I snapped up leaf springs and a rear axle with 4.10's to replace my 3.45s. 50 bucks total with all the hardware, lift blocks u-bolts etc. couldnt pass it up! I'm hoping for some advice on how to lock the front wheels and a method to jack up the truck and place jack stands that will keep the rear high enough but be stable and still be out of the way. I have a small and large floor jack to work with and three small jack stands but I can put together some lumber to block and brace - etc. The truck is a single cab short bed with 2.3 and manual. Thanks in advance folks!

 

Make sure the truck is on level ground first and foremost, I wouldn't attempt this on an incline. To chock the front wheels I highly suggest some of the rubber chocks for trailers that they sell at Harbor Freight and other tool stores. You're definitely going to want to build some strong blocks for your jack stands. I prefer to use my 6-ton stands since they aren't as prone to wobble at higher extension. Be careful with the 3-tons for that reason. To keep the rear high enough, I made some custom platforms out of some scrap 4x4's. All the blocks are screwed together and sandwiched between two sections of thick plywood. You'll have to play around with your specific truck to make ones that will lift it high enough, two of my trucks are lifted over 6" hence the need for taller platforms.

 

Copy that! I live in an apartment but fortunately the residents are really chill when it comes to tooling in the parking lot. In fact the resident maintenance guy does it all the time. He has even ran a welder from the utility shed which was pretty sketchy. the whole building would go dim! at any rate I am contemplating parking the front wheels butted up to on of those long concrete stops at the front of the parking stalls and chocking the backsides. I have a Harbor Freight like two blocks from me so I will check out those rubber chock blocks. I have a set of six bolt 15 inch steel rims that came with a set of tires I bought and I was thinking of cutting some pressure treated 2 by 12's to sit in the wheel lip and set my jack stands on them. I have a 96 b2300 with 3.45 gears and I am running 235/75/15 BFG KO 1's. I have 2" spacers up front and I'm just shooting for a level stance so I will probably skip the lift blocks that came with the leaf springs. I am hoping to eliminate some wheel hop with the beefier springs and Ive read that lift blocks cause kit also.

 

Yep, lift blocks cause some pretty nasty axle hop. Traction bars help with that, but it's easier to just not run lift blocks if you can.

 

Also, avoid harbor freight unlike some people^^^^^^^^^^^ buy quality jack stands if you choose to use them

 

Harbor Freight Tools is recalling more than 1.7 million Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton and 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands.
The jack stands may collapse under load, which can increase the risk of injury to people near or under a lifted vehicle.

https://images.harborfreight.com/hft...1196_61197.pdf

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases...ht-jack-stands

 

My jack stands were purchased LONG before that recall and are solid as can be. I've seen you lift your truck, you can't talk.

 

So, assuming one needs to work on the rear axle, where would one use stands or blocks on the rear? Or the front if needing to work there?