Is my 3.5 inch truly 3.5 inch or was I given the wrong lift strut

I have bought a 3.5 inch strut off Amazon and I bought it slightly used. I put it on and it seems as if it maybe shorter than 3.5 inch lift than other peoples leading me to believe it might be 3 or 2 inch strut and that my truck would lean more on a 3.5. I have nothing in the back btw.

 

Did u pre measure the distance between front hub middle and bottom edge of the flare and compare after?

 

How do you buy a used strut on Amazon?!

 

Amazon will sometimes sell struts that were returned in perfect condition. I did not end up measuring the strut before hand. I’m curious if my truck looks like it sits at 3.5 or was I somehow delivered the wrong size. Could be me just being crazy

 

It looks higher in the front than the back, but that could be due to a number of factors. Too many variables to form an educated conclusion.

 

Measure from the center of the hub to the bottom lip of the fender and post the number

 

Regardless of how high it is get somthing to lift that squated rear end up.

 

Like was suggested, measure your fender lip-to-wheelhub distance. Stock is 21" front, 22" rear.
By the way that thing looks, you're probably not real far from 3.5".
I hope you've made some investments in CV axles and steering racks...

 

I measured and it measured out to 22.5 so what would that mean was I given a wrong strut or is that my supposed to be right.

 

RC is crap for lift heights they combine the 3.5" claim for both the 2nd and 3rd gens but the 3rd gens sit 1" taller to start. They also don't hold their lift height very well and tend to sag over time. Invest in quality the 1st time around.

 

You have less than 2 " lift.

 

You bought a pre-assembled spring/shock combo, correct?

Spring is what lifts. The shock just dampens the spring oscillation.

 

Unless they increase the overall length then technically the shock could increase lift height. Who knows what some of these shifty companies are doing.

 

A coil-over advertised as 3.5” does not necessarily lift the truck 3.5”. There are several variables.

Also, the coil-overs I’ve seen advertised as 3.5” I suspect are approximately 3.5” on a 2nd gen and approximately 2.5” on a third gen. Or they are just lying. I have no direct experience with them though.

3rd gen’s have about 3” of down travel from the factory and so that absolute most they can lift is about 3” (assuming no top hat spacer). However, you don’t want to have zero down travel, so the practical limit is 2”.

 

Shocks can preload the spring more than a stock shock, thus providing lift. They also be longer at the top, which is effectively the same as a top hat spacer.

 

Means you should be happy you're not actually sitting at 3.5" lift.
That much lift wreaks havoc on your ride quality and everything in your front suspension.

 

you only get 3.5" lift on a 2nd gen truck. also the hub to fender heights truck to truck doesnt seem to mean much. heres mine with 4" lift

 

For what it’s worth, here are my measurements with king coil-overs and OME Dakar medium leaf springs.

FL 22.25
FR 22.5
RL 23
RR 23.5

 

Pretty close to my 885 coils w/aal on 0 setting
Dude got robbed

 

I’ll call and check up with the lift company on this I assume I sit at what is called a 3.5 I just thought I would lean/squat more.