Now i'm thinking about 1 inch body lift combined with 1" t bar crank. but if i crank the front i want to bring the back end up 1" to keep it sitting how it is right now (when i'm loaded with camping gear it sits level right now).

what are my options in the rear ? my only concern on how i bring up the rear is that small housing duff traction bars will still work. is this possible ?

blocks ?chevy drop shackles ? ? pro? con ?

my truck is on factory 3" blocks because its 4x4 ? so i need 4 inch blocks ? don't blocks crack ? I romp hard and frequently it needs to be durable.

i think there is a shop by my house that just does suspension and they can somehow machine the leafs to give them more or less bow to raise or lower a few inches. I had a cracked drop block on my old s-10. I had them remove the blocks and machine the bow out of the factory leafs to bring it back to the same level as it was with lowering blocks. i don't see why they can't do the same thing to raise it. or since i don't know jack about cars except where to put in gas maybe they just told me some B.S. and tossed on some leafs from the junkyard ?

the most important thing to me is to get those duff tractions bars on there cuz the wheel hop when i punch it on a loose hill sucks !

I also don't want to change the shocks and i think i will have to with the shackles ?

 

How about 1" more? A 3" body lift with no torsion crank.

You could add one more spring in the back if you go with your plan.

 

I had a spring shop add and rearch the rear springs to lift it 2-1/2". Similar to your s-10 deal.

 

add a leaf in the rear.

 

does an add a leaf make the ride stiffer? with the payload package its pretty stiff . I don't know much about add a leafs . what is there i need to know about it ?

 

raising the front with a torsion crank is gonna make the front stiffer. If ride quality is an issue, stick with the body lift.

 

maybe do chevy drop shackles.

 

yeah the ride is an issue but the t crank gives a bit more clearance underneath the truck . which is good . I hear a 1 inch crank will not make it much stiffer ? . i just think a 3 inch body lift looks funny in the rear wheel well also concerned about the strength of the bumper after its raised with the kit.

 

you dont have to raise your bumper.. you could get a piece of diamond plate cut to fill the gap and it wont look too awkward.

 

thats true for the look but no gain on departure angles .

 

i think i've narrowed it down to either chevy drop shackles outback or getting the leafs machined . I know the shackles even with the new shocks are pretty affordable and it can be adjusted to be a little higher or lower which is cool .

getting the leafs machined sounds the best but i'm going to have to look into the price and also i assume i need slightly longer shocks ?

once i find out all the details on both i guess i can just call jamesduff and ask if they work with the traction bars.

 

rwenzing are you out there ? what do you think ? i trust you opinion bob .

 

Just install the longer shackles, leave the shocks. Lift is lift, reguardless of how you do it. If you need new shocks you need new shocks, it doesn't make a difference HOW you lift it. The rear lift blocks are 2.5" I believe, and the last thing you want is more lift blocks. If you don't want a stiffer ride, the longer shackle is the way to go, it is also the easiest.
If you find your rear shocks topping out easily after the shackle lift, then consider longer shocks.
A one inch torsion bar crank, rear shackles and a 1" body lift should work fine if you feel you need more clearance.
Also, the bumpers are plenty strong after relocating them with the 3" body lift.

 

what if you add the chevy drop shackles and took out the block?

 

thats why you make gap guards and you can hardly tell that you have a body lift.......

 

saw a post about this over at FTW...i have the JD traction bars with AAL and Chevy Drop Shackle and it works fine...you can also do a chevy leaf swap (i think thats what it was called...), it requires a little more time and effort though...

 

Id just stick with the 3 inch body lift or just deal with the stiffness and go with the AAL and 1inch Tbar crank

 

Cheapest/easiest is probably AALS and shackles.The typical FS Chevy lowering shackle (Beltech 6400, for example) will give about 1.5" lift at the rear axle. AALs will add more lift but I've heard complaints about ride quality.

I wouldn't use blocks that are taller than the stockers. Stacking blocks is a definite no-no.

63" springs from a 88~98 FS 2WD 1/2 ton Chevy are good for about 3" if you retain the factory Ranger block. Requires relocating the forward spring hangers and fabbing up an emergency brake cable mount. Duff bars will no longer fit unless lengthened 6~7". Ride quality is slightly more harsh than factory springs and bottoming resistance is better. This setup is what I currently have on mine.

Deaver replacement spring packs have a great reputation. Drawback is fairly high cost ($600 plus labor).

There are other aftermarket spring companies out there that may be somewhat cheaper. And, of course, rearcing your stock springs is always an option.

 

thanks bob!

I private messaged john griggs and he cleared up everything i needed to know ! since it helped me so much i'll post it here for everyone.



1. Chevy shackle: have one myself and it slightly stiffens ride, but hardly noticeable. Unavoidable with a longer shackle. Nice and cheap though. Sometimes takes the pinion nose angle out of spec and requires correction wedges between the axle and stock lift block. With traction bars, since wrap is minimized, it's not so much of a problem.

2. Re-arched springs: works fine and not too expensive -- but only for light duty. If you haul with your truck or really thrash your suspension offroad you'll find they re-droop after awhile. This is reportedly the main reason people don't always re-arch their springs. Another reason is you can only get so much lift without screwing up your shackle angle -- but for your amount of lift that won't be an issue, especially with the longer shackle, if you use one. Generally affects the ride very little since the springs stay close to their original spring rate.

3. Add-a-leaf: very inexpensive but usually hardens up the ride the most. Isn't a bad option though for working trucks or trucks that get thrashed hard since it ups the spring rate.

To repeat, all three of those options works with the traction bars.

That's not a bad option I think, combining a conservative body lift with a conservative suspension lift. Might minimize the disadvantages of either one quite well.

Shocks are tough one. Now, with all those options you can keep the stock shocks, and you sacrifice 1 to 1.5 inch of down travel, but get more up travel on the suspension. Net travel will be about the same.

The problem with longer shocks to increase down travel is that you generally need new bumpstops. Without them your new longer bodied shocks will act as the bumpstops and in bad situations that can damage your shock mounts or your shocks.

So, for this conservative a lift, I'd recommend no changes to start. What I'd do is keep what you've got, use the vehicle with the lift alterations, and decide if it works for you. If it doesn't, then "phase 2" of your upgrade could be your better replacement shocks in a longer length. Otherwise, you can stay stock or just buy a better shock in the stock length.




I've decided to go with the chevy shackles because they preserve the ride , can easily be returned to stock, and best of all they are affordable ! like john recomends i'll run the stock shock for now and i'll see how it goes before i get new bump stops and longer shocks.

thanks for everyones input !