79 K10 and lift questions

[Benelli]

I'm saving up money for a diesel, but I've decided I might just pour it into the ol K10 instead.

I have some questions before I start to think about what I really want.

What's the difference between suspension and body lifts?

What's the difference in prces?

Whats the difference in items you have to change, and in difficulty of installation?

Which "performs" better off road?

What do you need to generally change when you're lifting a truck?

How do you decide how large of tires you can fit?

Sorry about the mass of questions, but this really is the only site that I can get information that I trust.

[84 400]

Okay first off what do you want to get outta the lift???

You going for the "look or are you actually gonna wheel it??

What type of wheeling do you do?? mud or trail stuff?

Body lift will be cheapest but i personally hate them. they look tackey to me and i don't like the added stress on the body mounts. They are good for a street truck and or to gain clearace for bigger meats. I mostly see body lifts on mud trucks or pavement rigs. Most agree the biggest body lift they will do is 3 inch.

some like a combo of small body lift around 1 to 2 inch and a small suspension... Again a personal preference thing.

Okay off road I think everyone will agree lift suspension for the best performance. You want a suspention that has "flex" in other words It needs to give and allow articulation to keep from lifting tires. I like tuff country front springs and a shackle flip in the rear. The rear flip lets you retain the factory springs which will outflex rear lift springs.. There are many different combos out there to mix match parts or you can by the whole kit from a company. It is all up to your budget. I suggest searching on here. Look into DIY4X and ORD for flip kits if that's what you want.

The size of the lift will determine what needs changed.. I like 4 inch to 5 inch but that is just me. The reason is I like the lower Center of gravity for a dual purpose rig like mine.

Things to consider are
Drive shaft angle
brake lines
Steering correction
ect.

Difficulty of installation is all dependent on your know how and ability. If you have tools and a place to work nether are hard to do. Go on Skyjacker or tuff countries website and download the PDF file of instillation instructions. That will let you know.

As for tire fitment there are various charts all across the web. ck5 has a good one (Colorado K5). they have alot of good info on there. Also if your gonna run a bigger tire and beating it hard you may consider an upgrade to 3/4 or 1 ton axles to reduce breaking.

Here is my set up....
4 inch front tough country springs ( got em free with a frame i resold to make back what i paid) New they go for around 250-300

ORD extended brake lines

ORd steering box brace

Raised steering arm

DIY4X Shackle flip and 4.5 inch cross tied shackles

Rancho front shocks and reused rears

that's about it.. with new bushings and hardware i would have to say i got about 600 or so in my suspension and am clearing 34' super swampers. A full leaf spring supention from say skyjacker will run you 7-800 bucks maybe and includes everything with rear springs. You could get rear lift blocks or rear lift springs for around 500-600...

I could give you more info but this is a start. Do a bunch of research that's what i did! check out off road design and DIY4x. Check out Tuff country, Skyjacker, Rough country, super lift..... Decide what you want outta the truck in the end and others can give you advice on how to get there. Remember there are a ton of different ways to go about lifting a truck depending on what you want.

I am sure others can add more to this but do some searching it will help you a lot

[Benelli]

Thanks for the reply. This truck will be doing mostly mud running stuff, but there are some trails around here, but I'm sure there not much of anything. I'm really leaning towards suspension lifts because i have never liked the idea of throwing blocks of iron under your leaf springs and calling it a lift.

Would it be worth keeping the stock half-ton axles? Or would it be a smarter idea to go to a D-44 or something similar?

[70 beast]

a dana 44 would be an upgrade but not by a whole lot. ten bolts and d44 are real similar but ive herd the d44 is the better of the 2. you can find a 3/4 or 1 ton rear and just upgrade the d44 outers to 3/4 tone outers if you dont wanna upgrade to a d60.

[Benelli]

What would be a decent 3/4 ton axle for the rear? I don't think I really need a D-60 as I'm not running 40 inch tires or slopping threw small lakes.

It's more a daily driver with capability and will be driven hard on the weekends.

[84 400]

Well for a 3/4 rear you have the 14 bolt semi Float. Or the 14 full float (much better axle).

I am still 6 lug and plan to stay that way for a while. I am running 34's and have not had an issue. I also don't just floor it in the woods.........

I would not bother going to a half ton D44 even tho you can later change to 8 lug outers. Not worth the time to me.