| From | Message |
dakotasss
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/14/2004
19:17:34
|
 Subject: Whats involved in 3" lift for parts
IP: Logged
Message:
what parts do i need to give my 98 cc 4x4 auto a 3" lift? you guys proabably know exactly what is needed part and labour wise so i thought id ask .thanks.
|
TheRumbleFish
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/14/2004
21:45:28
|  RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
Body lift or suspension lift?
The body lift is easier and cheaper, but it won't gain you any clearnace unless you upsize your tires.
|
dakotasss
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/15/2004
18:26:19
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
i was thinking of going a suspension lift. if you dotn mind could you give me a rundown on what both involve? because my shocks could probably use replacing anyways.
|
TheRumbleFish
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/15/2004
20:02:28
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
3 Inch Body Lift (apx $225):
Eight Body Spacers, new bolts, new steering extenstion, front and rear bumper bracket replacements.
2 Inch Suspension Lift($150, $200 with shocks):
A pair of 2" oversied coils for up front, and a pair of 2" add-a-leafs in the rear. New in the front are a good idea but not necessary.
3 Inch Suspension Lift (apx $750):
New control arms and coils up front, 3" blacks in the rear.
|
TheRumbleFish
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/15/2004
20:04:06
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
PS - That's all from memory.. you should research things more if you are planning on putting together things on your own instead of just getting a kit. Those prices are all just estimates as well.
|
Wrong
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/16/2004
07:30:28
|  RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
RumbleFish obviously is driving a 2wd because he isn’t even in the ball park. First off, a 98 4x4 doesn’t have coils up front for they utilize torsion bars. Second, your looking at $1200-$1300 or more for a suspension kit for a 98 4x4. I know Rancho makes a 3” kit for that year. It’ll involve relocating control arms via brackets. With some kits, you might even have to move the center section down with additional brackets to maintain CV angles. Lifting an IFS front end is more complicated and much more costly than just sticking bigger springs under there. Do a search of the forum for 3” Rancho. I know it’s been discussed here several times.
|
Walt_Felix
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/16/2004
12:35:35
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
One point to add:
When it comes to cost, how much it will finally cost is really an arbitrary number. It’s going to be different for everyone based on multiple factors. Years ago, when I was in high school, I worked for a truck accessories dealer that also offered installation on everything they sold. I myself have also installed several lift kits since working there. In all those times, I never saw a lift kit installation cost just the price of the kit. It’s all the little extras that will make you broke. I’ve seen it too many times where some kid would spend his last dollar to buy a kit only to get hosed by all the issues that come along while trying to install it. As a general rule of thumb, I always use a 50% rule. Take the cost of the kit; add 50% and the total is the minimum you should be prepared to spend if you install the kit yourself. (i.e. $1200 kit = $1800+ self installed).
This is the logic:
Your truck being a ’98 (it’s a 6 year old truck with probably 60K-80K on the clock) and it most likely has been off-road at least once or twice (the fact that you want to lift brings me to that conclusion). You’re going to find parts that your going to want to replace “while the truck is apart” because they’re either; a. worn or b. broken/damaged during the disassembly process. If you never changed the ball joints on your ’98, I can almost guarantee at some point during the install (if your lucky) you’ll only say to yourself or someone else “the ball joints aren’t bad but they on they’re way, maybe I should change them while the truck is apart”. Maybe it’s a tie-rod end that doesn’t look good or CV boot that has a slight rip or a brake line that stripped a fitting during disassembly because it hasn’t been apart since the day the truck was built.
Another thing that gets a lot of people is the stuff that doesn’t get included in the kit. I believe with the Rancho kit mentioned above, shocks are not included with the kit and must be purchased separately. Sometimes exhaust modifications are necessary with installing a lift or like in the case of the 4” Trailmaster I installed on my ’88, you’ll need aftermarket rims with different offset.
Point is: be prepared to spend some cash. Most likely it’ll be more than you plan for.
As far as fabricating some sort of lift you’re self. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and cash there. R & D is expensive. My advice, if you’re looking for quick and/or cheap; Let someone else spend their R&D budget and buy a kit from them. Try to do it your self and you’ll end up spending more in the end.
__________________
Walt Felix
http://www.MoparsinMotion.Com
http://www.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
    
Note: I very frequently get email from people asking about the lift kit in my ’88. Typically, I will NOT respond the emails (about 90%) that ask questions I’ve already covered on my web pages (ie. Where did you get the kit?, Who makes it?, How much did it cost?, What modifications did you have to make to get it to fit your truck?. How hard was it to install? What problems did you encounter? etc, etc...) |
TheRumbleFish
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/16/2004
14:03:47
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
Wow... someone has a stick up their ass. I misread what he wrote and thought he said 4x2. I know that 4x4's have torsion bars up front.
If you need EXACTLY three inches of lift for your SUSPENSION, then this guys is right and it's going to cost you some money. But on the other hand, you can still do the 3 Inch body lift and it will still be pretty cheap.
You could also add-a-leaf or put blocks on the rear and then crank the Torsion bars and that'd give you about an inch or an inch and a half of lift on your suspension. The point of my reply was to make sure you knew there were different options as far as lifs go, sorry I misread what you posted.
|
rivermaniac
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/16/2004
17:45:37
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
nice post walt , took your time ..............Really nice .............
|
dakotasss
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/16/2004
19:02:05
| RE: Whats involved in 3
IP: Logged
Message:
thanks for the info guys. funny you should bring up the point of the kid spending his last dollars on the kit, thats what i would be doing likely. im a 17 year old still in high school so i dont think a proper lift kit is in the works for a while. ill save that for when i get something new off the dealers lots.
|
| | P 1 |
|
Post a reply to this message:
Username Registration: Optional
All visitors are allowed to post messages
|
