Lifting the 7.3

Rocco34 said:

Hey guys. New guy here. Had a few questions regarding my lift. I bought a 6" Tuff Country kit with all new springs and shocks for my 97 extended cab long bed. First off let me say that I couldn't get the right installation instructions if my life depended on it. I called and talked to 2 different people and they both sent me the wrong stuff. On top of that the instructions that came with it were wrong. Anyway, what do you do when the exhaust is in the way of the new, bigger spring? I already cut my hanger cause there was no other possible way to get the spring in. Also, the height at my tailgate is over 5 ft. Is that normal for an obs with a 6" lift or did I screw something up?

Thanks

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Uh... lets back track.

I'm assuming 4x4? What part of the exhaust is in your way? IIRC, the stock exhaust shouldn't bump into anything. If it does, just stack it or dump it before the rear wheel? No reason to keep the stock exhaust anyway, it's junk (in my opinion).

My tailgate on my truck probably sits at around 5'5 or so. I don't think my girlfriend is taller then it. I'll check on that later. The rear springs and such are easy to put in. They'll need a bit of time to "settle" so to speak, so bare that in mind. You may have ended up with an extra inch or two, but after riding around for a day you'll come to find that it lowered itself.

Do you have an RSK on the front or rear? Those will play into your height factor too. Things to think about.

Yes it's 4x4. No RSK. Have 4" MBRP exhaust and it hits about 6" inside the tip. Also have new shocks they sent that are supposed to go right on that are about 2 inches short when completely maxed out.

Rocco34 said:

Yes it's 4x4. No RSK. Have 4" MBRP exhaust and it hits about 6" inside the tip. Also have new shocks they sent that are supposed to go right on that are about 2 inches short when completely maxed out.

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A lot of guys may not agree with me on this, but I've never ordered the high-grade bilstein shocks, etc.

Instead, go buy some Ram 2500 shocks (rear), not sure about fronts. They max at like 25" and are almost bolt in (minor fabrication required, like pressing out the steel sleeve), those will most likely fit fine.

Did you re-use your old leaves and the new ones? How many are in each pack? I feel like I'm missing something here but I'm not quite sure what.

leojr said:

For what it is worth, the Bilstein 5100 series shocks with 255/70 dampening for the front measure:
Part number 33-185552
Extended Length (in):25.930 in.
Collapsed Length (in):15.910 in.

Rear:
Part number 33-185569
Extended Length (in):29.700 in.
Collapsed Length (in):17.9

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For what it's worth (And I'm not mocking you, seriously.):
1996 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins shocks. You lose a bit of the extended length but they fit with minor modification, and I've have no issues with them. Move to a 4x version and they're basicallyt he same, you should be good to go. My computer is lagging so I can't post up too much, sorry.

It's easier to measure from the center of wheel hub to the top of the fenderwell. Just as long as there isn't a body lift this will give you the amount of spring lift.

shiroun said:

For what it's worth (And I'm not mocking you, seriously.):

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Funny! Nothing taken by it.... If you are suggesting the Ram shocks as an affordable option, by all means, share!

Finding shocks at an auto salvage is definitely cheaper than new Bilsteins.

Sharing the dimensions were my primary intent, not me looking like a shock snob. :hehe:

Knowledge of parts that transfer from one model to another, or one make to another is valued.

csp said:

It's easier to measure from the center of wheel hub to the top of the fenderwell. Just as long as there isn't a body lift this will give you the amount of spring lift.

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Easier, yes. More accurate, no. Your given example of body lift, likelihood of different degrees of old body bushing deterioration, D50 overall axle hub width versus D60, ballooned tire sidewalls, etc are all other factors that could influence that measurement. Why not use a more consistent point of reference?

But, measuring fender wells is more accurate then tailgates...which is where this thread started! LOL

In the context of the OPs question I think he's looking for a ballpark idea, not gnat's ass accuracy.

Just for frame of reference.

Got it figured out. They sent me larger lift blocks that I didn't need to put on. Don't know why they sent them if I was putting new springs on but whatever. Shocks should fit now. Now I'm running in to another problem with my axle pivot brackets. I can't get my axle far enough back to line up with the spring. The yolk on the drivers side drive shaft hits the axle bracket that supports the passenger side. Die grinder may be coming out. Anyone else ever had this problem?

I wouldn't be grinding ANYTHING.

Just another reason tuff country lifts are HALF the cost of anyone else. You get what you pay for

Rocco34 said:

Got it figured out. They sent me larger lift blocks that I didn't need to put on. Don't know why they sent them if I was putting new springs on but whatever. Shocks should fit now. Now I'm running in to another problem with my axle pivot brackets. I can't get my axle far enough back to line up with the spring. The yolk on the drivers side drive shaft hits the axle bracket that supports the passenger side. Die grinder may be coming out. Anyone else ever had this problem?

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x2, you get what you pay for. Some fab work may be in order to make it work.

I'm PMing you my number. I want those blocks depending on how big they are. Also post some photos of your truck here, it's always good to see how they look.

I knew I was buying a cheap lift and that I'd run into a few problems. I ended up straightening the pivot bracket a bit and everything lined up better. The tech a tuff country said I didn't need the blocks but I left them in and finished the front now it sits almost perfectly level. Didn't go with a more expensive one because the only thing I will use it for is crawling around my ranch fixing fence and such.
How do I upload a picture?

Rocco34 said:

I knew I was buying a cheap lift and that I'd run into a few problems. I ended up straightening the pivot bracket a bit and everything lined up better. The tech a tuff country said I didn't need the blocks but I left them in and finished the front now it sits almost perfectly level. Didn't go with a more expensive one because the only thing I will use it for is crawling around my ranch fixing fence and such.
How do I upload a picture?

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On an advanced message you can attach photos. If there's some sort of minimum posts to do it (I obviously haven't been around as long as some here...so I don't know) you can use imageshack.us or another image sharing host.

If that doesn't pan out because you can post links (again, I don't know) then PM me your e-mail and we can do the back-and-forth on it, I'll post them up for you no problem.

Shiroun

Still can't get this damn picture thing figured out. I'm on a phone or ipad. I click on the paper clip and it just becomes highlighted and does nothing. Photobucket sucks too.

Rocco34 said:

Photobucket sucks too.

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I'm having a problem with my photosuckit app and can't get anything but an autobot response for help.

Rocco34 said:

View attachment 112481

Couldn't do it from ipad.

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Call me crazy... I feel like the front is sitting a smidget higher then the rear. I may just be crazy though...

It looks good though. Torsion bars may be a good next step for it, home made ones only cost about $250 and gets rid of axle wrap completely, which you may have with the blocks in place and..yeah.