Introducing fail points with a 3 inch lift?
#1
11-12-2018, 03:58 PM
Introducing fail points with a 3 inch lift?
For those of you who have had a 3inch lift for more than a few years. What kind of fail points have you seen now that the truck has had some time to settle?
Spoke with an indy shop owner, and he was very much against going with a 3 inch lift, citing more pressure on the radius arms, and engine. Said that I would be much better off going with a 2" lift, and calling it good.
Thoughts?
Spoke with an indy shop owner, and he was very much against going with a 3 inch lift, citing more pressure on the radius arms, and engine. Said that I would be much better off going with a 2" lift, and calling it good.
Thoughts?
#2
11-12-2018, 04:11 PM
Super Moderator
I’ve got 2 D2’s with 3inch lifts & zero issues. Engine = will not be affected, it’s the axles, and gearing you’d have issues with by running larger tires. Rotoflex will have more stress on it, but I’ve yet to have one fail. If you off road it constantly I’d swap the rear rotoflex for a normal U-Joint type.
#3
11-12-2018, 04:35 PM
I’ve got 2 D2’s with 3inch lifts & zero issues. Engine = will not be affected, it’s the axles, and gearing you’d have issues with by running larger tires. Rotoflex will have more stress on it, but I’ve yet to have one fail. If you off road it constantly I’d swap the rear rotoflex for a normal U-Joint type.
#5
11-12-2018, 05:00 PM
Super Moderator
#6
11-15-2018, 11:26 PM
Go with the 3”. I’ve been running RTE 3” coils for 5 years with ZERO issues and ZERO setting and I have a lot of heavy stuff on mine. I never extended brake lines or adjusted angles. I’ve always kept my driveshaft and rotoflex in order but really you should do that on a bone stock truck anyway.
Another bonus of the 3” is that it’s 1000x more versatile than the 2”. The tire and bumper options are wide open. Install a 2” and then later decide you want 33” tires? Tough titty, man. You have to go up to a 3” lift if you don’t want to do any serious hacking on your stock bumper.
Now RTE has fallen out of favor on this forum as of late, I believe there was a change in ownership and possible quality issues ? I am sure someone will chime in and refresh my memory. My RTE’s are pre ownership change and they have been great.
Another bonus of the 3” is that it’s 1000x more versatile than the 2”. The tire and bumper options are wide open. Install a 2” and then later decide you want 33” tires? Tough titty, man. You have to go up to a 3” lift if you don’t want to do any serious hacking on your stock bumper.
Now RTE has fallen out of favor on this forum as of late, I believe there was a change in ownership and possible quality issues ? I am sure someone will chime in and refresh my memory. My RTE’s are pre ownership change and they have been great.
#9
11-16-2018, 10:46 AM
Super Moderator
Yep 3 has worked great for me. I've heard mixed stuff on RTE's newer coils, but you hear stuff about TF as well.
You can honestly always get a 2inch coil spring lift & if later on you need 1inch more = just use some 1inch blocks under the coil spring plates. Being 1inch you honestly won't even see them. My 99 D2 is on OME HD 2inch springs with 1inch aluminum spacers and it works great.
I have a set of older RTE 3inch HD springs on my 04 D2 and I really like them.
You can honestly always get a 2inch coil spring lift & if later on you need 1inch more = just use some 1inch blocks under the coil spring plates. Being 1inch you honestly won't even see them. My 99 D2 is on OME HD 2inch springs with 1inch aluminum spacers and it works great.
I have a set of older RTE 3inch HD springs on my 04 D2 and I really like them.
#10
11-16-2018, 11:32 AM
Rock Crawling
I'm happy with 2" and 31" tires, hoping things will hold up better over time, and not having the budget to change diff ratios and upgrade axles with taller tires.
Do you guys with 3" lifts use corrected radius arms? If not, are your wheels noticeably off-center in the wheel wells? And do you ever get death wobble? Those were concerns I had when I decided on 2", over 3" as well.
Years ago I had a 1978 F150 with a 4" lift, and it had a similar front suspension to ours. I didn't know any better, and the radius arms weren't corrected or lowered as they should have been, and I got death wobble all the time. I also had an '02 budget-lifted Grand Cherokee with the same problem. It keeps me conservative now! : )
Do you guys with 3" lifts use corrected radius arms? If not, are your wheels noticeably off-center in the wheel wells? And do you ever get death wobble? Those were concerns I had when I decided on 2", over 3" as well.
Years ago I had a 1978 F150 with a 4" lift, and it had a similar front suspension to ours. I didn't know any better, and the radius arms weren't corrected or lowered as they should have been, and I got death wobble all the time. I also had an '02 budget-lifted Grand Cherokee with the same problem. It keeps me conservative now! : )