Over the course of the last week I have been slowly instlalling an RCD 6" lift kit. I bought it from west coast offroad shipped to the door for about $1800. This is a little more pricey than some of the other ones out there, but I liked the quality of the kit as well as the use of taller knuckles rather than steering drop brackets. I did want my truck to sit a little higher, but I did not want it obscenly high as I do tow alot with this thing (98% bumper pull).
The main reason was to get the front diff down a few inches and the torsion bar crossmember down a couple of inches,(future project) which this kit did nicley for me.
It also came with 4 new Bilstein 5100 shocks, so even with the lift, the truck rides like a cadillac now.....well, almost
Here is a link to the kit I got:
http://racecardynamics.com/products/suspensions/chevy/chevy4wd8OBS/chevy4wd8OBSfull.htm
I did not utilize all of the kit. As I said, I did not want this truck too high. For the rear, the kit came with 3" blocks and an add-a-leaf. I chose to not use the AAL and only used the 3" block. My truck came factory with a 1" block already under the spring pack, so I removed it and installed the new block to net 2" of lift in the rear.
Once the front end was all togather, I measured from the ground to the top of the wheel wells on the rear and using the torsion bar bolts adjusted the front as close to that as I could get. I measured out at 39" on the rear, but I could only go down to 41" in the front while still maintaining thread protrusion on the torsion bar bolts that I was comfortable with. Actually, I am at 41" on the PS front and 41.5" on the DS front to account for me and fuel on that side.
I then went to the shop and had it aligned and I love the way it rides now. Much better handling, mainly due to my old Rancho shocks were toast. I also like the added height and level stance it brings.
I should mention that I am keeping the tires I have because they are less than 20K miles old. They are Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs "E" 265/75/16 and measure out at 31.7" tall X 10.5" wide.
Here is the before picture:
Here are some after pics:
WIP pics:
I could find very little info on this kit before I bought it, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
I also knocked out a few other projects this weekend while I had some free time:
-new front main seal. I changed the harmonic balancer about a month or so ago and did not replace the seal and it has leaked ever since, so if you are ever doing the balancer, take the time and do the seal too.
-New steering shaft. Well, new to me...I pulled it off an '89 Jeep XJ (cherokee). It uses two U-joints rather than the crappy rag joint. Time will tell how this works, but I have read good things about this mod.
Old steering shaft with worn out rag joint:
New shaft installed:
The main reason was to get the front diff down a few inches and the torsion bar crossmember down a couple of inches,(future project) which this kit did nicley for me.
It also came with 4 new Bilstein 5100 shocks, so even with the lift, the truck rides like a cadillac now.....well, almost
Here is a link to the kit I got:
http://racecardynamics.com/products/suspensions/chevy/chevy4wd8OBS/chevy4wd8OBSfull.htm
I did not utilize all of the kit. As I said, I did not want this truck too high. For the rear, the kit came with 3" blocks and an add-a-leaf. I chose to not use the AAL and only used the 3" block. My truck came factory with a 1" block already under the spring pack, so I removed it and installed the new block to net 2" of lift in the rear.
Once the front end was all togather, I measured from the ground to the top of the wheel wells on the rear and using the torsion bar bolts adjusted the front as close to that as I could get. I measured out at 39" on the rear, but I could only go down to 41" in the front while still maintaining thread protrusion on the torsion bar bolts that I was comfortable with. Actually, I am at 41" on the PS front and 41.5" on the DS front to account for me and fuel on that side.
I then went to the shop and had it aligned and I love the way it rides now. Much better handling, mainly due to my old Rancho shocks were toast. I also like the added height and level stance it brings.
I should mention that I am keeping the tires I have because they are less than 20K miles old. They are Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs "E" 265/75/16 and measure out at 31.7" tall X 10.5" wide.
Here is the before picture:
Here are some after pics:
WIP pics:
I could find very little info on this kit before I bought it, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
I also knocked out a few other projects this weekend while I had some free time:
-new front main seal. I changed the harmonic balancer about a month or so ago and did not replace the seal and it has leaked ever since, so if you are ever doing the balancer, take the time and do the seal too.
-New steering shaft. Well, new to me...I pulled it off an '89 Jeep XJ (cherokee). It uses two U-joints rather than the crappy rag joint. Time will tell how this works, but I have read good things about this mod.
Old steering shaft with worn out rag joint:
New shaft installed: