I want to start saving for a 2-3 inch lift. I have done a little research but I have found that what you guys say is much more helpful to me than just reading off sites. I want to know what you all beleive is the best brand of springs, socks, or just the best lift kit.

I also want to know if there are any negative side effects to having a lift. And also what you would expect to pay for a proper lift. Any suggestions on where to buy the lift stuff will help alot. Anything you want to add on about lifts is great as well! Notice the theme? This post is a lift tell all!

HAVE AT IT!

 

I can't think of one negative effect from a lift.
You basically have 2 choices, RTE or Old Man Emu.
Me I have always like OME and yes RTE does make some good stuff.
Total cost for 4 coils, shock and 1 stabilizer is about $650 plus labor if you don't want to install it. Most place make different weight range coils depending on what you want to do with your truck and the weight of your truck when all your mods are installed.
As long as you stay under 3"s, you won't need to make any other changes.
Make sure you rebuild your front drive shaft if it hasn't been done yet.

 

Here are some details on my approach to the lift. I used a write-up from D-Web's tech section as a guide. First thing I did was to buy the OME steering stabilizer. Being $70 plus shipping, it's the cheapest part that'll you'll need and is installed in 10 minutes. Originally my whole setup was going to be OME, but I started looking at Steve's products (RTE) after reading all the great things people have to say about his work. I decided to go with the 2" because I knew I wouldn't need to worry too much about brake lines and drivetrain angles.

The shocks wound up being purchased used on D-Web. I wanted N107 and N108 shocks and found a good deal on their used parts page. The OME's had less than 5,000 miles on them, never offroad or towed, and cost $190 with shipping. If it wasn't for the very low mileage I wouldn't have considered buying them used. That really made getting the new springs easier. With shipping to San Francisco (RTE is in Virgina) the springs were $350.

The front springs (RR4-1) went pretty much like the write-up except for the bottom bolts of the shocks. The write-up may have been done on a D1 because there are 2 bolts that hold the shock at the bottom, not the 1 pictured. This I think prevented the issue of using vise grips to hold the shock while the bolt gets loosened. We used about 3 feet of extensions to reach those bolts at the bottom of the shock which was a good time saver. We used a manual spring compressor (rented from AutoZone) to remove and install the front springs.

We couldn't use the spring compressor to install the rears (RR1-2). There wasn't a way to remove the compressor from inside the spring, so this meant we had to be able to pretty much slide the spring into place. We removed the brake caliper, unplugged the other wire to the brakes, and got more slack on the breather tube from the axle. From the 3rd pic you can see the wrench used to removed the sway bar nut and finally the axle dropped down far enough. At that point the spring went straight in.

 

I've considered an OME upgrade but my Disco already has a set of 2 inch lift spacers. Can they be left in if I do a spring/shock upgrade? Will I need to address any other suspension or brake parts to make this work?

 

Spacers on an old suspension are considered unstable, because your old coils and shocks can not handle the additional top heaviness caused from the lift and you will sway alot.
First thing I would do is get rid of those, there is no benefit to using them, yes you are taller and you still have a warn out suspension.
Food for thought.

 

Thanks guys thats some good info! Disco2guy, your lift looks awesome. Mike, is there a way I can tell if my front drive shaft has been rebuilt? I dont have nay records because there were not in the tuck when I bought it about a year ago. But i'm sure my indy. mech. will know if I bring it to him.

Oh yeah,if anyone else has pics they are gladly appreciated!

 

Crawl under your engine, with a flash light, look where the front drive shaft hooks to the t/case, there is a housing on the drive shaft with 2 u-joints inside it, see if you can frind any grease fittings on both of those u-joints, if you can't, guess what your next project better be.

 

Hey Cam-
Here's a couple pics of my rebuilt drive shaft.



[IMG]local://upfiles/7793/079B57C381674737825698539E289107.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/7793/F7FA814222FE42F2BE4BB19BA25FB790.jpg[/IMG]

 

There are a lot of benefits to lifting a truck and those with lifted vehicle experience know that there are sometimes just as many ill side effects.

- It places more stress on the drivetrain, brakes, suspension components and even the body as the suspension is altered from the factory engineered version.

- Your center of gravity is raised increasing body roll and reducing the sidehill angles you can traverse. This also creates a problem for your brakes, shifting even more of the load to the front brakes as you will dive more while braking due to the transfer of weight. This means you lose out on maximum braking force.

- Increased tire size which generally goes hand in hand with a lift will cause additional problems and stresses on components such as: driveshafts, differentials, transmission, transfer case, flanges, engine, u-joints and of course a heavier toll on your already stressed brakes. Unless you change your gears, this means more engine work is required to provide the same level of acceleration. If you change your gearing leaving your factory axles, you now have smaller teeth and a weaker setup.

The ideal setup is as little lift as possible to accomplish the type of trails you'd like to run. More skill = less required equipment.

Your best bet is to wheel your truck until you are finding it is the limiting factor in your off road progression and then start making changes. I always recommend against upgrades before there is some level of off road experience backing it up and driving the change.

IMHO

 

A man after my own heart !!!!