James Duff 3 inch lift

[bronco2fan]

So I was looking online for a suspension lift for my 84 BII. Duff has 2 to choose from. The 600 and 1200 buck ones. My question is which to get? 1200 has new torsion arms and double shocks up front. But no dropped pitman arm. Sold separately lol. Do I need to get the pitman arm for 3 inch lift? Also should I do all new bushings since it'll be apart? Or just get the basic lift without new arms or double shocks? It's not a hard core wheeler. Also will a kit for a ranger fit the BII? And yes I've checked the stickies and searched . The cost really doesn't concern me, just want a good one that looks nice ?

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[BLOODBANE]

Yours doesnt have torsion bars. It is a TTB with radius arms. Duff puts out a good product, so, even the 600 dollar kit would be worth it. I would get that kit with extended Radius arms and the drop pitman (really helps with the steering geometry). If you have it apart I would replace all the bushings (your looking at a 30+ year old vehicle). The extended arms will give you more wheel travel, but are not a necessity for a lift (should come with drop down brackets for the radius arms, as well as all the other brackets). Unless your severe on your driving, I really wouldnt worry about dual shocks. they are nice in some circumstances and look cool, but in my opinion, un-needed unless your bajaing out through the desert. Ultimately is it all up to how much you are willing to spend, and if its worth it to you. Dont expect to ever get your money back out of it, if you ever sell it (you may get lucky though, just dont count on it).

 

[buck119fa]

I've had the Duff stage 1 lift on another Bronco and liked it that being said I wished I had opted to go with the stage 2. I don't do hard off roading with my Bronco either but there were times that I could see where the 2 would have been better in some situations but over all I was happy with the stage 1. The longer radius arms will help in some areas but not really needed. nor the double shocks unless your going to abuse it a little more than normal.
The Bronco I'm building this time is getting the Stage 2 from the beginning and when I do the rear axle change I'll get the rear spring kit from them (stage 3) Its nice that they developed the 3 stages so you can add to it if you wanted and just get the parts you need and not a whole other kit.

I asked the question on the drop pitman arm to their tech support and they stated "some don't need it so we recommend waiting and see before buying" so that's what I'll do right now

I'm getting the stage 2 next week for my build, also ordered all the bushings and parts for the front while I'm doing the lift, the axle will be out so that's a good time to get everything done. Remember longer brake lines also. I'm putting the front axle out of a 94 explorer in mine so yes this kit will work, they are the same for BII, early Rangers and gen1 explorers

 

[4x4junkie]

A drop pitman arm IMO should be mandatory on anything above 2" lift. Whether someone actually thinks their rig needs one or not does not change how the huge variations in toe alignment (bumpsteer) from the jacked-up steering linkage angle greatly shortens the life of your front tires.
A drop pitman arm will pay for itself many times over just in tires alone. Get it.

 

[bronco2fan]

I had planned on ordering the pitman arm just in case anyway. Because you always say to swap it lol. Just trying to decide which one to get is mind boggling.The Duff Stage 2comes with Double shocks , the extended radius arms and all the hardware. Plus I only want to do this once so I want to get the best I can. Thanks for all the input, it's appreciated.

 

[4EyedTurd]

Sounds like you answered your own question.

 

[aspevacek]

I will chime in on th eJames Duf Lift. From 99 thru 2011 I had a Sky Jacker Class 3 6" on my truck. 97 Splash. I had alignment issues from day 1 with the kit ands could never get the alignment spot on. In late 2011 I swapped to the James Duff 5.5" stage 2. During the lift swap I I took notes at how beefy the parts were versus Sky Jacker. I am not in anyway saying Sky Jacker builds a bad kit as I feel it is a good kit over all and they have done many updates to it. The James duff is however a much better product and even the packaging impressed me with how careful everything was boxed. I was able to get the alignment dead on but always had a slight tilt to the steering wheel with the Duff kit, not the lifts problem it was an issue with the Gear box which was a motor craft reman from a ford dealership. well earlier this year I swapped to the Super Runner steering from Super lift and will say the wheel is not straight and the alignment is dead on in spec.

The ride of the james duff kit feels a lot smoother on raoid then the Sky Jacker ever did. I would personally recommend the Duff to any one looking for a Lift for their Range ror Bronco 2 thru 97. I donated the Sky Jacker to a forum member for the cost of shipping.

I woul definitely recommend spending the extra coin for the Stage 2 because of the quality of all the parts combined.