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Cheap ways to lift a 99 Durango?

41K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  layitlows10 
#1 ·
My buddy wants to lift his durango but he's cheap as hell. He wants to run 33s or 35s. What's the best way to do this with very little money?
 
#2 ·
well he could get a bodylift for about 275 i believe. Or he could do a shackle lift for 50-70 bucks depending on where he gets the shackles from. But running 35's is probably not a good idea because the axles wont be able to handle them. if he did the body lift and the shackle lift he could fit 33's no problem. Thats the same setup I have and i only get a tiny bit of rub at full turn.
 
#3 ·
then you're buddy really doesn't want to lift his D.
one thing is to be low on funds...i understand that.
another is to be cheap.
if he really wants to lift his truck...he'll do it.
 
#4 ·
here's what i spent;

3" body lift $280
professional installation $700
3" reindex torsion key $60
installed myself $0 (oh yeah, beer $6)
2" shackles $45
installed myself (another $6)
bfg mud terrian tires $800
procomp Xtreme wheels $440

total i spent was $2325 WITH the tires and wheels (not inculding the beer).
it's not cheap to lift these trucks.
you can save on the body installation if you do it yourself with the help of a buddy.
i just wasn't comfortable doing it myself.
without the wheels and tires it was $1085

this was all done on my 2000 4.7 4x4
 
#7 ·
Just do a search I used the beltech 6400 i believe. if you go to the do it yourself section there is a really good walkthrough wit hall the info you need.
 
#8 ·
The body lift is a PITA to install. I had a professional shop install mine as well, and they told me it was a pain in the ass. It was so bad they said they will not install another one on a Durango. Just a heads up...

I too am running the 3" PA body lift and the t/s lift, running on 33" Firestone Destination M/T tires, and I absolutely LOVE the lift!
 
#9 ·
D72Gladiator what made you go with 3" reindex torsion key???? I have the 2" belltech's the 3'' PA body lift and 33's

Did you go with those to stay away from cranking the stockers up???
 
#10 ·
i wanted that Southern California look...you know...that off road baja look with the front lifted higher than the rear. that was the real reason. to me...it looks a lot more aggressive.
so, it's actually just a little over 3" F, and 2" R.

oh...and about the body lift...like qtipextra mentioned, it was a real pain to install. the 4x4 shop i had it at, had my D for a week...just to install it properly. they said they would definitely start charging 1k to install these lifts.
they actually lost money with keeping my D for over a week.
 
#11 ·
You have any pic's?????...................I don't know man the PA Acc 3" body lift took me about a day total. I started at 5:30 after work on a fri and finished on sat about 3:30 and that was ALL me I had some friends that said yea we'll be there but never showed.........I did have my girfriend help some a bit with the rear bumper bolts because she has got smaller hands then me.

how hard were the keys to put up???
 
#12 ·
darn...so maybe they ripped me off and kept my truck for a week.
actually they've only done one before...and that was on a 99.
i don't know if there's much of a difference.
i was thinking of giving it a try myself...but decided not to.
oh well, what's done is done.

about the keys...
it wasn't too hard...just used my buddies jaw gear puller, 1/2inch drive metric socket set with breaker bar, and some WD-40 a day before removal.
i'm pretty sure that was it.
i'll try to take some pics maybe tomorrow or the day after.
 
#13 ·
i got my body lift for 212 from 4wheelparts.com and installed it myself. took me 10 hrs, and it was a pain at times, but for a shop to say "i'll never do another one" is weak. I did with everyday tools. go with sdpd2000 for the beltech 6400. al they are is a set of 3" drop shackles from a silverado that we use the other way around on our durangos.
 
#14 ·
Ya I was able to do it myself and at the time I was only 17 like your friend. So if he knows a little bit about his durango or cars in general he should be able to do it. It took me a whole weekend but it was worth it.
 
#17 ·
the torsion bars are easy. Lift the front of the D follow the torsion bars back to a cross member. you will see 2 large bolt heads. those are what you need to tighten to raise the front.
 
#20 ·
you wont need an impact, you just need to put some ass behind them. Use a canned solution like PB Blaster to loosen up the bolt. I did mine by hand with a 3/4" ratchet.
 
#23 ·
That was probably the difference there. I didn't use anything to try and loosen the bolt, and it was a pain. Oh well, I made the impact do it for me, so I didn't break a sweat after I started using it.

The shackles were not bad at all to install, the biggest pain was putting the hitch back on, only because the sucker is awkward.
 
#21 ·
Hey I am new to lifting, how do you install a Body lift kit??? I am pretty good with car suspension (i can lower a honda in an hour) but iam new to trucks and lifts. anybody have any advice??
 
#22 ·
get yourself a good floor jack, alot of extesnions. your gonna want to use a 3/4 drive ratchet. until you have to install the new radiator brackets. the front and rear bumper were a pain in the ass.
 
#24 ·
i probably should have used an impact at some point. there are a few bolts that made turning that ratchet a pain.
 
#25 ·
i lifted mine the same way over a year ago. 3" performance accessories body lift, the belltech shackles and cranking the torsions. everything was done by my cousin and i. mostly i. removing the rear bumper and cranking the torsions were the only things that kinda sucked. we just slapped on some wd-40 and used a breaker bar and they started to turn fairly easy. body lift is pretty easy. just read the instructions a few times til you understand exactly what you have to do. then just go step by step and knock it all out. note: you have to weld in an extension for your transer case shifter. im running 34s and havent had a single problem. its my daily ride. off road religiously and have put over 12k since the lift.
 
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