Even the Lift after AAL's
 

Plain and simple....


If I add-a-leaf to my '01 rear leafs, what are my options for lifting the front to match it or even it out?


I did a search yet came across nothing that cut to the chase hahaha


-Phil

add-a-leafs will auctually lower your truck about 1/2 inch (thickness of the leaf) but will prevent the suspension from long travel under a heavy load. the add-a-leafs lower your truck because you have a axle over leaf setup, if you convert to axle under leaf then you will add aprox 4.5-5 inches of lift without your add-a-leaf. but with lifting the front, you can crank up the torsion bars .... https://blazerforum.com/forum/tech-articles-diy-29/how-t-bar-crank-37078/

I just installed a Rough Country 2" susp. lift so I have new rear shackles, but would the shop that I had the kit installed at crank my TBar in order to even out the lift from the shackles and shocks?


And how difficult/expensive is it to convert to an Axle-under setup? I would love to get another 4.5-5" of lift! Haha


-Phil

its pretty much free. i would recomend a longer flexible brake hose that goes from the cross member to the T which splits to each rear wheel. besides that it doesnt cost anything but a few hours

Awesome I might have to try that out...

are there any tutorials or step-by-step instructions on how to do it?





-Phil

no, its pretty much self explanitory. u just remove the brake lines, u bolts on the u-joints, u bolts holding the axle in and e-brake lines and take your axle out then slide it under the leafs and bolt everything back up.

Would this do any harm to the vehicle? Like is it dangerous to do or does it not really change anything except where the axle is placed?




-Phil

other types of vehicles have axle under leaf with no problems. i also was talking to one of my buddies at work about this and he mentioned that the plate that the axle is welded to on the side of the axle between the tube and the leafs would have to be cut off and welded on top of the axle for it to work. i cant believe that i forgot about that step, but yea, if your a OK welder then you should be fine, and if your not then you can bring it to someone who welds and I'm guessing they might charge you about $100, but besides that and a longer brake hose you should be all set, it wont damage any part of your truck by doing this swap what so ever, but the only problem i see is finding a 4 inch front lift to match the rear. you can get 1.5 inches out of your torsion bars without any problems but the other 2.5 inches I'm guessing is going to be a hard and expensive find. Also, please remember to get a alignment after any lift of lowering operation!

I know a guy who teaches an autotech class and would gladly bring my truck in and show his kids how to weld the parts at no cost to me so that's not a problem....

.....now this next question might sound idiotic but I don't know all the specs of my car yet (I'm kind of a beginner when it comes to this) so here comes the dumb part....

What exactly is holding the front of my car up? Like what type of suspension is in the front? I know it can't just be the shocks right?

My one buddy drives a Nissan Pathfinder and he's been looking at sub-frame drops....is there something similar that I could do to the front? Perhaps create some blocks to bolt on somewhere to get that extra 2.5" ?


-Phil

About the only way you can lift the front is very expensive past 1.5 inch. You start getting into dropping the transfer case and torsion bar crossmembers and such. And it gets expensive. I would'nt do the leaf spring swap simply because you can't lift the front near enough to get the height to match the back.

Most of the store bought suspension lifts have you "flip" the leaf springs to the top of the axle to provide the lift and maybe a add a leaf or a small block if it's more than the axle flip allows. Your looking at about $1300 for a 5 inch lift from Trailmaster. That's the cheapest lift that I'm aware of. And I think a 6 inch superlift or BDS suspension 6 inch lift, what most people on here like is about $2000. Install will be about the same price unless you can get a deal or have a friend or some one close that will help you do it.

That's the bad thing about the IFS suspension set-up. It's good for a smooth ride. And the torsion bars never need replacing normally, unlike the older leaf spring/coil spring set-ups like GM used to run on trucks. And the older SFA set-ups were stiffer and had more wear and tear. (Which I don't see how, with replacing CV shafts and boots and A arms, and ball joints, and all that the IFS comes with.)

But that's the only other alternative is to go SFA. Normally this requires getting a axle like a dana 30 from a jeep that has the driveshaft on the driver side instead of the more common passenger side. You hack out all of the IFS front end and weld up leaf spring perches. And swap in a leaf spring set-up like you have in the rear. Now off cource this is A VERY simplified description of the process and it is a bit more detailed but you can find more info here and on other sites. I recommend searching around s10extremist.com for they have abundant info on the tasks of lifting from the torsion bar crank to body lifts to suspension lifts and SFA swaps.

But that's about all I can think of to help you with. I know it's a lot to take in but this is what I have learned in the 2+ years of being obsessed with the s10 blazers.

Well you both seem to really know what you're talking about so I'll take your advice....

I guess for now I'll just live with my 3.5" from the shackles + 31" BFG's hahaha

Whenever these tires go I'm ganna go all out and figure out a way to throw some 38's on it! Lol

Just out of curiosity what consists of an IFS?

-Phil

IFS = independent front suspension, it's what our trucks came from the factory with and it's utter garbage and IMHO 5" and 6" lift kits are WAY overpriced SFA is the way to go take your time collecting parts and looking for deals that is what I have been doing so far I have $700 invested in SFA parts and only lacking brake lines and shocks (and of course the tires) Not touching it until I am 100% confident that I have everything required to have my baby back on the road in 3 days tops.

Yeah I was talking to the mechanic that did my bodylift and gear swap and he said that you could do a SFA swap for about $1000, "If you can find someone that can line up measure and weld that s**t". Something about that line made me think he wouldn't want to do the install, lol. Plus you wouldn't have the limitations of the IFS which you still have with a store bought suspension lift.

The three days thing is gonna be tight. But it can be done. It'd be a solid three days though. Hey, your in Ohio. Only about 5 hours away. You wanna do mine next year? lol.

You should do a write up about the procedure. List of parts needed, suggestion of what model years of jeeps axles are best, etc... I know I'd read it.

Yea I know I'de read it too...

hell I might even take the drive from NJ to OH or WV just to help you guys out and see what I'm getting myself into! hahaha

-Phil

Really it isn't nearly as bad as it used to be sky manufacturing sells a kit weld on front crossmember, weld on perches for rear end of the leafs and everything else is bolt in. I have a list of all compatible axles etc on a disc somewhere I'll dig it out tomorrow and copy the list to here. In my case I found a '90 jeep wagoneer with dana 44 axles (4.27 gear ratio 65.5" wide cast iron housings) front and rear on craigslist for $150 with bad motor and tranny, cut out what I needed and sent the rest to the bailer (which paid me $120 scrap price). Patience while collecting parts is the key to doing it on a budget I been saving and collecting for 14 months and finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Will all be worth it though in the end.