bolts were seized to the bushing sleeves. On my 86 M1009, everything came apart easily. The 86 M1009 I started Friday after work. By end of the day Saturday, it was all done. The 89 K5 took several days and sat for awhile because I ended up having to get more parts.

Thoroughly check the condition of the rear leaf springs before you decide on lift blocks, shackle flip, or lifted springs. I did not do this with my 89 k5. While installing the ORD shackle flip, I was removing some rivets and hammering. A large piece of metal fell to the ground, it was half of the main leaf wrap that goes around the spring bushing! Springs had to be replaced anyways. I should have just bought lifted springs.

Good luck, be safe, think things through before you climb underneath the vehicle
 
Luckily all the bolts came out easy when I put a 4 inch all spring kit on my k20 recently, but if they don't, save time and don't be afraid to start cutting and just buy new hardware. I had 2 friends help me but we got it done in about 5 hours.
 
centexk5 said:
For a generic lift, rough country isn't bad. Personally, and the way I'm going, I'm going with an ORD system. Better tailored to our rigs.
Click to expand...
If it's all you can afford, it's ok. Like anything else, you get what you pay for, but they will do the job. Not saying it's the best, but again if the cost is the difference between doing it or not, it will do the job. If you can afford to spend more, one could do better but if you can't it's a viable option.

Some people don't like them and that's ok. I've used my set of front RC springs on two different trucks going on 14 years without much issue. Yes, the shocks are cheap and really do contribute to the crappy ride. A big difference in ride quality was found in running Bilsteins on the same springs. If the springs were the complete junk some make them out to be I think I might have wanted to swap them out sooner. It just hasn't been a priority in my build, especially after swapping the shocks out. I'll get around to changing them to better suit the silly load of the camper and coming big block.
 
Well my truck currently rides like shit so it looks like I should save the extra cash and go for tough country with bilstien shocks. It’s my daily driver and spends most of its time on pavement and the horrible pot hole riddled streets of Austin so I’d like to have a decent suspension.
 
Pot hole streets of Austin? You should go spend a day in Dallas. Makes Austin look like the yellow brick road.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom