Looking to Lift My 2WD

Yoox_II · Apr 14, 2014

I sort of asked this before but it was different.

I cannot seem to find any options for lifting my 2wd D150. (don't bother telling me a lifted 2wd is useless... I wanna do what I wanna do)

Up front, I already put in a leveling kit. They sort of look like horse shoes. In the back I there is one extra leaf on each side so it sirs pretty level, then I bought some 31" tires.

But now I wanna go bigger - so do you guys have any suggestions on where to start? I can't find anyone who actually sells a lift kit for a 2wd first gen... only second < gens. would I have to get a taller coil custom made for the front, and maybe add even another leaf in the back? Or should I out a block in the back?

Thanks everyone

dodge dude94 · Apr 14, 2014

Aye....going bigger than 2inches in a first gen is going to be difficult as you're probably already stressing your ball joints. If this were a much newer truck I'd be telling you to get longer lower control arms and steering knuckles, but to my knowledge, no one makes those parts.

There is a fella on Ramchargercentral named SixGun. He has a lifted 2WD and while I don't know the specifics of his lift, he might be able to help you.

crazzywolfie · Apr 14, 2014

i think we have gone over this already a long while ago. you can only do about a 2" suspension lift. now if your old coils are that worn out it may appear to give you more than 2" of lift in the front. now you could do a body lift. you can do about 3" with the stock steering shaft but it is usually recommended that you upgrade to a bogerson steering shaft when you lift the body 3" or more. also install a locker in the rear end and a winch up front and you should be able to go just about anywhere a 4x4 could.
here is Sixguns truck on the trail behind a 4x4
Two of us on the same obstacle. on Vimeo

Yoox_II · Apr 15, 2014

Okay thanks guys, I am contacting sixguns about his set up...

In the mean time, you mentioned it is probably stressing my ball joints, so if I had new ball joints would this not be a problem? Or would I need different than stock ball joints for this to be possible? Because I just got my ball joints replaced 2 weeks ago! Haha. Eventually I'd like to find a 4x4 first gen and swap my 2wd's body onto the 4x4 frame because my body is in great shape. But until then, I wanna have some fun with the 2wd.

AshC · Jul 16, 2014

I'm in the same boat as you are! I put new coils on the front of mine and 3/4 ton leaf springs on the back. I can't seem to find anything to lift it up at all, and my 31's won't go under it without rubbing. How did you get 31's under yours?
I didn't buy 31's for it, but had them off my old Jeep that I sold and stripped the big tires off first.

Yoox_II · Jul 16, 2014

AshC said:
I'm in the same boat as you are! I put new coils on the front of mine and 3/4 ton leaf springs on the back. I can't seem to find anything to lift it up at all, and my 31's won't go under it without rubbing. How did you get 31's under yours?
I didn't buy 31's for it, but had them off my old Jeep that I sold and stripped the big tires off first.

Well when I bought the truck, it had an extra leaf or two on the back so it sits really high for a 2wd. To level it out, I bought the 3 inch leveling kit to bring the front up to the remarks height, it sits pretty level now. The 31's actually have a lot of room with this setup, they're actually 31.5" tires. Pretty sure I could fit 33's with no rubbing to. So, if you're looking to get the same set up as mine, throw on one or two additional leafs to the rear suspension and get a 3 inch level for the front... got mine for $60. It was worth it. Let me know how it goes, I'm interested to see how your 2wd will look

AshC · Jul 16, 2014

Ah see I have extra leafs on the back as it is now (I used to haul hay with the old beast and a ton of hay on 1/2 ton springs wasn't cutting it) so maybe a leveling kit will even it out, the back does sit pretty high compared to the front (and that's obviously where I'm having rubbing issues). I'll give that a shot, any particular brand?

Yoox_II · Jul 16, 2014

AshC said:
Ah see I have extra leafs on the back as it is now (I used to haul hay with the old beast and a ton of hay on 1/2 ton springs wasn't cutting it) so maybe a leveling kit will even it out, the back does sit pretty high compared to the front (and that's obviously where I'm having rubbing issues). I'll give that a shot, any particular brand?

Did the 3/4 ton leafs go on without any fabricating?

No particular brand.. I don't even remember what brand mine are, but they are a simple horseshoe piece of slightly flexible aluminum I believe, so going with a different brand wouldn't really produce better or worse results for something so simple.
Post some pics of your truck now, and then again if you throw a leveling kit on the front!

AshC · Jul 17, 2014

Yeah, no problems, just bolted right up. It's the front springs that suck since they used coils on the 1/2 ton truck and small leaf springs on the 3/4 ton. We did that for the added clearance when I put too much weight on the old beast (horse trailers, car trailers, 2000 lbs of hay) and no issues. It doesn't tow like my 1/2 ton GMC Yukon does (newer and smoother ride by far, like riding in a ******* Jeep vs a Cadillac), but it definitely gets the job done.

I got on Ebay this morning and ordered the front leveling kit (3") pretty simple looks like, and not bad for $44 and free shipping. Think I bought ROX brand ones. Depending on what "expedited" shipping means I might have them on this weekend. My truck is in Arizona at my mom's house about 3 hours away so working on it is difficult, but not quite road worthy for the 250 mile trip.

Yoox_II · Jul 17, 2014

AshC said:
Yeah, no problems, just bolted right up. It's the front springs that suck since they used coils on the 1/2 ton truck and small leaf springs on the 3/4 ton. We did that for the added clearance when I put too much weight on the old beast (horse trailers, car trailers, 2000 lbs of hay) and no issues. It doesn't tow like my 1/2 ton GMC Yukon does (newer and smoother ride by far, like riding in a ******* Jeep vs a Cadillac), but it definitely gets the job done.

I got on Ebay this morning and ordered the front leveling kit (3") pretty simple looks like, and not bad for $44 and free shipping. Think I bought ROX brand ones. Depending on what "expedited" shipping means I might have them on this weekend. My truck is in Arizona at my mom's house about 3 hours away so working on it is difficult, but not quite road worthy for the 250 mile trip.

Very good, they shouldn't be too hard to install as long as you have a spring compressor, if not then it should only be a couple hours labor at a shop. But don't quote me on that. Let us know how it looks once you get it installed
In the mean time, do you have any pics of your truck in its current state?

AshC · Jul 17, 2014

I'll get some new pics this weekend of it. We don't have a spring compressor, one of my mom's friends put my coils on without a compressor though, using a floor jack and the weight of the truck. I'll have to get him to show me how to do it but it took him less than an hour to put them both on.
It probably won't be that hard because it's still semi-ripped apart from the new coils we put on it, I haven't even bolted the shocks back on it yet.

crazzywolfie · Jul 17, 2014

if your trying to add 3" of lift to the front end on top of the spring you will most likely need a spring compressor

AshC · Jul 17, 2014

I can't do it like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uJ4pZxl4_g

That's how my mom's friend put the coils on it without one. Problem is I don't have the money for a spring compressor (that I'll probably never use again)
I'll see if I can rent one from Autozone here, I doubt their autozone has one, I think that's why they took mine apart the way they did to put the new coils on. Jack stands and big floor jacks I have, tools galore...but no spring compressor.

crazzywolfie · Jul 17, 2014

that truck was also 4x4 which is different. you can try installing the coil with the 3" spacers the same way he installed just the coil but i have a feeling the extra 3" will make it a more difficult job.

AshC · Jul 17, 2014

OEM/Coil spring compressor (27035) | Coil Spring Compressor | AutoZone.com

Would one like this work? Looks like a $50 deposit, which I can do, if it's going to cause me less hassle, screaming, cussing, and busted knuckles.

On a side note, when I first replaced the coil springs (there's a story behind that one, had one come loose putting it on and shoot through a brick wall and a truck door - missed all the humans involved) they gave me the wrong springs, they were coils for a 1 ton! We got them on (not without said difficulty) but noticed it rode stiff as hell. When we took them off they were almost twice the length of the 1/2 ton coils - so maybe not as difficult...

However, easier is better for me with limited time to finish before I have to be back in Texas.

crazzywolfie · Jul 17, 2014

that should work. you could try installing it without. i just figure 3" spacer is a lot to be adding to the coil and you might be fighting with it. the only way you won't have a stiff ride is if you get custom springs made up for the truck

AshC · Jul 17, 2014

Stiff I don't mind, but with the bigger springs it was dangerous - it would shudder if you braked or turned even at reasonable speeds.
I'll check out the autozone tomorrow and see if they have one I can borrow before I invest in something I'm probably not going to need more than once (hopefully).

Yoox_II · Jul 20, 2014

Quick question
Crazywolffie, you mentioned that one would need to get custom springs made for a less stiff ride if they had 3" spacers on the front... why is this? I have the 3" leveling spacers on the front of mine, and I do notice it's a very rough and stiff ride. So, Would more "dense" (more steel loops) springs make it smoother, or the other way around?

crazzywolfie · Jul 21, 2014

i was not talking about using a custom coil with the 3"spacer. i was talking about getting custom coils that lift the front of your truck and do the same job as the spacer but allow it to ride a lot smoother. adding the 3" spacer to the stock coil would make the ride stiffer since you are now compressing the stock spring more.

Leadfoot · Jul 27, 2014

I am trying to level/lift the front of my d150 too. The original owner has either added a leaf or installed 3/4 ton springs so the rear sits high.
I have ordered some moog super duty springs, More Information for MOOG 7172S

Now my question is would these springs be too much? or will they even lift the truck?
Thanks

Looking to Lift My 2WD

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