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Help! I Need a Suspension Lift Kit

69K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Rusty Irons 
#1 ·
Hey guys! I've been looking all around for a 3" lift kit, suspension not body. Rancho used to make em, but now they're discontinued. Anyone know of anywhere else? I gotta 2002 4.7 Quad Cab that I want lifted by summer.

Cheers :trink13:,

Chris
 
#3 ·
Personally, I think a body lift is somewhat pointless other then for cosmetics or bigger tires. I kinda want a tad more ground clearance. I also own a 91 z71 with a 9" total suspension/body lift, damn thing wont fit in the garage. Who has the 5.5? I think I saw trailmasters or tuff country, but they wernt for my year... Thanks for your help!
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
:rolleyes: Found it ...

Disclaimer Notice: Installing this suspension system on any vehicle implies that you are in agreement with the following terms and conditions with respect to that vehicle, the vehicle owner, and any or all occupants of said vehicle at any time:

Truckin Suspension is not responsible, and cannot be held responsible for any conditions of said vehicle including, but not limited to the following:
1) Any and all adverse behavior, premature failure, or breakage caused by oversized tires and wheels, improper installation, failure to follow instructions, or any general negligence caused by installer or owner of said vehicle.
2) Any breakage or premature failure caused by racing or driver negligence.
3) ANY incident determined to be caused by an increase height in said vehicle’s center of gravity.
4) ANY incident determined to be caused by improper installation.
5) ANY incident determined to be caused by a failure of materials.

• Truckin Suspension is to be held harmless by the installer of this lift kit, owner of said vehicle, ANY occupants of said vehicle, and any parties related directly or indirectly to said vehicle or owner of said vehicle. Truckin Suspension is to be held harmless by all parties mentioned during the course of any and all circumstances or incidence resulting from the installation of this lift kit.

Truckin Suspension offers this kit strictly as a visual improvement of said vehicle over the factory aesthetics. The fact that the suspension system works and functions well is incidental, and it is not the intention of Truckin Suspension that said vehicle be modified for use on public highways sanctioned by the Department of Transportation, or any state or local governing body. Vehicle owner accepts sole responsibility for ensuring that said vehicle is not in violation of local, state, or federal laws or vehicle code. Please check local vehicle laws and regulations before modifying your vehicle.

By Installing This Kit or having this kit installed on your vehicle, you are implying that
you agree to the above terms and conditions. Please do not install this system if you do not agree.
The good stuff is in red.

- Failure and breakage caused by oversized tires? Really? Why else would you install a lift kit?

- Not liable for the failure of their materials? That certainly implies a lot of faith in their product doesn't it?

- Strictly a visual improvement? If it works then that's just a coincidence? LOL Wow!!

Lastly a testimonial from a guy who works for a 4x4 shop and installed one on a Dakota.

Hey all. I wanted to chime in on the lift talk. I used to run an offroad shop and then went in and did fabwork (bumpers, cages, and suspensions) on my own for a while. (I'll try to get some pictures up if I can later of the stuff I made).

First I will agree that the Truckin kits sucks. I can tell you this from installing one myself. Nothing lines up well, the kit needed to be heavily modified just to be installed, and the components break very easily. The truck we installed on was a pavement pounder, and it still did not hold up. Their modifications to make the rack and pinion still work was poorly designed at best and dangerous at worst. It left the steering with spots where it was very hard to turn. Customer support was poor, and we ended up modifying the kit and redesigning some of the parts at our expense just to keep the customer happy.
 
#9 ·
Actually, for the 2000+ guys Rancho was the only company that made a suspension lift for us. The 5.5" and 6.5" lifts weren't made for the dakotas with Rack and pinion steering. So as far as a lift it's pretty hard to find anything for your truck. You could get a custom job but be ready to spend the green...
 
#13 ·
Whaaa



Wow, its been awhile! Just saw this post.

For anyone that's a 4 wheeling wkend warrior, you'd be a retard to just get a body lift. I actually want my suspension lifted and outta the way as well as bigger tires. Gotta body lift & trust me, it doesn't do the trick! Need the extra travel too...
 
#11 ·
true but you can't fit bigger tires with out a suspension/body lift or cutting out ur wheel wells so unless ur cool with doing some cutting a lift is ur best bet

and now a days since they don't make a lift for the dak. cuz i was wanting the ranchero lift myself just cuz its cheeper...but now they don't make it its forcing me to do what i was eventually going to do front solid axel!!!!

the down side to front solid axle conversions is that its expensive and takes lots of time and custom work but if done right it will be the best investment you make if your a off road enthusiast

good luck on which rought you take
 
#12 ·
you coould always Add a Leaf to the back that should give you about 2" but I dont know what you would do to the front.
 
#14 ·
I have a 2002 Dodge Dakota sport 3.9L V6 2WD. I was in this same predicament when I sought out a 3" lift, but I didn't want to throw a lot of money at a beater truck either. It's slim pickings for this truck, but with a little know how and some very "slight" modifications I was finally able to get my suspension lift for less than $600.

I bought a stronger coil spring from airbagit at around $120, but I bet you could find it elsewhere for cheaper. This gave me a 2.75" lift in the front end and it fit the stock control arm assembly. Installing the aftermarket spring can be a bit of a struggle and be sure to watch your ball bearing boots, if those tear you got more labor ahead of you and riveted ball joints are a pain to get out without the right cutting tools. When I had the spring installed I knew stock shocks weren't going to cut it and if you kept the OEM lower control arm you have very limited space to fit aftermarket shocks through. I found a pair of monotubeshocks from KYB that worked perfectly, however the eyelid bushing needs to be replaced with the proper lower mounting part for the dodge. I simply popped out the kyb bushing and pressed the dakota mounting kit into the new shock. Haven't had any problems and the ride is like stock.

Now for the rear all I did was order a 2"shackle on amazon.com from Crown Suspension for about $50. I also purchased (2) 1" add a leaf from 4wheel parts @ around $100. The add a leaf simply bolts on between the base plate and springs... DO NOT DISASSEMBLE YOUR SPRING STACK!!! While you're spring is disinstalled I went ahead and removed the OEM shackles and installed my new 2" crown suspension shackles. Now for this next part you will need to head to a junkyard and remove 2 bolts from a shackle set. Make sure the bolts and nuts are in decent condition. head back to your dakota and install the oem shackle onto the hangers. Reinstall your leaf springs, new aftermarket shocks (these were far easier to find and install), and make sure to torque everything down properly. I'm not guaranteeing that this is the best way to get a 3" lift out of your dakota, but it's been good to me after an alignment and only cost me around $500. Don't be afraid to utilize a junkyard, a trained eye knows what to look for and I found all sorts of suspension gems ripe for the taking at a fraction of new part costs.

Hope this helps my fellow dakota peeps.if you have any additional questions feel free to email me mmatteson88@gmail.com and I will answer any questions I can. Thanks!
 
#15 · (Edited)
help!

Hi I need some help. I just put a 2 inch lift on my 2002 Dakota 4x4 and my front end has a popping sound, I know its the ball joints cause I removed the shocks first thinking it was them but it wasn't. so how do I get rid of this problem without spending a lot of money.. This is my truck and the lift kit I used if it helps!
 

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