lift kit for 1998 1/2 ton

[brian wafer]

whats the best bang for the buck! while keeping a good ride . nephew is looking to buy a 4 inch lift kit for his 1998 1/2ton.he just out of school so he,s on a budget off about 1300$ he will only be doing back roads, no rock crawling or dune jumping,maybe a little mud! any ideals on which kit is best?

 

[dfl701]

None. I think ifs lifts are more trouble than they are worth. How big of a tire is he gonna run

 

[sweetk30]

hate to say it but 1300 max. you wont get a kit and do install for 1300.

i my self would say for him 3" body lift kit. get the gap gaurds and bumper brackets. this will get the look and keep extra stress off the ifs front end parts.

also get a new set of energy suspension body mounts. you will thank your self in the end.


then later on down the road find the axle and springs and get a solid axle swap kit.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

None. I think ifs lifts are more trouble than they are worth. How big of a tire is he gonna run

What he said. Been there, did it, regretted it, broke front end and steering parts endlessly, spent more money on it than a SAS would have been, and then had it removed and sold the truck.

Slap some 33's on, tweak it a bit, and call it good. GM IFS sucks and lifting it is just a bad idea.

 

[dfl701]

hate to say it but 1300 max. you wont get a kit and do install for 1300.

i my self would say for him 3" body lift kit. get the gap gaurds and bumper brackets. this will get the look and keep extra stress off the ifs front end parts.

also get a new set of energy suspension body mounts. you will thank your self in the end.


then later on down the road find the axle and springs and get a solid axle swap kit.

That's exactly what I did. Body lift and 35s. Wheeled it and loved it. Wish I had kept it

 

[brian wafer]

thanks on the honest answers ,will pass it along.

 

[brian wafer]

we have a shop sweetk30,so we would install it me and him no problem.

 

[brian wafer]

ah gee! i,m reading this backward! he was planning on 33 dfl701.

 

[dfl701]

Then I wouldn't lift it. Go with a body lift if that's the case. Way cheaper in all areas. The ifs just wears out to quick when you lift it

 

[owenst7]

I'll pitch in what I have even though it's mostly an echo.

Lifts for the 1/2 tons are completely for dick measuring. I have had 2 900 series trucks since they were purchased in '96 (180k and 140k at the moment).

The truck with 180k is my DD. I run 34" LTBs on the stock suspension (have not replaced a thing on it yet). It rides slightly lower than stock (worn out springs). Bumpstop to bumpstop (I flex this truck out pretty hard wheeling several days a week) I have such minimal rubbing I just ignore it. To completely stop it, I would have to trim about 1/2" off the plastic behind the front bumper (not really visible anyways, I'm just too lazy). The rear wells grabbed very slightly under full compression, but my fender lips were not completely straight, and I bent them back to where they're supposed to be with a crescent wrench and it hasn't rubbed since.

Unless you want to run really wide tires (pointless in my opinion, wider than a 10-10.5" is just going to destroy your frontend on a 1/2 ton), you can run a 33-35 (depending on brand and rim width) with no lift and little to no body modification. That said, for a truck that is actually wheeled even mildly, a 33-35" is what I would call the limit for the 1/2 frontend anyways.

You can only run a 33-35 without wearing out parts, and they will fit without a lift, so why throw away the money? Put the 1300 into a semi-float rear and a locker or buy a winch. It will be a much more practical wheeler for that.

I would also recommend upgrading the servos in the tranny if you're going to run bigger tires, especially if it will be in the mud (it will frequently be shifting hard into 2nd gear in the middle of a patch of mud). It's about $70 and a 30 min. job. It's immensely easier than replacing balljoints or bearings, which you'll be doing anyways.