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Colt45
Dodge Dakota
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5/28/2002
22:01:00
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 Subject: where do i find lift kits?
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ok i just bought a xtra cab, 2wd, 3.9 1999, dakota and im looking for a suspension lift between 6" and 10". does anyone know where i can find these? i have searched and have found nothing. thanx in advance.
~Colt45
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born2steel21
GenI
5/28/2002
22:14:46
|  RE: where do i find lift kits?
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there is a reason you haven't found one...because it doesn't exist...its tough to get our 4x4's that high with the current lifts available...my recomendation would be the fabtech 3" suspension and a 3" body lift, after that you could probably stretch another inch with a little enginuity...if I'm not mistaken TALLQUAD's got a lifted 4x2 and could probably give you some better information.
-- Death Before Dismount --
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4wDakota
GenIII
5/29/2002
09:40:38
|  RE: where do i find lift kits?
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3" fabtech suspension (3" coils)
2" coil spacers
3" body
That's as tall as you can go and you'll still only clear 33's on your 2wd.
Corey
98 CC 4x4, 5.2 Auto 3.55LSD
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BIGBADAkota01
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2005
04:46:57
|  Yeah I need a lift kit too....
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I own a 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad cab 4wd with a highly modified 5.9L and a new transmission with shift kit and am looking to lift some so my 285/85r16 BFGoodrich Mud Terrains will stop rubbing. Would like to go with a 9" lift if possible only because I already own a set of 40" Ground Hawgs...
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man...
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2005
11:14:59
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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i would not reccomend the truckin suspensions 9 inch lift...heard many bad things. i hear the best way to go is 5.5 tough country and 3 inch body lift. or for a smaller rig 3inch rancho and 3 inch body. however with either or those you can't clear 40 i don't think. more like 35s and 37s
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Rivalry
Dodge Dakota
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3/05/2005
13:35:48
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Too bad the only real options available for the 2WD is the Fabtech and a body lift. Rancho and Tuff Country are for 4x4 only, I believe.
I have the 3" Fabtech and 3" PA Body lift, and I clear 33's with only very minor rubbing in full turn.
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Dan
Dodge Dakota
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3/06/2005
00:55:00
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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I'd be careful what tires you put under that. If you go to a much bigger tire you are gonna bog that 3.9 down a lot.
Dan
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Rivalry
Dodge Dakota
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3/06/2005
20:58:03
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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I already know man, heh. I was kinda scared about putting 33's on it but really its not that bad. Just a couple of mods and I'll be pretty close to how it was before.
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Paul
Dodge Dakota
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3/07/2005
14:27:04
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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I just got stuck with a 4" Trailmaster DD43SSV lift kit with SSV shocks. It fits 1991-1996 Dakotas. It is brand new with warranty and hard to find. I will take $1,873. with free shipping!
Please pass the word along. Maybe someone else can tell me how to spread the word about this lift.
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Rivalry
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
3/08/2005
00:39:06
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Paul - I'm assuming you are talking about a suspension lift? And for 4WD or 2WD? Also, is it a coil over lift?
Details are needed.
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RamDude
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2005
09:07:14
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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That’s a 4” suspension lift for 91-96 Dakota 4x4.
Paul, No offense but you definitely got stuck with that kit. $1873 is an awfully high price. Actually, I believe that’s the MSRP, the street price is $1450-$1600, but I’ve seen it as low as $1300. I almost bought that kit for my 95 dakota but after reading some of the comments on the net about how durable it is, I decided to sell the truck and buy a Ram. walt felix had a lot of good info about that kit on his webpage. he was saying he had a lot of problems with bending brackets and broken parts after wheeling.
Mike
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Walt_Felix
Dodge Dakota
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3/08/2005
09:58:14
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Yea, that’s high for that kit. I assume that’s just the standard SSV kit with the shocks and none of the optionals (i.e. skid plate, dual shock kits or steering stabilizers). I still say Trailmaster should have included the skid plate as part of the kit and not an optional add-on. Your still going to need to buy rims because you can’t reuse the stock backspace with the kit installed. Plus all the little extra pieces you end up having to replace “While the truck is apart”. I’ve always told people, take the cost of the lift kit and add 50%, that’s the very minimum you should be prepared to spend if you install a lift kit yourself. Odds are you’ll spend more. If you have someone else do the work, 3 times the cost of the lift kit. The labor alone will probably cost more than the lift kit itself. I had over $6000 invested by the time I was done and I installed the kit myself, however, I did replace a lot of other pieces in the process as well as 4:10 gears and a Detroit locker so my numbers would be higher than normal.
If you want to lift your truck for looks and only “mild” off-road use the Trailmaster kit would be the only way to go since that is the only suspension kit for those years. But if you have any intention of any serious off-roading with that kit, plan on replacing parts and/or aligning your front end after every off-road trip. The front cross member is prone to rock damage and the lower brackets are just too flimsy for any real trail use. Go to my website, I have photo’s of bent and broken Trailmaster pieces. If your going to wheel your truck, your money would be better spent on a straight axle conversion. I’m currently in the process of gathering parts to replace mine with a set of 8-lug Ram 2500 axles I just pick up for $2000. I have a line on a set of Skyjacker 2500 Diesel lift coils for $75 from a guy on Dodge Truck World and am chasing down a Dick Cepek Ram long arm kit for the front that I plan on modifying to fit my truck. Found one place that has it for $500, but I’m still searching for someone with it cheaper.
__________________
Walt Felix
http://www.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
http://dodgetruckworld.com/waltfelix
Note: I very frequently get email from people asking about the lift kit in my ’88. Typically, I will NOT respond the emails (about 90%) that ask questions I’ve already covered on my web pages (ie. Where did you get the kit?, Who makes it?, How much did it cost?, What modifications did you have to make to get it to fit your truck?. How hard was it to install? What problems did you
encounter? etc, etc...)
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loren
Dodge Dakota
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3/13/2005
23:29:51
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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i have a 95 dodge dakota i am wnating a suspension lift any size at this point. whaere can i get one?
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Walt_Felix
Dodge Dakota
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3/14/2005
07:10:22
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Details are usually helpful when making inquiries. 2wd or 4x4? Start at the top of this thread and read your way down. Almost all your options are listed.
__________________
Walt Felix
http://www.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
http://dodgetruckworld.com/waltfelix
Note: I very frequently get email from people asking about the lift kit in my ’88. Typically, I will NOT respond to the emails (about 95%) that ask questions I’ve already covered on my web pages (ie. Where did you get the kit?, Who makes it?, How much did it cost?, What modifications did you have to make to get it to fit your truck?. How hard was it to install? What problems did you encounter? etc, etc...)
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rtdkota
R/T
3/23/2005
13:35:45
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Message:
I sell Rancho (for the 4x4) and Fabtech (for the 4x2)---
==8^)
Sam
www.socaldakota.com
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Paul
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2005
10:39:37
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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This Trailmaster lift was a special order for a customer. We waited eight weeks for it to come in and his truck was totalled the week before it showed up.
It was just made this year. I assume they have made any necessary improvements. I have not had any problems with Trailmaster products, maybe it's the driver?
I will take a reasonable offer above 1,500. It is a "basic" kit with SSV shocks. I know real suspension kits for Dakotas are hard to find. Thanks
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Walt_Felix
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2005
13:14:38
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Message:
Trailmaster didn’t sell many of either of the three variations of the DD43 kits (when compared to other kits they market) and it’s not cost effective for them to keep a low demand product in stock. They ONLY build that kit to order now.
As far as the driver error comment, driver error had nothing to do with it. The kit is made almost entirely out of 1/8 inch steel and the pieces are just too thin for any real “Trail” use. Here’s a perfect example
of the quality of the kit. This cross member was split on a rock while driving across a cow pasture at 15mph. I wasn’t even to the woods yet or in 4wd for that matter. 
Can you say “Weld Penetration” because apparently their QC people can’t. Here’s the replacement piece that took almost 10 weeks to get because Trailmaster doesn’t even stock spare parts for the kit.
The reason why this cross member is prone to damage is because of where it’s located on the truck.
As you can see, it wraps below the front differential. After that kit was on the market for a little while, they started offering an optional skid plate to protect that cross member.
Again, out of 1/8 inch steel. Here’s that same skid plate after just one weekend trail ride.
This particular damage was done on a Fire/Logging road. As you can see, it's got a new bend in it and minimal scraping. BTW their parts are painted and not powder coated and the paint scratches and flakes off easily. I had to remove the steering stabilizers on the trail because they got pinned between the skid plate and the axle housing which prevented their full range of movement. If it wasn't for the 1/4 inch skid plate I mounted behind it, it's very possible it would have shifted that cross member back again. If you look at the two forward brackets for the lower control arms, they too tend to bend back and out slightly when hit against something, toeing the front tires out and because of there location and thin construction, it's not hard to do.
Another spot that's prone to damage in the relocation brackets for the torsion bar keys. There is a small tab that's suppose to support the back of the key but because the tabs extend down slightly further that the keys themselves and the thin construction, they tend to bend back if you manage to high center the truck or even catch one on a rock. Here I fabricated another cross member out of 1/4 inch stock to support the back of the tabs and to create a mounting point for the main 1/4 inch skid plate I added. You can see how far the tab extends down beyond the key.
The point is, most guys who want to lift their truck, do so with the intention of taking it off road. And while I may wheel my truck harder than the average person, it wasn't until after I added an additional 300lbs of steel to re-enforce the flimsy TrailMaster brackets that I kept bending with just "Mild" off-road use.
__________________
Walt Felix
http://www.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
http://dodgetruckworld.com/waltfelix
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Dan
Dodge Dakota
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3/28/2005
17:47:00
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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I am looking for a suspension lift for a 2004 2wd. The only thing I can find in truckin-Suspension but I hear there not very good any others out there?
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nerd
Dodge Dakota
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3/28/2005
22:01:45
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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try doetsch tech
do a search on them
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joe
Dodge Dakota
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3/30/2005
22:35:48
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Any man that puts that kinda money on a 2 wd and puts 33's on it needs someone to smakem. What and the hell are ya gonna do replace tires and not even get to use them? Sorry bud but put ur money away and save it what the heck are ya thinking!!!
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Rivalry
Dodge Dakota
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3/30/2005
23:21:02
| RE: where do i find lift kits?
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Message:
Or they have money to burn and wanted to use it to make their truck into something they have always wanted? Just because it would've taken you a couple of years to save up the money for what I spent after only a couple months of saving doesn't mean that I need to be 'smaked'.
Honestly, how much would you go off road with a similar truck but only as a 4x4. After the novelty wears off after the first couple of months, probably not much... so we're somewhat in the same ballpark here, dude. However, it all comes down to I did it - what about you?
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