need lift guidance

I

illinoisscout

New member
Ive done quite a bit of reading on here and bp and think ive made my decision on what route im going for a lift but need some input/reassurance.

76 terra, strong 304, 3.54 gears, Dana 44 f&r, 4 speed non granny 1st.

Truck will be used as a weekend cruiser with some off road but nothing extreme. Mainly mud trails. Id also like to be able to use it to pull a boat and get lumber/drywall or haul things when in need of a truck.

Ive decided on 4" lift and 33x10.5's on 15x8" wheels. Plan on using greasable grade 8 bolts. Possibly a 1 inch body lift and new body bushings soon after. Will upgrade to borgeson steering joint at that time as well.

No matter how much reading I do, I cannot make my mind up between the Rough Country with a shock upgrade or the Skyjacker lift kit. Im still on the fritz there. Tough decision

still deciding between BFG at's, or BFG mt's. Maybe goodyear wrangler mt's.


Do you guys see any problems arising?

What backspacing would you go with? Im stumped there too.

Should I use the stock shackles, or do you think its worth getting taller ones and caster shims?

Besides buying the lift kit, greasable bolts, shocks, tires and wheels, am I missing anything I should get to do the job right the first time?

Im sure this old horse has been beaten to death and I appreciate your patience and support. Thanks fellers
 
Do you guys think ill come out happy with the setup? Im gonna go with the Rough Country springs so I dont have to worry about sag
 
illinoisscout said:
ive done quite a bit of reading on here and bp and think ive made my decision on what route im going for a lift but need some input/reassurance.

76 terra, strong 304, 3.54 gears, Dana 44 f&r, 4 speed non granny 1st.

Truck will be used as a weekend cruiser with some off road but nothing extreme. Mainly mud trails. Id also like to be able to use it to pull a boat and get lumber/drywall or haul things when in need of a truck.

Ive decided on 4" lift and 33x10.5's on 15x8" wheels. Plan on using greasable grade 8 bolts. Possibly a 1 inch body lift and new body bushings soon after. Will upgrade to borgeson steering joint at that time as well.

No matter how much reading I do, I cannot make my mind up between the Rough Country with a shock upgrade or the Skyjacker lift kit. Im still on the fritz there. Tough decision

still deciding between BFG at's, or BFG mt's. Maybe goodyear wrangler mt's.


Do you guys see any problems arising?

What backspacing would you go with? Im stumped there too.

Should I use the stock shackles, or do you think its worth getting taller ones and caster shims?

Besides buying the lift kit, greasable bolts, shocks, tires and wheels, am I missing anything I should get to do the job right the first time?

Im sure this old horse has been beaten to death and I appreciate your patience and support. Thanks fellers
Click to expand...

illinoisscout said:
do you guys think ill come out happy with the setup? Im gonna go with the Rough Country springs so I dont have to worry about sag
Click to expand...

For wheels go with a back spacing of 3.5". I do recommend going with the 5" shackle kit as it will allow the springs to flex more and smooth out the ride some. I also recommend caster shims and extended brake lines.

I can't answer if you'll be happy or not with the lift as that is really up to the end user. So far I have had no complaints on the Rough Country kits but all have been equipped with Bilstein shocks.

Hopefully my phone will be ringing later today with your order.:cornut:
 
Im having trouble finding a set of 15x8- 5x5.5 in 3.5 back spacing. Can someone lead me in the right direction?

I checked summit and several other sites and couldnt find what I was looking for
 
Oops! I got a bad habit when I'm searching and reading posts that I don't check the date of the post before I reply. My bad, maybe this will help someone else out that is searching threads.
Nevada
 
Actually I was curious about wheel back spacing. Also the difference in ride quality between Rough Country and Skyjacker softride. Does the soft ride tend to sag after awhile? Hopefully in the near future I'm going to go with a 4" lift as well with new body bushings. I'm glad this was brought up again.
 
My experience has been a happy one with the skyjackers. I have a '79 w/5" shackles, new body bushings, and 4" skyjackers and the ride is fine. Better than my '74 with the same mods, but using a 4" rancho lift. Both trucks run comparable 33" tires and caster shims (4 degree). No sag after 5 years with either system.
I'll post up some before and after pics later today. Pics speak a thousand words.

Edit: here's the pics.
 

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