What do you have for us 2nd Gen Guys?

I see you have a lot for the third gen sector. What about us 2nd gen guys? Have any lifts or lift parts for us?

I know I need either some blocks or an Add A Leaf for my truck since I already leveled it. Truck Kinda points it's nose in there air.

ya tony you need a lift block or add a leaf .

performance will set ya straight

I hope so. You can see in some of my pics the nose is a little high.

How big you want to go? I had looked into buyin a 2gn for hunting and lifting it.

I really only want to bring the truck back to a normal stance so it would be 3 rear 2 front I think. Total I want 6 inches. But that is still some time away.

Whats currently on the truck far as system? Would you be looking into a full new kit or just adding to what you have?

Right now I have a 2 1/2 inch level up front. I want to just add to what I have for now. Then later I would do a whole 6 inch kit. But I have motor mods to do before I go and do the whole lift. So a little one will do for now.

just block or spring the rear a bump more

Yup that's all I'm lookin to do for now. I want to do and add a leaf. Those blocks scare me.

i run blocks no problems and easier to install than springs

Bigtman07 said:

I see you have a lot for the third gen sector. What about us 2nd gen guys? Have any lifts or lift parts for us?

I know I need either some blocks or an Add A Leaf for my truck since I already leveled it. Truck Kinda points it's nose in there air.

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We do stock quite a few Gen II parts. The majority of which are not on the website.

Regarding blocks... up to a certain height I've never seen anything to suggest that a properly installed lift block is a liability. Avoid the crappy cast aluminum "hollow" blocks and you should never have an issue. Cast iron, billet steel, billet aluminum, each has proven to be very reliable. Blocks come installed by the factory on a wide range of OEM trucks and have for many years. If the OEM's trust a lift block I see no reason to question them.

The taller the block the more leverage the axle housing transfers to the leaf springs. That's why some guys swear that any lift block is going to cause spring wrap (wheel hop). The more power you are putting to the ground the worse this spring wrap can be when lots of traction is present. We've got Dodge customers putting 1000+ ft-lbs to the rear wheels and they are running factory leaf springs with a cast iron lift block and so far no issues. For the diesel drag strip trucks we avoid blocks because spring wrap is a very real problem with sticky tires, a hot track, and big power. A daily driver usually won't have any problems with a rear block up to around 4" inches or so. Once you get into the 5" and 6" block height range you really start to see additional torque transferred to the leaf springs.

There are a few positives about using a lift block versus an add-a-leaf. Let's say for instance you want to increase the rear lift height on your truck exactly 1". Assuming you have a 2" block installed now, the installation of a 3" block will give you a very precise 1" of additional lift. Add-a-leafs are always an approximate lift height increase. It is virtually impossible to know ahead of time exactly how much lift an add-a-leaf will give you. The condition of the existing leaf spring pack has lots to do with this... a tired set of leaf springs won't see the same amount of lift height increase versus a brand new set of leaf springs. The lift block is also easier to install. On a Ram an add-a-leaf requires partial disassembly of the spring pack. This isn't terribly difficult but it requires more time/effort than a lift block does to install. Finally, lift blocks normally do not affect the ride quality. An add-a-leaf works by increasing the arch of the factory leaf spring pack. By adding another leaf to the pack you are increasing the spring rate. That means the spring will ride "stiffer" than stock. On a work truck with 100,000+ miles the add-a-leaf can be a benefit if the rear end is too soft. On a daily driver an add-a-leaf will usually hurt the rear ride by some small amount by making the back of the truck feel stiffer and choppier than stock.

-Jeff

I see. Thanks for the writeup Jeff. That eases my fears about blocks a ton. Now my question is with an add a leaf will I gain an aproxamit payload rate?? MEaning will I be able to more without the squat. Squating doesn't bother me. Helps me know if the truck is getting over loaded. If I'm not gonna really see a payload increas I'll just check out some blocks.

Bigtman07 said:

... Now my question is with an add a leaf will I gain an aproxamit payload rate?? MEaning will I be able to more without the squat. Squating doesn't bother me. Helps me know if the truck is getting over loaded...

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The installation of an add-a-leaf cannot increase the trucks maximum hauling or towing capacity to any level above the manufacturers original rating. That basically means adding an add-a-leaf does not increase the brake stopping power, rear axle housing strength, etc. That has to be said to prevent lawsuits. Just because you can install a set of leaf springs that can support 30,000 lbs doesn't mean the rest of the truck can.

To answer your question... Installing an add-a-leaf will increase the rear spring rate and leaf spring arch. That means it will take more weight to get the springs with an add-a-leaf to deflect (squat) the same amount than a spring pack without the add-a-leaf. That is why on many trucks an add-a-leaf causes a stiffer rear ride, the spring rate is higher with the add-a-leaf and thus it takes more weight to get the spring to deflect (squat). On an unloaded truck the leaf spring pack can become too stiff to allow for normal suspension movement. At that point the rear suspension will bounce over bumps in the road instead of absorbing them.

-Jeff

Ok that makes a lot of sense Jeff. Thanks for the info. I understand that the truck can only pull or haul what the manufacturer says. I know from experience what my truck can do. I just don't like how it does it. So what kind of a price do you have on some blocks for a 98 1500? I think I'll keep the misses happy and keep the ride quality and maybe add some airbags to assist with my weight.

What height block? Do you need a U-bolt too? Shipping zip code?

-Jeff

wow good info jeff , i just got schooled on blocks and add a leafs .. awesome

Tony get the blocks and u bolt kit you will thank yourself later . I never use the old u bolts as they loose length with larger blocks . more is good

No doubt there. We build derby cars and make our own leafs so yea never use the same U bolt. Really REALLY bad idea.

Well I was going out to measure my factory blocks and I can't tell if its part of the axle or not. The factory block is already 3 1/2 inches. So to get the lift that I want I would need a 6 inch block to make the rear match the front. So any Ideas from there? Shipping zip is 45320. So any more info or guidance would be great.

Bigtman07 said:

No doubt there. We build derby cars and make our own leafs so yea never use the same U bolt. Really REALLY bad idea.

Well I was going out to measure my factory blocks and I can't tell if its part of the axle or not. The factory block is already 3 1/2 inches. So to get the lift that I want I would need a 6 inch block to make the rear match the front. So any Ideas from there? Shipping zip is 45320. So any more info or guidance would be great.

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If you build springs for Derby cars you could make up a few a zero-rate add-a-leafs and install it on the bottom of the existing spring pack. Some flat (or nearly flat) spring steel, longer spring center bolt, you can cheaply add on to what you've got.

Regardless of which direction you take... If you want another 2.5" inches of rear lift you'll be needing a longer extended length rear shock too. Installing a 5" block on these trucks is pretty common when a complete lift is being added. What most lift manufacturers do is provide a 5" or 5.5" rear block that replaces the factory block and then they include an add-a-leaf. With that setup you can get up to 4" of lift over the stock height before rear driveline issues can start to pop up.

Another option is to find a 1994-2002 2500/3500 4x4. These trucks almost always came factory equipped with a 4.5" rear block. Cast iron lift blocks don't generally go bad, so if you've got a Pick-A-Part nearby you might be able to score some pretty cheap.

How much front lift did you add? Do you want to regain the factory stance... with the rear being noticeably taller than the front? I can't see it in the avatar so I'm not sure how "unlevel" the trucks stance is now. What's the reason (or reasons) for adding another 2.5" of rear lift?

-Jeff

Well i went out and actually measured the height. The front of the truck is 1 inch higher than the rear. Guess it just depends on where the trucks sitting. Its hard to see in any picture. I would like to see it just straight. But i don't want to show too much wheel well because I can't afford new wheels and tires yet. So I think I'll be looking to only add an inch maybe 2 to the rear. I would like to add some lift for appearance and maybe some more payload. But mostly appearance.

In that case I'd keep the factory block. Some of the spring perches on these trucks don't sit perfectly flat and the block that's in there now should be retained if at all possible. If it were me, I'd install a zero rate 1" thick steel plate to the bottom side of the current leaf spring (using a longer center pin) and finish it off with a longer U-bolt.

The bar stock for the zero rate add-a-leaf can usually be picked up for less than $10 bucks as a remnant at your local metal supply store. We've used 6061 aluminum bar stock before and it works just fine too... the amount of compressive force required to deform solid aluminum bar stock is many times higher than the maximum load that your trucks rear end can handle before it fails. The aluminum is easier to drill too But like I said earlier, you can achieve the same thing with some old low arch leaf springs that you might have sitting around. Cut the leaves short, say 6" inches and simply bolt them to the existing pack using a longer center bolt. We do this frequently on the FRONT of a leaf spring equipped solid axle truck. Blocks are illegal on the front axle in most states but a "zero rate add-a-leaf" isn't. The leaves are so short they have no effect on the final spring rate but they act just like a lift block does. Another benefit is the ability to get into fractional inch heights. If a truck has a really slight lean you can add one 3/8" thick leaf to the low side to prop it up to level.

Or... if you don't mind a slightly firmer rear ride a full length add-a-leaf is an option. The FTS207 1.5" lift add-a-leaf is a Fabtech "long leaf" add-a-leaf and it rides nicer than the less expensive short leafs that are available. An FTS207 runs about $65 bucks + $8.00 for shipping. The exact amount of lift might not be 1.5" inches but it'll be pretty close.

-Jeff