Hi. I'm looking to add a lift to my stock 05 FX4.
Does anyone have any tips or ideas on where or how I should even start?

 

Decide how much money you want to put into your truck by lifting it. Then you can decide how high you want to go. After you decide that then you can start looking at lifts/tires/wheels and etc.

Alot of guys around here are starting out with leveling kits to body lifts to 6-14 inch lifts. Just up too you on which way you want to go. Good lift companys such as Rize which is the highest quality IMO then Fabtech,Pro Com, SkyJacker, Rancho, Whiplash, BDS, FTS etc

 

I stated with a Leveling kit, AS 2.5"

and also purchased a 2" Add a Leaf kit for the rear.

That's a good way to start if you're not looking to spend much.

then you can move to a body Lift and get up to about 6 inched of total lift.

that's what I'm doing and i'm only going to end up spending $900 on lift installed, I hope.

 

Start by researching the different types of lifts and kits on the market. Consider not just cost, but ease of installation, and how the new components will work in your truck. Are you doing the installation at home, or taking it out to a shop? What about wheels and tires? Will you lift kit allow for the use of your current wheels & tires? And don't forget your gears. Budget into your build the cost of gears. I would also suggest a cooling improvement to your transmission, such as a trans cooler and/or Mag Hytec pan with cooling fins. Now that you've got all this, you'll need a programmer of some sort so that your speedometer and odometer are accurate. And last, but not least, the alignment. Don't forget your alignment.

Get your budget together first. Come up with a realistic final number at, or about, $5,000 - $6,000. Do not dive into a lift project thinking that your could score some discount kit from eBay for $1200, and that is the end of it. The kit components are only the beginning.

Obviously, a stage 2 kit offers a better ride than a stage 1 kit. Decide which will work best for your application. I chose a stage 2 kit with coilovers because I did not want to spend a lot of money, only to just get a giant leveling kit which did not improve my ride. For me, it was worth the money to get the adjustable coilovers and a steering stabilizer. But for a lot of other guys, they could care less about a hard, bumpy ride, or steering wheel nibble; and they just want a big *** truck w/ fat tires. If all you want from the lift is aesthetics, then you could also consider a body lift. You could also just get adjustable shocks, and/or a leveling kit, then just level it off and squeeze a bigger tire onto your OEM wheels.

Good luck. Think it through. And choose wisely.

 

Yeah Fifty150 nailed it on the head. I would start with size of tires first and then go from there. Fabtech is one of the better lifts for these trucks for the money IMO.

 

Wow! Thanks for all the advice. I didnt think it would end up costing so much. I would like to keep the stock tires and rims, but it may look at little goofy.....? Whats a good start? Just doing a 2.5"lift in the front? Im not going to get too crazy yet as I would like to add an exhaust/intake/ and tune first.

 

yeah IMO it looks horrible, kinda like only doing half of the job. stock wheels dont look bad at all, alot of people dont like them but i think they look good. however you will need some bigger tires if you lift. i would do 2.5" level with 33's even though you should be able to fit 35s

 

Here you go:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Auto-...1%7C240%3A1318
That's a 2.5" leveling kit. It won't look awful with stock rims and tires and it will allow you to fit up to 35" tires on stock and some aftermarket wheels and 33" tires for most aftermarket tires.

 

Yeah if your worried about costs right now, I say go with a leveling kit and 35's.

 

here is an idea of what it would look like with a 6" lift and stock tires.... the other guys say to pick your tire size first.... i say pick your lift size first !! you might as well get as big as you will EVER want to go, because you will just spend more time and money if you dont do it all at once. then, when you get the lift figured out, see what they call for with tire size and specs for wheels. just do all of your research, since there are a ton of options.