add a leaf

[guitarfreak235]

i am looking at the tuff country add a leaf kit for my k10, what are the pros/cons of add a leaf versus a lift kit? or just new leaf springs?

 

[HotRodPC]

Appears some of our off-road guru's may have missed this thread. Maybe this bump might get a response. C4 is a add a leaf guy at one time. If fact he added about 12 leafs.

 

[kleedus]

ad a leaf will stiffen up your ride a little and are only good for 2'' of lift

i would not ad a leaf to the front springs i would just get a 4'' lift and be done with it

most trucks can be lifted 4'' with minimal changes to steering brake lines and drive shafts
i have put 4'' lifts on with no other changes

 

[guitarfreak235]

ad a leaf will stiffen up your ride a little and are only good for 2'' of lift

i would not ad a leaf to the front springs i would just get a 4'' lift and be done with it

most trucks can be lifted 4'' with minimal changes to steering brake lines and drive shafts
i have put 4'' lifts on with no other changes

That's the thing, I'm not sure whether I want a 4 inch or 2 inch lift for my truck, but what would I possibly have to do to the drive shaft with a lift?

Also... I'm thinking a 2 inch lift is the way to go because of steering driveshaft etc... With a 2 inch lift will I need new shocks? And will I have to modify anything else?

 

[kleedus]

you may have to have a longer drive shaft but most trucks you can lift 4'' with no mods

in my opinion 2'' is not worth the trouble hardly noticable my buddy lifted his 85 2'' and it still looks stock to me

2'' the stock shocks will work and i have done 4'' lifts with stock shocks to but would say get new ones for the 4'' just to be safe

everytime i put a 4'' on one of my trucks it is never enough so i swap it to a 6'' small is never enough

 

[guitarfreak235]

Ok thanks that is helpful, one more question. With a 4 inch lift do you know what the compressed/ extended lengths would have to be? The reason I ask is because I am looking at the bilstein 5150 series shocks which aren't made specifically for our trucks

 

[skysurfer]

For the 5150's you would need: 25-101966 for the front, 25-101874 for the rear.

The 5100's without the reservoir would be: 33-185552 front, 33-185569 rear.

 

[guitarfreak235]

For the 5150's you would need: 25-101966 for the front, 25-101874 for the rear.

The 5100's without the reservoir would be: 33-185552 front, 33-185569 rear.

thanks for the info, is that for the 4 inch lift? also, my truck came with the quad front shocks, so which 5150s would i use for the second set? and if i have shocks a certain length for a 4 inch lift, could i go ahead and install them without the lift? Or could that damage the shocks?

 

[smurph20]

Id just run singles up front hyou wont notice the differnce

 

[skysurfer]

X2. I'd pass on the second set, a modern single shock will work better than 2 oem's. The shocks listed above will work with a 4-6" lift.

25-101966: 15.89" compressed, 25.91" extended.

25-101874: 17.78" compressed, 29.70" extended.

As far as running them on a non-lifted truck, you would have to figure out the maximum compression of the suspension to be sure you don't bottom them out. One way would be to cut a proper sized rubber washer and install it around the stock shock stem next to the shock body. Drive around for a while, making sure to hit some bumps and dips, then measure how far the washer has moved on the stem. Subtract that amount from the eye-to-eye measure, then compare the results to the max compression of the Bilsteins. If it's within a couple inches I wouldn't do it, you gotta add a little fudge factor or you'll ruin your nice new shocks.

 

[guitarfreak235]

ok thanks that is helpful, but could i just measure the distance between the axle and the bump stop? then i could see if at maximum compression the shocks could handle it

 

[skysurfer]

Yeah, that would be the most conservative measure. I know my suspension never gets close to hitting the bump stops, I even removed one from the front in order to mount an air gauge there.

 

[guitarfreak235]

I have ran into something else... In addition to shock length you can get different valving for the shocks. 255/70 seems to be standard, would this be a good choice? Are you guys familiar with the valving ratings?