shocks and lifts?

[yotasoldier]

I have this 1987 truck with old shocks that need to be replaced, what brand is a good one to use since I will be using the truck more for daily driving but would like them to be good for off road? I plan to put 33's on truck, what kind of lift would be needed to make this happen? The truck will be used for daily driving mostly! Thank for all the help:lol:

[85yotto]

A good 3" lift should do just fine for 33"s. as for shocks that’s up to you, I mean of course you will need them to be long enough but out side of that it is kind of just depends on your budget and how soft or stiff of a ride that you want. shocks very in price any where from $35 bucks per shock to $200+ per shock so really it's more of what you want to spend. Sorry that it's not much help, but I will tell you this, don't spend the extra money for a shock boot. The boot is only for looks and really it traps water and dirt to your shock and helps rust out the shock. it does not protect the shock at all and in fact it does just the opposite.

[bbagwell]

Yup I never run shock boots. If you want really quality shocks you should get bilstiens, or rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks. I have run trailmaster and explorer pro comp's on my truck. I have been happy with both. Anything was a huge improvement over the completely blown factory shocks though.

[808derek]

85yotto and bbagwell got it right on shocks,but a lift for 33s youll need about an inch bigger. i have a 3inch on mine with 32s and if i were to put 33s on i no it would rub a bit, anyway just to be save i would go with a 4inch lift.plus ive never seen a 3ich lift for an ifs front....well i never did look so i could be wrong to. i would also wait till you lift it to replace the shocks so you dont have to buynew shocks again. oh ya my question is, are you gonna lift the ifs or are you gonna sas?:chicken:

[yota711]

for shocks i would deffinately go blisten's or ranchos...like said before. they make all kinds and im sure they have one in your price range. for the lift, if you plan on daily driving it mostly and not SASing the truck, just go with bj spacers in the front with bigger Tbars. http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BallJointSpacer.shtml . downey and sway-a-way make torsion bars. and for the rear just do a shackle lift. you didnt say anything about a gear change so i wouldnt go with 33's, 32's would be all the bigger i would go without changing gears, and even thats pushing it. good luck..! tell us how it goes...

[yotasoldier]

thanks for all the info, If I wanted to stay the way I am (with stock suspension and 31's) what shock would be best used in my truck? I think as far as the lift that would be done later down the road, I have other things I want to do to the truck before I do that! Thanks guys!

[yota711]

once again its all kind of preference, and what you feel like spending on your truck if you plan on just driving the truck for now, and getting better shocks later then go to the local auto parts store and pick up 4 of their store brand shocks. but here is a good place to start for good aftermarket shocks.

http://www.performanceproducts4trucks.com/productcatalog.aspx?cid=19&sid=62

[yotasoldier]

yota711 thanks fof all the info, my buget is tight, but I know that I need new shocks. I saw the site that you had here and see that the pro comp shocks are nice and in my buget, do you think this would be good? Or is their a better brand for the same amount, I dont want to put cheap shocks becuase I dont know how long they will be on their for, also the fact that when I do go off road, I do not want to brake something becuase I had cheap shocks! Do you know how to take the sag out of the rear of the truck? It seems that the front is taller than the rear and my truck looks like it sags in the rear? Anything I can do to match it up to the front? Thanks!

[yota711]

the only way to get the sag OUT of the truck is new springs. if you want to EVEN out the truck without new springs then when you do the bj spacers (if you do it) to the front, it should add about 1-1/2" of lift to it. i think the shackles i gave the link to are like 2" bigger? i dont know how bad of a sag you have. you can make your own shackles as well, but i dont know of your fabricating skills. that way you could make them exactly how tall you need to compensate for the sag. or you could go with blocks in the rear. they sell those at automotive shops, or you can find them online.

[bodo]

I have cheap and easy solution since it's gonna be a pavement pounder on 33s. A 3" bodylift would do exactly what you want and would be cheap.

I can't wait to catch hell for this one but I am serious.

[808derek]

thats actually a smarty way to go bodo, he can keep his shocks and its a cheaper way to lift, up to him

[jedisdead]

there is a complete 4inch ifs lift for sale here in utah that comes with rear leafs and front diff and all for 200 bucks looks like someone sas and selling the left over ill get the info if you want . or just look in the toyota parts for sale its posted there i just noticed same link

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=2007780&cat=&lpid=

[bbagwell]

I see them on craiglist pretty often as well.

[85yotto]

I hate BL's (body lifts) but he is right it would be the easy ans less $$ way to go and then just do a shackle lift to get the sag up. (shackle lift = 1/2 that of the lift, i.e. 1 1/2" longer only really means 3/4" taller, just FYI) since it's a pavement show/ useless. You should realize that your going to be paying the price for this in gas right? If you do go this route then keep in mind that you should not go cheap on the bolts! You will have to fork over some cash for shocks I would think but maybe not since all it needs to do is get over a speed bump. Can you tell that I don't like street 4x4s? I laugh every time I roll up on a giant truck with 9" of block lift, and every time I want to roll down the window and see if they want to go wheeling so I can watch that pile of crap get cut down to size. (even seen a guy running 7" blocks in the front once) sorry to run off on your thread man. One more thing to keep in mind on a BL is how every thing fits after you put it on, like the fan and the lines running from the fire wall and the steering, brake lines etc.