here it is boys, my lift

i really hope new u bolts are not needed. i just drove all over town looking for them at all the local auto shops and nothing came of it. i did rent the coil compressor at autozone for $50. so i got the 2" aal and im guessing you recomend the front be set to 2.5???????????

 

Are you using your stock, original coils? If so, i would go with the 2.5 setting.

 

yeah stock coils. thanks

 

Looks good. Thats the same setup I've been wanting to do. I just need to get the aal, and re-press my billies.

 

well its all done. here is what i've found. if your not trying save money, if your not subborn like me then definatley take this to a shop and let them mess with it. the front strut assembly comes out without having to remove any bolts from the upper or lower control arm. if you rent the spring compressor it will be really really helpful to have access to a vice. put the bottom of the strut in the vice and u can focus all your attention on the compressor/spring. the first one we did was real scary but the second was not that bad. use common sense and extra caution. a hacksaw comes in handy when the center pins that go through the aal's are way too long. the longer u-bolts were completely unessesary, so i have a $50 set of u-bolts sitting on the floor in my truck. if you do the aal's get a good set of c-clamps(they're like an extra set of hands) to hold the leafs in place when everything is taken apart. i didnt need to extend the hanger for the exhaust or the e-brake either. i think that covers everything?????????????? the only guys on this build was me and my dad(im 31yrs and he is 55yrs), it can be done at home, just have patients. i'll post some pics sometime tomorrow. thanks for all the info and tips guys. i hope this helps the next guy. if anyone doing this has questions you can pm me and i'll be glad to give tips.

 

Used the strut compressor and only completed one of my struts. I took the other strut assembly to a shop and let them do it for 15 bucks.

 

Is the rear end a lot stiffer with the AAL? I am actually considering lift blocks?

 

i considered taking the strut assembly to a shop as well but im stubborn

 

stiff yeah but in the right way(feels like a new truck). after completing the aal's(plus 5100's) i drove about 60 miles all over town and i highly recomend them. the back of my truck is very stable and does'nt get sketchy while going around bumpy corners

 

^ I would agree with that. It's not stiffer in the sense of making the ride rougher, just more stable. Having the new billies on the back as well makes a huge difference. Love the setup. Can't wait to see pics of how yours turned out.

 

I installed 881's coils Bilstiens set to zero, a 3 leaf mini pack to the rear, had 38 inches from ground to center of fender flare before the mini pack, lost 1/2 inch after the mini pack install, thought I would have 38 inches on all 4 corner's, so I still have a slight rake also but not that noticeable.

 

Love your truck, facelifted 1st gen color matched black access cab...regarding your lift, did you do the Deaver 3 leaf progressive AAL? I ran this on my '98 Limited and loved it. Gave me almost 2" in the rear, and I ran Donohoe CO's in the front set at 2". The ride was outstanding until one of my CO's started to leak

Here she is for reference - Donahoe CO's @ 2" and Deaver 3 leaf AAL...man I loved this truck, '98 Limited 5 speed:

 

hey 96er, do you have 16'' wheels? Looks like your truck has a lot larger lift that 2''!!! Your truck looks killer!!!

 

Nope, those are 15" ARE polished Baja's on 32" BFG's. Lift is definitely 2" front, 1.5" rear, might look a little skewed since the driveway is at an angle.

I wish it were still mine, I sold it a few years back to a kid from NY.

 

Can't wait to see the pics of it done. I want to do some kind of lift just up in the air on what. I just did the deck plate mod today. Was a breeze only took 45 minutes. Keep up the good work. I'll have pics up tomorrow on my build if you get bored check it out let me know what you think.

 

what do you do to support the back end of the truck, to take the leafs off? With the jack stands under the axle, they obviously aren't going to come off, so where do you place the jack stands?

Thanks.

 

you will want to put the jackstands under the frame just in front of the rear tires. use the jack to support the rear end. using the jack allows you manuver (spell check) the axel back and forth, up and down. sorry it took so long to reply

 

that's what I figured. thanks a lot. rear end gets finished up saturday. I'll report back. :thumbup: