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tx_pwp5
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2015
- Messages
- 123
- City
- Austin, TX
- Vehicle Year
- 1987
- Engine
- 2.9 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Total Lift
- 4 inches
- Tire Size
- 31x10.50
- My credo
- More auto shenanagans on instagram @waterloocustomworks
Tuff Country 4in lift (1987 Supercab 4x4)
This kit was highly recommended over the rough country due to a better bracket design.
The lift seems like it is of decent quality, but I've got nothing but complaints so far.
First, the instructions are poorly written, and the parts list isn't descriptive enough for my taste. I like to have a clear inventory before I start so I know I'm not missing anything. I would also have preferred that instead of "hardware kit" it actually describe the size/qty of the nuts and bolts, etc. There were no wrench sizes included and none of the bolt head sizes were described, only the thread sizes. Lazy oversight IMO.
The axle drop brackets on mine seemed ok, but the bolt retainer channel that is welded on for the side of the brackets for the camber kit is too thin and looks like it will bend with any big bump. We will see, but I have a feeling I'll be fighting camber adjustments on this thing forever.
The rear most drop brackets for the short torsion bars were drilled incorrectly so I had to mount the rear bolt, then drill new holes in the frame to align with the bracket holes. Using the existing bracket holes as a guide was easier than trying to blindly drill through the brackets or drilling from the inner side of the rail. The holes all matched up otherwise, though the tolerances weren't very strict. Drilling the new holes also required me to cut out all of the bottom portion of my inner wheel well to get the drill where it needed to be.
The front lift fought me at every turn. Twice I did extra work that didn't need to be done due to crappy instructions. Due to an oversight on my part I used the larger bolts in the package for the rear (but still front) axle beam drop down bracket, causing me to drill out the holes to 1/2in and use 4 of the larger bolts that I had to then re-purchase for the other part of the kit. The bolts are only 1 size different so I grabbed them before I noticed. This could have been avoided with a better description in the instructions, but my fault either way.
The rear was even more disappointing.
While the add-a-leaf was easy to install, the thing is so thin that it doesn't provide any actual lift. The only lift I got out of this was the physical width of the add a leaf spring which is just under 1/2 inch. Now I still have to buy new rear leaf springs (or explorer springs). Nothing/Nobody mentioned this could happen, so the extra work and expense sucks.
Finally, I'm still having trouble getting the front end aligned perfectly. The camber still isn't right even with the kit that it comes with. I'm going to keep messing with this and try another alignment shop. I could have a frame issue so I won't blame this completely on the lift just yet. I already had to purchase the 200.00 skyjacker drop pitman arm so I was planning on this thing being straight and flat.
I also somehow have issues getting a straight steering wheel. Might not bother some people, but when everything gets dropped the same 4 inches the thing should be straight. I'll keep looking into this.
In conclusion, the brackets have a better design on this lift, and that is about where I stop the praise. Pretty unsatisfied. Don't love the California look, it was a BI*#$ to install, and I still have to buy more stuff to get it right. I've used two other rough country lifts on other trucks before this (not as "extreme") but they were still much easier to install. I'm almost exactly 2 inches lower in the rear than the front.
Finally, the diagram to re-locate the sway bar and the front brake lines are from a different truck, probably newer. My sway bar never had to be disconnected at all, and I had to detach the front lines to re-locate them. Not a big deal, but I don't think anyone actually likes to bleed brakes so I'm just throwing that in there.
Hope this helps, and hope not everyone had the same experience as me on this.
This kit was highly recommended over the rough country due to a better bracket design.
The lift seems like it is of decent quality, but I've got nothing but complaints so far.
First, the instructions are poorly written, and the parts list isn't descriptive enough for my taste. I like to have a clear inventory before I start so I know I'm not missing anything. I would also have preferred that instead of "hardware kit" it actually describe the size/qty of the nuts and bolts, etc. There were no wrench sizes included and none of the bolt head sizes were described, only the thread sizes. Lazy oversight IMO.
The axle drop brackets on mine seemed ok, but the bolt retainer channel that is welded on for the side of the brackets for the camber kit is too thin and looks like it will bend with any big bump. We will see, but I have a feeling I'll be fighting camber adjustments on this thing forever.
The rear most drop brackets for the short torsion bars were drilled incorrectly so I had to mount the rear bolt, then drill new holes in the frame to align with the bracket holes. Using the existing bracket holes as a guide was easier than trying to blindly drill through the brackets or drilling from the inner side of the rail. The holes all matched up otherwise, though the tolerances weren't very strict. Drilling the new holes also required me to cut out all of the bottom portion of my inner wheel well to get the drill where it needed to be.
The front lift fought me at every turn. Twice I did extra work that didn't need to be done due to crappy instructions. Due to an oversight on my part I used the larger bolts in the package for the rear (but still front) axle beam drop down bracket, causing me to drill out the holes to 1/2in and use 4 of the larger bolts that I had to then re-purchase for the other part of the kit. The bolts are only 1 size different so I grabbed them before I noticed. This could have been avoided with a better description in the instructions, but my fault either way.
The rear was even more disappointing.
While the add-a-leaf was easy to install, the thing is so thin that it doesn't provide any actual lift. The only lift I got out of this was the physical width of the add a leaf spring which is just under 1/2 inch. Now I still have to buy new rear leaf springs (or explorer springs). Nothing/Nobody mentioned this could happen, so the extra work and expense sucks.
Finally, I'm still having trouble getting the front end aligned perfectly. The camber still isn't right even with the kit that it comes with. I'm going to keep messing with this and try another alignment shop. I could have a frame issue so I won't blame this completely on the lift just yet. I already had to purchase the 200.00 skyjacker drop pitman arm so I was planning on this thing being straight and flat.
I also somehow have issues getting a straight steering wheel. Might not bother some people, but when everything gets dropped the same 4 inches the thing should be straight. I'll keep looking into this.
In conclusion, the brackets have a better design on this lift, and that is about where I stop the praise. Pretty unsatisfied. Don't love the California look, it was a BI*#$ to install, and I still have to buy more stuff to get it right. I've used two other rough country lifts on other trucks before this (not as "extreme") but they were still much easier to install. I'm almost exactly 2 inches lower in the rear than the front.
Finally, the diagram to re-locate the sway bar and the front brake lines are from a different truck, probably newer. My sway bar never had to be disconnected at all, and I had to detach the front lines to re-locate them. Not a big deal, but I don't think anyone actually likes to bleed brakes so I'm just throwing that in there.
Hope this helps, and hope not everyone had the same experience as me on this.
