Rough Country 4" Lift question

[Shock_Me]

Hi all,

I just installed a new Rough Country 4" all spring lift on my 72 Blazer. It's currently sitting about 2" higher in the back giving it an obvious raked look. Does anyone know if the back will settle down a bit over time? Sorry, I don't have a pic at the moment, but I will try to post one later.

[sweetk30]

worst lift kit to buy in my opinion . the springs are stiff as hell and dont sag out much at all if ever . there is a reason there crap is so cheep . i will only remove these kits never install them .

sorry for my harsh opinion on there stuff . i have seen there crap way to much and the lack of quality and downgrading hardware size and omitting stuff every other brand of lift kit includes is scary stuff . . . .

my friend had a full rough country all spring kit in a long bed truck . he loaded the box up with cut/split fire wood nice and neat to the top of the cab line and even the tailgate was down with a full load on it . the truck might have come close to squatting maybe 3/4 of a inch . he finally had me pull the kit and install a set of 4" tuff country front springs and new stock rear with 4" flip kit from offroad design and said this truck was not even the same for road ride and offroad flex .

[Shock_Me]

THanks for the info. I bought this kit about 15 years ago for a project I didn't finish, and I figured since I had it laying around I would put it into service on my Blazer. Hope they were a little bit better made back then lol!

[sweetk30]

thats how old or older his kit was .

best you can do is good shocks over the basic lift kit ones .

and try pulling a lower leaf on each side in the rear to drop it some .

[ManNamedJed]

Put some weight in the back and look for a bouncy road to drive down. It might settle.

If not, pull a leaf and see how it sits.

[Mike C]

What if anything have you decided to do?

I have a SuperLift 4” kit we installed in my kid’s Jimmy it is also stink-bug high in the back. I measured and re-measured and vendor even supplied me with a set of RoughCountry springs which are identical to the SL’s. Which doesn’t surprise me since they are the same company I’m pretty sure.

But the shocks that come in the kit are too short to reach with the springs in the kit, and the driveshaft is WAY too short as well. I am on the fence about solutions.

A) pull the overload and the lower leaf and re-assemble with new spring pin and the angle wedge.

B) Shackle reversal from OffRoad Design and go back to the OEM rear springs.

C) Run a 2 1/2” block with OEM springs. (I HATE blocks FWIW, having all sorts of troubles with them and my own Jimmy back in the day.)

D) Buy brand new 2 1/2” lift springs for the rear.

I hate throwing money at a project, but right now I am leaning towards the new springs. I have Ranch 4” springs on the front of my Jimmy and 4” lift 52” springs in the rear and it is two inches lower from the top of spring plate to bumpstop mount on my truck.

[jeffahart]

Mike C

Honestly, I would be tempted to do the block and run it. I've never had trouble with blocks. Now I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth because I'm running an ORD shackle flip for 4" lift. I think the shackle flip will give you rear spring options galore, and you could combine with a zero rate for leveling if needed. I am running the zero rate to move axle back 1" and I get an additional 1" lift for leveling... I really like the stance.

And on leveling. It seems like every lift I've gotten my trucks squats in the rear. Yours seems to be different. I'm wondering about your spring perches. Are they stock?

And I've never had issues with a rear shaft on a 4" lift. Maybe someone got the wrong shaft before you got the rig.

I think of you get a flip, you might get more spring options for cheaper rear springs. Maybe even free from someone.

Good luck

j

[Mike C]

Both my Jimmy and my kids have semi-float 14 bolts swapped in from mid 80’s Suburbans. I made a jig to move the perches on mine and used the same jig to do his. Both re-used the factory GM mounts. Both have had the perch redrilled to move the axle back 1”.

I have the original springs from his truck so we can go back with those. And we might. The block setup certainly the least expensive route.

Since I have 2 trucks setup the same way, it is easy to compare what is and what should be. Because the driveshaft doesn’t fit, back of the truck is higher than my truck with 35’s and it’s sitting on 32’s, and the shocks that came with the kit are too short all suggest the spring is wrong. Which is the same experience the OP was having.

I like all springs. I will probably just buy some 2” springs, but may swap the OEM ones back in the truck just to take measurements.

[Mike C]

I bought the 2" Rough Country springs. I took the overload and the wedge from the 4" lift springs and made a new pack. The truck is REALLY close to level now. Maybe 1/2" lower than I would like in the back. I may remove the two lowest leaves in the front which are hardly more than zero rates anyway once we get it all together and finalize its stance.

[cadillac_al]

I think aftermarket springs are made for off-roading. When you load all your gear in the back you don't want it to be sagging. When you are riding empty it's like any other truck with the rear in the air.

[Mike C]

I have a set of 4" springs in the back of my Jimmy I put in circa 1990. They raised the truck 4".... These new springs aren't any where close to 4" lift. Neither pair. Both are HD truck springs. If I climb my 200# up on the trailer hitch, it might sag 1/4". Loaded all of the old parts and spare parts in the back of the truck and it was still too high.

Too high to work with the stock driveshaft and too high to work with the 4" shocks that came with the kit. Something with these springs is whacked IMO.

[sweetk30]

Originally Posted by Mike C

Something with these springs is whacked IMO.

rough country thats what . there is a reason there so cheep .

[Mike C]

I think the first kit I got was Superlift but they don't make that kit anymore so the replacements were the RC. The Rough Country stuff seems to be made just fine. Long term we will see.

[Vanblindguy]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

worst lift kit to buy in my opinion . the springs are stiff as hell and dont sag out much at all if ever . there is a reason there crap is so cheep . i will only remove these kits never install them .

sorry for my harsh opinion on there stuff . i have seen there crap way to much and the lack of quality and downgrading hardware size and omitting stuff every other brand of lift kit includes is scary stuff.

This is a tough comparison because for a front spring/rear block kit your comparing a $450ish (RC) kit to a $1450ish (TC) kit.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Vanblindguy

This is a tough comparison because for a front spring/rear block kit your comparing a $450ish (RC) kit to a $1450ish (TC) kit.

Price always makes a good point for comparison here. $1,400ish will get you the full TC kit including rear springs and shocks. The kit with rear blocks is more like $675. But I went cheap with Superlift 4" (front) springs on my '72 K2500 because at that time it was buy those or keep on waiting. I regret that I didn't keep on waiting. I saved money by using Add-A-Leafs on the rear with 2" blocks I already had. So cheapest possible 4" lift. More like initially cheapest possible 4" lift turned expensive, since I can't wait to spend the money on EZ-ride fronts and either a shackle flip in the rear or splurge on rear springs. I have used Tuff country all around on a few trucks and they all had rides I was very pleased with. With these Superlifts on the front I'm concerned something will break. It feels like no give at all. I never heard my hood jar going over bumps before now. Buy direct through Suspension Connection for best prices on TC.

My Superlifts came from National Tire in Wheeling, WV. They are listed as the suspension special, no brand given due to lower than retail price. I was happy to see the were Superlift from my positive prior experience. Maybe it's the shocks. I think I got gas

I ran Superlift 4" springs on an '84 Chevy back before the notion of good riding lift springs and I remember that truck riding nicely. Maybe it wasn't that great, but I definitely don't remember a terribly harsh ride. I feel gas shocks ride tighter than hydraulic in hiway use, so I ran Heckathorn hydraulic shocks, not gas. Gas shocks came about for off road racing to prevent cavitation due to hot oil after constant repeated cycling over the harshest roads at high speed. I don't do that with my trucks, so hydraulic is better for my uses.