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CJ
Dodge Dakota
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11/22/2002
12:43:14

Subject: Body Lift
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I have a 97' Dakota SLT Club Cab...and I wanted to put a 3 inch body lift on it so I can put some 33" mudders on it...and I was wondering if anyone knows what the "average" cost of installation runs on those...I'm assuming it's rather expensive because you have to extend the 4x4 shifter and some other stuff



scott
Dodge Dakota
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11/24/2002
09:35:10

RE: Body Lift
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i have a 2000 dakota and i just got done putting a 3" body lift on it myself. it took about a day with a couple of minor modifications, 1 to the lower radiator hose and 1 to the 4x4 shift linkage. my truck is a 5 speed 4.7liter. all you have to do for the 4x4 linkage is cut and weld a small piece of steel to extend the length. the 4.7 liter v-8 has a lower radiator hose that will be in the way of the fan so you will have to remove the lower hose and fit an extension in the hose. all of the extensions and parts you need will be included in the kit (performance parts body lift). the lift was $180 and if i had it installed....installation would have run $350. do it yourself, its not too hard. i am currently running 32x11.5 bfgoodrich all terrains and my torsion bars are cranked up front for about 2 more inches of lift. im going to try and get some 33x12.5 if they will fit but i am told it will be tight? i live in the seattle area so if you need help i can offer some....im also around the other 48 states cuz i drive trucks.



CJ
Dodge Dakota
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11/24/2002
12:31:05

RE: Body Lift
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pardon my ignorance...but what is all this that people are saying about cranking their torsion bars? I really wish I had a clue but I don't...and I would do the lift myself but I don't have a welder...so I don't know, I suppose I could find a buddy with a welder



dakslt
Dodge Dakota
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11/24/2002
17:58:49

RE: Body Lift
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i just finished the lift today....took me about 7 hours with a couple breaks

i have 33x12.50x15's on there now, its very tight
rubs around 1 1/2 turns



midnight dak
Dodge Dakota
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11/25/2002
09:21:03

RE: Body Lift
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hey dak slt , you said that you were getting some rub. also are your running stock wheels? all where are they rubbing, will be adding 3" lift myself and need to know, wants a set of 33's



shiftrider
Dodge Dakota
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11/25/2002
13:52:31

RE: Body Lift
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torsion bars- notice you dont have coil or leaf springs in the front, you have torsion bars instead(unless 2 wheed drive then coils)

there are two bolts that are about the center of the cab(in the middle of the door i think) on the underneath side, if you look under your truck you will see two long bars then these two bolts, if you tightin them your front end will raise up "cranking torsion bars" it is a very easy way to gain a few inches up there, currently i have about 2 extra inches cause of them, dont tightin them all the way you will want to leave some adjustment on them

if you do crank it up you will want to have your alignment checked it will drive fine (straight) you wont think there is a problem but tires will be like this

before.......after
||..||......\\..//(could be the other way im not thinking yet, //..\\)

but that is why you will need the alignment

im not an expert but hopefully that will help you understand



arthur
Dodge Dakota
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11/25/2002
14:29:30

RE: Body Lift
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I never thought about this before...so i'll ask a quick question, do you need your tires off or your trucks front end jacked up to crank the torsion bars, or can you just crank them while the truck is sitting on the ground?



CJ
Dodge Dakota
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11/25/2002
15:24:21

RE: Body Lift
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yeah that helped a lot...thanks...one other question if I put the 33's on the truck before I did a body lift would it look completely retarded? and if I do a lift won't I have to raise my hitch, custom exhaust, etc.?



4wDakota
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11/25/2002
15:58:36

RE: Body Lift
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Arthur Jacking it up will make turning the bolt easier but chances are they won't crank up the same. One side on mine took 3 turns while the other took 5 or something like that. If you do it on the ground you can measure as you go and keep it level. Just use a 2 ft piece of pipe as leverage and it's real easy to turn. Drive the truck for a week or so to let the bars settle into there new positions. Check again to see if it's still level, then get an alignment.

CJ- You can put the tires on before but they will look a little tight and they may rub a little. You don't need to do anything to the hitch. You can get any muffler shop to tweak your exhaust up 3" but it looks fine as is.

98 CC 4x4, 5.2 Auto 3.55LSD
3" Body Lift, 1" Torsion Bar Lift, 33" BFG A/T KO's

Molson4u
Dodge Dakota
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11/28/2002
02:24:31

RE: Body Lift
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I did a 3" body lift on my 2000 dakota and have NO TIRE RUB (after I did a little mod to my front bumper you might have to trim a bit of plastic like I did no one will ever notice) with the 33 X 12.5 BF Goodrich All Terrain tires. I cannot express how good the Performance Accessory body lift is. It took me and a friend 5 hours to have the whole truck lifted it was so easy I would do it again!!! It looks unreal now a night and day difference I can't beleive how small a stock truck looks next to it now!



2THEXTRM
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11/28/2002
04:24:16

RE: Body Lift
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FYI- I have torsion lifted 3 Daks(my 99, 01 and 02) and none of them needed to be aligned. I have read the same in other threads I started or posted on. My uncle owns a auto/tire shop and I used his alignment rack to make sure on all of them and even had the dealer and PepBoys double check my 01 as I have the tbars to the max and mounted almost $800 in tires. Logic would say an alignment is needed, I have lowered cars, lifted trucks and it's always been the same, an adjustment to camber or aligment is usually needed, not with our Daks!! If someone tells u your alignment is off, its not because of adjusting tbars at all!!!! If you don't believe me, I suggest after tbar cranking, taking it to a reputable shop and then ask too see the computer read-out before they start adjusting which will show if the front-end is off or not. I know how shops work and know that if you bring your vehicle in for an alignment they are not going to hook up their gear and then say it didn't need any adjustment so no charge, they will just charge you anyway, adjustments or not unless you check out the stats prior to adjusting or know those who work in the shop well.

Flowmaster cat back w/15 inch chrome tip, Volant Intake, Poweraid TB Spacer, Splitfire Plugs, full synthetic fluids
3 inch body/1.5 inch Block Lift, 305 70-16 X-Terrains on AR Terons, Pro Comp ES9000's
Grizzly double/single rollbar with (6) Hella's, Manik Nerfs, Line-X, Hard Work & $$$$$$$$$$

dakslt
Dodge Dakota
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11/28/2002
09:37:31

RE: Body Lift
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midnight dak...sorry it took so long to respond


yes i have the stock rims on for now, im gonna have to get some new one. the tires rub against the frame at around 1 1/2 turns



shiftrider
Dodge Dakota
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11/30/2002
04:15:06

RE: Body Lift
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response to 2thextrm, i didnt have to have my alignment done on my dak either, but just as caution i say that they should have it checked, cause i dont need anyone saying "you didnt say to do the alignment", cause i have enough drama in my life so i dont need anymore, but i agree with ya that it doesnt seem to change



Richard
Dodge Dakota
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11/30/2002
22:04:09

RE: Body Lift
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Scott Im in Federal Way. If you want to go wheeling Im game. Email me at Jenkins1581@hotmail.com Would liek to go wheel ing but have no one to go with.



albert
Dodge Dakota
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12/02/2002
19:33:56

RE: Body Lift
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2THEXTRM,
Your signature says you have a 1.5" block lift. Does this just meen that you cranked your t-bars in the front 1.5" and added a block to the rear?

albert



2THEXTRM
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12/02/2002
19:40:50

RE: Body Lift
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You are correct, and my ass end is up a little higher than the front, tried to find a 1" block and couldn't, it would have been just right with .5" less in the rear.

Flowmaster cat back w/15 inch chrome tip, Volant Intake, Poweraid TB Spacer, Splitfire Plugs, full synthetic fluids
3 inch body/1.5 inch Block Lift, 305 70-16 X-Terrains on AR Terons, Pro Comp ES9000's
Grizzly double/single rollbar with (6) Hella's, Manik Nerfs, Line-X, Hard Work & $$$$$$$$$$

albert
Dodge Dakota
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12/02/2002
19:50:35

RE: Body Lift
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Wow, I didn't know t-bars could be cranked that high. I turned mine all the way and only got 1" of lift out of them. By the way, what is your lift block made out of. Someone once told me that it's fairly easy to cut one down to the correct size needed. I've never heard someone actually doing this though.
albert



slamman
Dodge Dakota
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12/03/2002
22:52:39

RE: Body Lift
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I haven't done research on this but I think someone makes add-a-leafs for the daks which might work instead of the blocks for the rear suspension. Might be something to look into if you turn up your torsion bars.



94 dakota
Dodge Dakota
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12/05/2002
20:13:09

RE: Body Lift
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I have my torsion bars cranked, and the front is higher than the back, plus it's a 94 so the leafs are saggin a little bit. In about a month I'm puttin in add-a-leafs. just wantin to know if they're hard to put in.



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