I have seen ads for leveling kits made of steel, aluminum, and polyurethane , what are the advantage/disadvantage to these different materials. anyone had problems with squeeks, cracking or anything else?

 

I had the aluminum spacer kit from Summit Racing installed for almost three years. Removed it and it was in perfect shape. Now I have the AS lift installed which is steel. So far so good.

 

There are no advantages. It's just marketing gimmicks. I'd go with the Autospring kit. It is cheap, well made and just plain works.

 

thanks for the replies, still havent decided if I want a 2" or 2.5" kit. anyone had trouble with front end components wearing out with the 2.5" kits (ball joints or cv joints)

 

I put a 2" AS on my truck and have off road it pretty hard several times and have not had a problem yet . Now im not sure how much worse the 2.5 will be on your truck but a lot of guys here have either and dont seem to have a problem yet. Ive had mine on my truck for about 1 1/2 years.

 

I don't know the validity of this but I was told to only use a 2" AS on a 4x2. Unless you plan to raise the rear. Is this a true statement?

 

If you dont plan to raise the rear any yes. Well even then you should have the rear raised a bit, with the 2" 4wd lift blocks. The front may still be a little bit higher with the stock 2wd rear height.

 

Not true at all. An add-a-leaf will work fine with any brand of leveling kit. Just remember that once you add a kit, your truck is leveled. If you raise the rear, then you're right back to the front end being lower and the rear end being higher.

 

Should I go with the 2" or 2.5" AS?

 

On a 4x2 go with a 2"

 

My own story is bass-ackwards. I wanted an add-a-leaf for a stiffer rear end and a little increased load capacity. My truck would have been just ridiculous with the rear end being 2 more inches higher in the rear than stock, and the front end almost touching the ground like a low rider. All that the leveling kit did for me was bring me back to an angled rake. I had a 2.5" kit and it was fine.