Lift Kit 1983 PU

[yooper]

Well I was out wheeling last weekend and among other things broken my rear end suspension is shot. I ended up breaking one of the rear passenger leafs and blew out the rear cross member and both rear shocks! The predicament now arises. Should I just replace the leaf with another stock leaf and buy new shocks or just go for the lift kit? The truck is a "trail only" beater ( but does see some miles on the road trucking to the trail) It is a 1983 long bed 4WD. I just bought new 31" TSLs and DO NOT need a lift to clear the tires. I am looking at Rough County 3" lift because it comes with new front and rear springs and 3" is the max lift I want. and the $400 price is just about max as well. What does everyone think? and any opinions on this lift kit are welcome THANKS !

[mudwiser316]

it sounds like your happy with the set up you have and don't really want to spend to much to fix it. in your case i would just find some stock springs for the rear. where do you live i might know of a set of stock springs for the rear of your truck. later!

[fourwd1]

If you like it as is, just get some spring packs from the junkyard and some new shocks. Rears from any Toy p/u to about 85 will bolt in, 4WD or 2WD.

The 3" lift kit is OK for the money, but nothing great.

[DrumBum]

from the research i've done, if you get a set of rear chevy leafs from a truck between the years of '88-'98, take the overload leaf out, and don't use a block, you can get it so it sits with less than 3" of lift. depending on your fab abilities this might be an option for you. you'd have to weld on a new front spring hanger (low profile or frenched for minimal lift) and either move your shackle hanger back or run double shackles.
anyway, what i'm getting at with all this is that they are a lot softer than stock springs and will flex a lot better since they're so long.
here's the write-up DEADLYPEACE did with all the info you'd need to know...
mkelly.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=FAQ&action=display&thread=1068491953

Just something else to consider!

[yooper]

As of this moment I am leaning to the lift kit because it has all the parts I need. I have fab skills but its just easier to get the kit and put it in and be done, plus I like the saying "if it breaks upgrade it" and the front already sags bad. A buddy of mine has a similar rig and I think we are gonna go the Chevy leaf set up on his rig.
heres a couple of pics of the carnage described above:
Rear cross-member GONE
s79.photobucket.com/albums/j138/_Yooper/?action=view¤t=a3f37735.jpg
Nice trial fix actually held up
s79.photobucket.com/albums/j138/_Yooper/?action=view¤t=291d7dc9.jpg
better angle:
s79.photobucket.com/albums/j138/_Yooper/?action=view¤t=532d8169.jpg

[86michigan4x4]

Check out Downey before you go with rough country. I like rough country stuf for most vehicles but the springs are a too stiff on a toyota. Also your name is yooper but where are you? I am in the sault.

[DeadlyPeace]

Also check out Marlin and All Pro.
www.marlincrawler.com/
www.allprooffroad.com/