Mr.Chubbles

Im running into some issues trying to figure out what to put in my new truck. Ive been trying to search forums and haven't really found anything related to my questions. Hopefully one of you guys can help or at least direct me to a useful thread.

I just got an 84' pickup that has a rebuilt 85' 22re. The engine runs great, but everything else is in bad shape. My springs are starting to bend the opposite way they are supposed to, I have leaks coming out of my knuckles and differentials, my power steering whines like crazy even with a new steering pump, the brakes are shot, and u-joints are vibrating like crazy. I don't have a lot of money to spend, and Im trying to make this truck my adventure capable daily driver. I found the trail gear classic lift which looks like a pretty good option. Its pricey, but it comes with everything to rebuild the axle bearings and knuckles, a high steer crossover (which requires a new gear box but I was hoping replacing that would help fix my whining problem any way), and it comes with what looks like a pretty awesome lift. The front seems worth the money, but the rear only has the lift and none of the axle rebuild parts. I would have gone ahead and bought the whole lift a week ago if the rear didn't seem like such a rip-off. Now after further researching Im starting to question the trail gear lift at all. The reviews that I have read haven't been all that great. And the only reason I was considering the trail gear to begin with is because it has the axle rebuild and steering upgrade all in one package. Im willing to invest more time into sourcing my parts if I can get a better deal and/or a better riding lift. I plan on making this my daily driver so it would be nice if it handled well on pavement as well as on the trails. Im planning on putting 33" or 35" tires that are 12.5" wide depending on which lift kit I end up with. Does anyone have any advice? I am a metal fabricator as my occupation so I am capable of doing my own modifications, but I spend weekends working on my truck and need it drivable during the weekdays. So id prefer to keep my projects down to 3-4 days in length. I will also be needing to replace my axle gears as well. Ive considered getting axles from somewhere that are already built and swapping them in to save from the effort of rebuilding what I have, but the most important thing is that I keep my price low. I was hoping to invest $2000-3000 into rebuilding the axles (minus the differentials), replacing the steering linkage, and replacing the springs and shocks. Going the trail gear route will cost $3000. Any of you guys have a better idea that will ride well and cost less? Also I have removed the truck bed and plan on building a custom one so any rear lift I choose wont have to worry about bed clearance.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I had Old Man Emu springs on my 85 and it rode rougher then I would of liked. As I understand it the OME give the truck a 3 inch lift just with their springs. I don't like a truck to high or one to low. If I was doing it over again, I would of went with factory springs. I cant remember which front axle rebuild kit I bought but it was Marlin Crawler or Low Range. Get the complete kit.

fasterspider

I recently installed ProComp 5" lift springs, they were dirt cheap and came with polyurethane bushings. I installed new polyurethane bushings in the frame side of the shackles also.
$58.00 each for the rears and $68.00 for the fronts, nice affordable springs that do not give the truck a bad streetride at all and she has 5" lift now.
I bought a drop drag link because I can't afford the high steer kit yet but, high steer is what you are gonna need eventually.

Mr.Chubbles

I'm pretty sure that marlin crawler and low range are both actually just selling the trail gear kits. I'm trying to decide if I should just get the axle rebuild kit from them and use a different lift, or if I should just get their whole lift/rebuild package. A lot of people recommended OME. You thought it was a pretty rough ride though huh?

Mr.Chubbles

Are you running 35"s with your 5" lift? Do you have a picture so I can see how it sits?

fasterspider

I'm running 33s until I re gear.
The front tires will barely hit the rear of the inner fender when she is doing some gnarly crawling because I haven't done the rears up front yet, money is a powerful restriction of progress.
For the price paid, ProComp springs are pretty damned good springs. And what's messed up is, I haven't welded in my shock relocation kit yet, been driving for 4 months like that with minimal bounce.
I have the 12" Bilstein shocks and a Low Range Off Road shock relocation set up but, no one local to weld it in for me since my welding skills are pretty much non existent.

fasterspider

BTW, I have my 30" BFG Mud Terrains on the rig now, I really need to re-gear from 4:11 to 4:88 so my rig will roll easier and not put as much load on the engine with too big a set of tires and my air conditioning blowing full blast 31° air into the cab. Next season we go 35" after the re-gear this winter.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Part of the problem could be me as I am more used to IFS trucks. My wheeling days are over for me but on a smooth highway it rode nice enough but on a rougher road, I felt all of the bumps more then I would if I had been in an IFS truck. It was not miserable but it was enough for me to notice it. I have ridden in trucks that people use as a daily driver and a hard core wheeler on the weekends. No way did it ride as bad as one of those.

By the sounds of the type of wheeling you would be doing is about the style I do. I will go off the beaten path that requires 4 wheel drive but not where you need armor, lockers and the rest of the things needed for that. If you are doing the kind of wheeling I do, I would suggest going with factory springs. Not sure what all you would need for a lift if you did go with factory springs.