How to raise the rear- leaf springs or blocks?

[CumminFast]

I am thinking about getting a 3" leveling kit and also something to lift the rear. Where can I get blocks and leaf springs at? I cannot find them anywhere. Also, where are the 3" front spacers? I didn't see them on jackit.



Rick

 

[tarussell]

I am using the " Tuff Country " 3" kit . It has heavy duty front metal spacers and an add-a-leaf for the back. I am adding an extra leaf in the rear pack to offer a little more lift . I did not want to go with a larger block than the factory one ( to much wheel hop ). The kit also comes with stronger control arms . Thomas

 

[GMOSS]

You can order the complete kit with or without shocks directly from www.tuffcountry.com



I installed it on my '95 and have no complaints. The rear add-a-leaf will raise the truck about 2", so there is still a front rake. I recommend installing the DT track bar to keep the axle centered under the truck, instead of using the supplied relocation bracket.



Glen

 

[Kalaehina]

What is the procedure in "adding a leaf"? I too would like to do this but is it easy as just putting the leaf on the very top or bottom? or do you have to spread the springs? Thanks

 

[CumminFast]

I could not get any prices for the tuff country site, but I went to an online store and I really like there prices. They have 5" lift for $700!! There 3" lift system is about $500. I wonder if I can order just the 3" spacers and the rear add-a-leafs. What do yall think the cost to get someone to installs these would be?





Rick

 

[tarussell]

Rick - To the best of my knowledge if you go with the 3" kit you will need the longer control arms to keep the axle housing planted in the right spot. Your track bar will be out of wack if you dont use the relocater in the kit. I think they will sell parts indavidually if you want; that's how I got the extra add-a-leaves and a few other parts. My kit cost about $560. 00 , but that was last year;they may be cheaper by now. I don't know what a shop would charge ; I am installing it myself; it looks like an 8 to 10 hour job though.



Kalaehena - Yes you do need to spread the springs apart and get a longer center pin bolt. I am putting the added springs on top of the main ( lower ) over-load spring at the bottom of the pack. This way the rest of the springs still retain the strap that contains them and keeps them from shifting side to side.



Thomas



P. S. Take the time to call Tuff Country directly. I can't remember the name of the guy I talked to but I wore him out with questions and questions and questions about thier products and he answered all of them truthfully. I kept on asking about the quality of the kit and told him that it would come right back if it was some Mickey Mouse looking stuff and he assured me that it was high quality and I would be happy. When the kit arrived by U. P. S. I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the spacers and very impressed with the thick metal that was used. They even have a different parts in thier kits for the H. D. trucks instead of having the same parts for 1500 and 2500/3500 trucks. All in all I am very happy with the product; and I am a PITA to please with aftermarket parts.

 

[CumminFast]

tararussell- thank you for your informative post. It sounds like the 3" will be too much of a head ache. I think I may try 2" and rear leaf springs. I just want my truck not necessarily "level" just higher for just little bit of mula. I will call tuff country on Monday. Eventually once I hit the 600rwhp mark I am probably gonna get there 5" lift. I cannot believe how cheap it is. The skyjacker kit is like $1500!!!

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by CumminFast

Eventually once I hit the 600rwhp mark I am probably gonna get there 5" lift. I cannot believe how cheap it is. The skyjacker kit is like $1500!!!

Just to compare apples to apples, FWIW, the cheap $600 5" Tuff country lift includes..... 5" coil spacers, rear add-a-leaves, non-adjustable control arms, yes, it is a "cheap" kit.



On the other hand, the Skyjacker system for $1500 includes NEW coils, NEW rear spring packs, double hiem-joint adjustable control arms, pitman arm, and every other necessary bracket, a complete kit for actual usage, not just for looks.



Later, Rob

 

[CumminFast]

Well my truck is never going to go offroad. I have over 25k in my truck and it is not going offroad if I can help it. I learned my lesson the hard way w/ mudbogging when I was younger. So if it makes the girls look; it works for me!



P. S. Rob- if my truck was as nice as yours, I wouldn't take it on a gravel road!!

 

[tarussell]

I looked at a lot of lift kits before I made a purchase, and some are cheaper than others and some are made to use off-road while some are just for looks with no function but raised height.



The Skyjacker kit is a very nice piece and is worth the money if you need/want all the adjustabilty and you want to use thier springs.

Pro Comp also offers a great kit if major axle attriculation is your goal.



I chose the Tuff Country kit because I wanted to retain the factory springs front and rear. None of the lift kit manufactures that I talked to said that thier rear springs had the capacity of the factory pack ( they were purpose built for lift and wheel hop control, not for load capability ) . The front springs seem to be a middle of the road range in capacity from all of the manufactures and focussed mainly on ride height and flex- not capacity. The ones that I spoke with said that they would sag with a heavy bumper and a heavy winch.

So it seemed that I only needed 3" of lift and in order to keep the truck functional so I went with the Tuff Country stuff. The spacers are not the super cheap urethane death traps that some manufactures use, they are made of thick gauge steel and are bolted in. The control arms are thicker and stronger than the cheap factory stamped steal pieces; they are not as good as what the adjustable ones are, but not everyone needs them to be. The rear is a good set up ( in my opinion ) if you want to keep the factory springs and gain a small amount of lift; unless you called up National Spring and ordered a complete pack .



If used hard, a truck with the cheap spacers can loose a spring and make things bad real quick. I almost did not lok at the Tuff Country kit because of that, but than I saw how the springs were retained in the 3" kit and realized that it would be next to impossible to let a spring come out the way it is made.



I have seen trucks with the hiem joints in the control arms break the factory brackets from the axle housing ( welds ) , so sometimes you might be moving the weak link to somewhere else. A urethane bushing may have gave a little .



Just because a kit is not the strongest on the market might not mean that it is cheap. Some kits are designed for certain purposes and some aren"t . I know that there are kits out there that use "spacers " and they are a rolling death trap waiting to happen, but not all of the spacers are the bad ones; the T/C ones are bolted in and in my opinion are not in that death trap catagory. JMHO , Thomas