julienade

i was wondering if i put on bj spacers and crank up the torsions almost all the way on my 88 pickup what would get the back end up to an equivalent height?

and i was also wondering what anyone knows about the rancho a-arms they used to make for the ifs.

julienade

anybody???????????????????

toylocost

Not the best way but certainly cheap; you could put some 3-4 inch lift blocks on the back.

Junkers88

Well lets see. If you crank the T-bars all the way (which will ruin the ride) you should net about 1 1/2 inches of lift. Add whatever thickness of Bj spacers you choose to that and that'll give you the overall lift in the front. Then get some new leaves or lift blocks for the rear to match that.

ovrrdrive

Adding bj spacers and cranking the tbars both have the same affect on the angle of the CV's. If you do both you'll have a truck that not only rides like , it also won't flex and will practically explode CV axles as soon as you get a even the slightest hill.

If you go easy on the tbars you can get away with it. But by easy I mean maybe 1/2". Get greedy and you'll hate your truck.

My answer is combining bj spacers and cranked tbars is good for about 2".

julienade

ok i see. its kind of one or the other. not both. i have the ball joint spacers. they are 1.5" thick so it would be best if i cranked the torsion slightly then got a 2 inch add a leaf or shackle just to level it out?

anybody have any knowledge about the rancho a-arms

iamsuperbleeder

hmmm, not sure about the A-arms...

I too have a set of BJ-Spacers I plan on installing, and leaving the T-Bars at either stock, or slightly torqued on. I've already got a set of WabFab shackles on my badly sagging rear leafs, to they didn't really net me any lift; more of less just leveled the ride with slightly cranked front T-bars, lol. But that puts me in a heck of a knot, cause now I don't know if I should do stock replacement rear springs plus the shackles after installing the BJ-Spacers, of if I'll have to install a little taller springs to match up to the front hight...

BJ-Spacers and Chevy rear springs maybe

ovrrdrive

Did you consider the Zuk coil spring mod?

iamsuperbleeder

I did, but with the miles my springs have on them, I'm still just going to replace them; it's just deciding if I want/need stockers or taller...

Matt16

Lift the front without a bracket lift and your ride will go to hell, your steering parts will go to hell and your cv axles will go to hell AND, here's the kicker, your off road performance will go to hell as well. Bad idea. Actually, its probably categorically the worst idea ever.

iamsuperbleeder

wont a bracket lift will put the same horrid angles on your steering components as BJ-spacers or torquing the T-bars down?

or do most come with drop-pitman and idler arms... or steering nuckle risers...

I'll admit, I haven't looked into the components a bracket lift all that much after seeing the price of a basic kit

abecedarian

the kit drops the differential 4" so the cv angles are approximately stock and has extensions that bolt to the knuckles lifting the tie-rods up to the stock location. They're the trapezoidal pieces in the center of this pic:

Junkers88

I'm thinking that I should have asked what you were looking for with the lift. Just some limited lift for a better stance? Want to run some slightly larger tires in a better tread pattern? Etc.....

I honestly believe that for a pickup the best way to get a little lift, even with worn out springs bleeder, is to do a BJ spacer up front and a ZUK coil in the rear. My spings have 180,000 miles on them and were flat as heck. The ZUK mod in the rear lifted it back up almost 2 inches over stock and created a LOT of load capacity back there. The ride improved a heck of a lot and even with the back end stacked full of firewood it sagged very very little and I still made it the couple of miles back off of the mountain where I "found" the wood without any odd ride qualities in the back end.

The other option is to do the BJ spacers up front and replace the rears with some 2" lift springs.

I have seen some that will do a T-bar crank in the front and some blocks in the rear but you end up with a stiff ride in the front end and (what I consider) a weak link in the blocks on the back. Not to mention that the blocks don't increase the distance between the rear bump stop and the frame stop so getting the rig "pushed over" in a flex situation is still an issue.

So that's my .35$

iamsuperbleeder

well see that makes sence; thanks abe!

Mic09dcsm

I attempted recovery of a full size chevy that was laying frame. I have the t bars cranked and the bj spacers, I was in 4wd and no cv axles exploded.

Matt16

That's not really a challenge for the axles. If one wheel was at full droop your front end was hopping up and down while you hammered the gas while you towed the chevy, then your CVs would be in peril.

ovrrdrive

I was exaggerating a little too... Maybe I should have used a smiley. :p

julienade

well the taller springs will get you a stiffer ride and im not too sure if you really want that
everyone wants smoother rides nowadays
if i were you i would go with the stock replacements then if it is too high you go from there
but ultimately it is up to you and what you are looking for

julienade

please enlighten me about this Zuk coil spring mod
what is it?
where can i find it?
here in hilo, hawaii i havent heard bout that

not much guys have even heard bout the bj spacers!

julienade

well im planning on lifting the truck later on down the road. but for now i want something a little better than stock and i am not expecting a whole lot. just a little height. maybe even a sas swap later. but i dont have enough funds right now so we on a tight budget. here in hawaii vehicles dont last as long as in the mainland so there is a lot of rust issues. i have to save some of the cancer(rust) on my pickup. but the project is coming along for a high school student like me working at a resturant.