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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Brakes, Frame, Steering & Suspension => The Highs (Raising/Lifts) => Topic started by: dirtracer81_2 on November 06, 2009, 09:43:11 pm
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Ok so I bought a used lift and had a few questions and maybe some others ran into this problem. I have yet to place it on but my axles are d44 and 14bolt and my question was about driveshafts. I have heard different stories. The guy I got the lift from said his shaft for the 6 inch worked on the front and for the rear he got one out of a suburban and cut two inches off the front. Anyone ever had a 12 inch lift on a chevy?
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Not to knock it, but any tire you put under a 12" lift will kill the dana 44. The truck will ride like a brick, and you will also need a high angle driveshaft. You will also need to cut and turn the front diff. :-\ Hope you got em cheap!!!
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I had a truck with SL 12" back in the late 80's, I had to have both shafts made. The front shaft may work but it won't have enough spline contact. It will ride like a brick and you won't feel like your truck is usable any more. Also, everyone you see is going to say "how do you get in that thing". I thought it was cool back then, so go for it. Brake lines will all need to be remade, you will have to get new shocks also. As for the steering you will need the Steering arm, dropped pitman, and the dropped drag link. Or convert to cross over steering. I had 44" Ground Hawgs on mine, they lasted about 25,000 miles.
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Ok the getting it cheap part not really.. haha. But it was on the truck for a month is what the guy told me and i have shocks and all the steering stuff. I thought about taking a leaf out might help it flex and ride a little bit. The superlift site says you can take the originial shaft if its a saginal type and round the ears off but id say it will need relenthened
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I had a 12" Superlift with 44" Super Swampers on my 81. It was built as a show truck. It looked cool but rode horrible. It just didn't feel safe driving down the road.
I replaced it with a 6" lift with 35". The truck is now a daily driver
As far as the driveshafts,the stock ones will not work. Depending on what you use for a trans/transfer case you may have some issues with the front shaft hitting the
crossmember because of the steep angle. Look at the pic I posted of a 700R4/208, the driveshaft would be at such an angle it would hit the crossmember. Around my area I noticed many of the trucks with big lifts don't run a front shaft. It can get complicated and expensive finding the right set up.
One way to solve the problem is to run a divorced transfer case set up like my truck had. Unfortunately when you start playing around with these lift kits things can get expensive quickly.
Like Chevadale said, hopefully you got the lift cheap (mine was $1300 new, sold it for $450 with about 200 miles on it). There is a reason people are selling these lifts with low miles on them.
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Superlift does make a front driveshaft spacer and that should help with the engine crossmember. Also, Off Road Design has a custom engine crossmember and that should help avoid the contact. I would email them and see what they say regarding the front driveshaft.
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A mistake on my last post, disregard what I said about the engine crossmember. It was early in the morning for me. Instead, I should have said that there also is a transfer case crossmember drop kit that is made by Superlift and Skyjacker.
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First off you should ask yourself - How much money do I want to sink into this truck?
Second is - What size tires do I want to run?
Reason for those 2 questions is this.
1. If you want 40+" of tire, expect to spend big $$ to do it right.
2. You may be able to fit the tires you want on a lower lift setup requiring less $$$.
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even with 38's and 6+3" lift people still ask me how you get up in this thing. i say "jump" or " it's a good thing I'm not short like you huh" I'll have to post some pics of mine with 44s the fenders have been cut and rolled so it looks kind of stock with them being rolled but you can fit much bigger tires than i should be able to. but like said before the amount of tq you need to turn those 44's a Dana44 wont hold up. not to mention u-joints
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Idk I gave $600 for the lift and the reason i went with such a big one is because i want to clear a set of 42s i have on a mazda. I have located a dana 60 that I can get my hands on im pretty sure.
I figured a transfer case drop kit should help and the divorced setup I am looking into. On one of those you run a 2wd tranny am I correct?
The truck is basically for looks but it will see occasional weekend mud ride lol nothing extreme.
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Personally, I would run a 6" lift. Trim the fenders for 42's. Put the 60 under the front, crossover steering, gears, and have fun. Maybe hydro assist. Way cheaper than trying to dick with the 12"
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x2 with the 6" your ride will ride better + the wheel space will be smaller
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Ok I have another dumb question.
Wouldnt it be best to brace the frame at the steering box?
Thanks
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Ok I have another dumb question.
Wouldnt it be best to brace the frame at the steering box?
Thanks
Yes. Even on a stock truck. ORD makes a support bracket and someone makes plates that you weld in on each side of the frame at the steering box.
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Yup...they also have the bolt in brace.
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If you dont drive this everyday to work, put the 12" kit on. if you want to make your drive shaft longer it shouldnt coast more then 100 bucks done the right way. 42"s will look good under that 12" lift kit with some room to flex. just my 2cents
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The problem with just making the ds longer isn't cost. Its the working angles the front has. You need to get a high angle setup. Otherwise you will shred u-joints.