Hey fellas i have a 2001 4x4 SuperCrew that i want to lift.........Dont know anything about this......Been a lowering guy but am newly converted!!!!! I want at least a 4" but if you recomend more or less i will listen,,,,also what brand and what would be a good price for it?????????please help WhiteyFord

 

Rancho (about $ 1500) is who I'll be going with. They aren't the cheapest, but that's for a reason. They perform the suspension lift correct and safe. There isn't much to the Trailmaster kit (they're about $1200). If you don't go with Rancho, the next on the better half of my list would be Superlift (about $1500). I just haven't heard good things about the Trailmaster and RCD (about $1400). And I couldn't tell you good things about the Pro-Comp (about $1500) either (repeated Chevy experience).

If you're new to the world of 4WD, then you should know a few things about lifting one:

First, I would either stay with the 4". If you want to go to the 5", find out how they get the extra inch and make sure it is safe and strong enough.

When you lift any 4x4, you must compensate with some dropped steering components. Stuff like a new pitman arm and extended drag link.

If the kit doesn't come with extended brake lines, buy some! And make sure they are TXDOT approved.

You shouldn't have to worry too much about angles in your driveline. However, if you want to be safe, you can insert angled shims between your leaf spring and spring plate.

You should be familiar with this. When you change the size of your tire, you change a lot of things like speedometer, drive ratio, take off power, etc. If you already have 3.73 gears, you may be satisfied with their performance with 33" tires. Any larger than 33"s, I'd start thinking about replacing BOTH axles with numerically higher (relatively lower) gear ratios. The best would be 4.10's to 4.56's with 35's and higher. With just a 4" or 5" lift, plus a 3" body lift, the largest you could probably fit would be 38's. But even that big is a concern.

Also, the larger the tire you put on your 4x4, the more stress you induce on your driveline. 35" is as tall as I would go. And 12.5" is as wide as I would go. And if you really want to, you could go with 10" rims. But be sure to make sure you obtain the correct backspacing (you should know about that too). The further you move your wheels out/in from the stock position, the more stress you induce on your steering components and wheel bearings.

I'm not trying to scare you. I will eventually do the same thing as soon as I graduate and stop giving my money to A&M. As long as you take your time doing it, do plenty of homework before you purchase and install something, and take care of your truck, it will last as long as you want it to even if you lift it and won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Welcome to 4x4! Now, please remove your vehicle from the pavement.

- Joel