New Lift Kit Needed - Advice Needed

[Thundergun]

Hey everyone.

So i have a few $$ i just can't wait to spend . My 85 k10 short bed has a 4" lift on it. One of the rear leafs is cracked and the fronts are sagging real bad - they dang near have a negative slope in them lol.

Anyways i'd kind of like to upgrade to a 6" lift. Can anyone recommend which kit to buy and where to buy it? This is just a weekend truck, mostly for show.

Summit sells a Superlift K420 6" lift for $500.

Also, what additional parts do i need - A drop pitman arm? New drag link? New brake lines?

Thanks everyone!!

[fitz]

On a 6" lift you may need to modify your driveshafts.

[Irish_Alley]

you could get a zero rate block for the front
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm
and then just replace the rear. i tend to stay away from summit cause of their prices search ebay also. that kit ebay has it for the same price so price is probably as good as you can find.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-1991-Chevrolet-GMC-Suburban-1500-6-SuperLift-Suspension-Lift-Kit-4x4-/171519742272?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27ef5f9140&vxp=mtr
but that kit you list is for blocks for the rear. they wont do you any good since you have a broken spring.

on a side note that part number also crosses as

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clairol-Kindness-3-Way-Hairsetter-Hot-Wax-Rollers-Model-K-420-SZ-/231491215388?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35e5f3a01c
i remember mom using these when i was a kid lol

[Thundergun]

Thanks Irish! That's the kit i bought from summit - same price - but it included free shipping.

So do you think i'll need to do anything to my driveshafts? Do you recommend extended brake lines?

Thanks.

[Thundergun]

And now that i have this superlift 6" kit, can anyone recommend any good resources for installing this thing? It looks pretty straight forward, and i should have all the tools i need. But watching a video or reading a good set of instructions always helps.

Thanks!!

[Don5]

Take a good long hard look at the garage door. Make sure you have the clearance to get it out of the garage after you lift it. When I did mine, back in 87, I did the rear first. But I did not have to replace the rear springs either. Good luck with your installation. Take your time and do not get in a hurry.

[Irish_Alley]

the 6" your rear driveshaft will be ok the front will still work but it puts strain on the splines. if you run it too long like that (in 4wd) then they eventually have a lot of slop and eventually strip

[Thundergun]

Take a good long hard look at the garage door. Make sure you have the clearance to get it out of the garage after you lift it. When I did mine, back in 87, I did the rear first. But I did not have to replace the rear springs either. Good luck with your installation. Take your time and do not get in a hurry.

That is pretty funny. I actually did think of that, and how funny it would be if that actually happened. I imagined that maybe letting the air out of the tires, or swapping the wheels might be the easiest way out, if possible! but i'm actually doing this outside, under one of those car port tents. So i should be good.

[Thundergun]

the 6" your rear driveshaft will be ok the front will still work but it puts strain on the splines. if you run it too long like that (in 4wd) then they eventually have a lot of slop and eventually strip

Thanks again, Irish. Question - The superlift came with this big horse shoe looking steering arm. It's raised 4". I need a new draglink (the one installed has a lot of slop and play) so i figured i would get the superlift 4" drop drag link and use that instead of the horse shoe. Since it's only a 4" drag link, and i'm putting on a 6" lift, will it be it work?

[Irish_Alley]

ok i have the dropped drag link off my 79 with a 6" lift idk what size drop it is but i didnt know you could just swap them over

[Greybeard]

It used to be the steering arm could be swapped for a raised one or the pitman could be swapped for a lowered one to work with 2" or 4" lifts. Together they can be used for a 6" or 8" lift. I would never use a bent drag link, they don't fix any bump steer problems, they are simply a quick fix to the angle issue with the ball joints on each end.

To understand what I am saying pull a string between two points of a set distance apart say between a wall and the back of a chair, now drop the string end that is against the wall six inches while leaving the other end where it is on the back of the chair and measure again on the level (measuring is optional because the string will come away from the wall as it moves down anyway). The distance is shorter right? Because the axle moves in somewhat of an arc, each time the suspension moves the distance to the pitman changes. The trick is to start with the drag link ENDS as level as possible. Just connecting the two points with a curved bar (the pitman arm and the steering arm) defeats the entire exercise. The bump steer will make driving the truck a royal pain in the ass. I don't understand why companies still sell dropped drag links to be used on daily drivers.

As an aside- Go to, or over, about 8" lift and the steering needs serious work to function safely on the road. Like crossover, or the illegal hydraulic setup's (not certain why they are illegal since old broncos used hydraulic steering from the factory).

[roundhouse]

I wouldn't use a drop drag link
The raised horse shoe arm is ok
And a drop pitman arm is ok

The hydraulic steering on old fords was just a booster
It still had a normal steering box

The illegal hydraulic setups have no steering box at all


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Greybeard]

Ah! Hydraulic boost, I should have known that, but I have never owned a Ford with hydraulic boost... so a new question on them surfaces in what some folks call my brain, was the Bronco steering box a manual box with the hydraulic cylinder attached to lighten the load?

[Flyinhillbilly]

It used to be the steering arm could be swapped for a raised one or the pitman could be swapped for a lowered one to work with 2" or 4" lifts. Together they can be used for a 6" or 8" lift. I would never use a bent drag link, they don't fix any bump steer problems, they are simply a quick fix to the angle issue with the ball joints on each end.

To understand what I am saying pull a string between two points of a set distance apart say between a wall and the back of a chair, now drop the string end that is against the wall six inches while leaving the other end where it is on the back of the chair and measure again on the level (measuring is optional because the string will come away from the wall as it moves down anyway). The distance is shorter right? Because the axle moves in somewhat of an arc, each time the suspension moves the distance to the pitman changes. The trick is to start with the drag link ENDS as level as possible. Just connecting the two points with a curved bar (the pitman arm and the steering arm) defeats the entire exercise. The bump steer will make driving the truck a royal pain in the . I don't understand why companies still sell dropped drag links to be used on daily drivers.

As an aside- Go to, or over, about 8" lift and the steering needs serious work to function safely on the road. Like crossover, or the illegal hydraulic setup's (not certain why they are illegal since old broncos used hydraulic steering from the factory).

I've been a front end mechanic for the last 19 years of my life, and I agree with every word of this, except the bronco thing.

[Greybeard]

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again...

My first truck of the GM persuasion was bought in late 1979, it was a 1978 GMC shortbox with a Dana 44 front, and 12 bolt rear. Within a year the cam flattened in a horrific fashion and the engine needed rebuilt. It happened that at the time a race qualified mechanic (that is a spiffy term isn't it, says something and nothing all at the same time hahaha) anyway, he had very good connections at a local speed shop with a great racing reputation in St. Louis Mo. back then and he himself was a dam good mechanic in his own right. He was living at my house rent free so I traded his past rent for a rebuilt engine. What I got was downright awe-inspiring for an engine built for the street/offroad. 4:10 gears, 36" rubber, 4-wheel drive engaged, granny low box (sm 465), I was able to -consistently- break into the middle-high 14's on pump gas. Long story short, the 12 bolt gave up, and the new 12 bolt gave up, and the third 12 bolt gave up. Finally I heard I could swap in a 14 bolt which I promptly did. Then the driveshaft gave up, so I went to a heavy truck shop and had a really heavy large tube driveshaft made, no more problems with HP after that, just my stupidity on my first 14 bolt brake-job. Live and learn.

As for the steering stuff, the truck started with a four inch lift and lowered pitman arm, when the lift was increased to 6" I put on a raised steering arm and a spacer under the arm because the arm was actually intended for only 2" of lift. Nowadays they make steering arms for 4", back then I don't believe they did (we didn't have internet to research this type of stuff). Nowadays I don't believe they make the spacers, but they may make steering arms for 4" of lift.