where to start

I have a 88 W150 with a 6" lift and 36" tires. When most lift kits state thay they come with replacement rear springs, they do, but you still have to use the factory block. My Skyjacker kit came with replacement springs(not lift blocks, which would require stacking the blocks), and i still had to use the facroty block. You can get springs that have a total 6" of lift, but they usually have to be bought seperate from the lift kit.

You can fit 35's with a 4 inch kit, but they will rub the fenders while turning and under suspension flex. So I went with the 6" kit to fit 36 or 35 inch tires.

I put 4.56 gears in the axles, along with an Auburn posi in the rear. I do a lot of on-road driving with this truck, so I didn't put a traction device in the front. In the rear,a posi is fine for me. You might want some sort of "ez-locker" in the rear.

While I have not yet grenaded the CAD system yet, I have heard it is rather weak. The main problem is not activating at all, due to low or leaking vacuum lines. I am going to install a cable actuated system soon.

 

I had an 88 150 shortbed with a fuel injected 318. I put on 6in suspension and 3 in body. I first ran 38.5-14.5-15 swamper sx's, which would rub when entering ditches and what not. I left the gears and motor stock. With a 4 spd, I kept breaking yokes at the transfer case. After beefing them up to GM ton yokes, I broke my output shaft on my NP 435 twice! They are weak where they taper down into the NP 245 transfer. I also ran a set of 35x14.5x15 boggers. They were about right for the all stock set up because I could pull 3rd in low side. I never broke my 44 besides going through several outer u-joints and stub axles on the driver side. I traded that truck for one identicle ( same lift and all)besides its a 91 with a 518 AOD. I ran a set of Q78's on it. Lots better set up no complaints yet. I am in the process right now of putting a dana 60 with a power trax locker and a GM 14 bolt with a detroit locker, both with 4:56 gears under it. I love my early dodges, saving up for a 402 crate motor!

 

YIKES. I have heard of breaking drive shafts and U joints before.
It can usually be traces to too tall a tire and stock gears.
I think 35" meats and about a 4-6" lift would make my truck look bad to the bone. That is my goal but not without expense. That will take at least 4.10:1 gears and I would want a locker at least in the rear.

 

If you dont want any body lift, I recommend you run the 6 in suspension with 35's. 4:10's would be about right for them also. Here are a few (crapy) pics of my 91 with 6in suspension and 3 in body with Q78x16 Swampers. (36x9.50)

 

Great pictures Dude!!

Good looking rig! Even with a coat of fresh mud!
To be honest I am not 100% sure of the purpose of a body lift as apposed to a suspension lift. Can you clarify?
I have heard about breaking xfer boxes on some of the later models trucks that I why I looked for a older model. My Ramcharger has a NP208T part time case and it is suppose to be one of the best OEM part time cases made. You can also upgrade them with a kit that has a bigger (wider) chain to make them even stronger.
(little story)
My dad had a '76 Power Wagon Dodge truck that I worshiped. It had a 360 and that thing was unstoppable.
Since those days I always wanted a Dodge 4x4 but couldn't find one I could afford. I have had 2 Ford 4x4. A '89 Bronco and a '89 F-150. I took good care of them but they STAYED BROKEN!!! Always major problems (tranny fell out of the Bronco a year after I bought it) I never did any rough riding in them, I always eased them throught things on the trail when I got a chance to do a little off roading. BUT, they stayed broken so much I was afraid to get too far back in the woods because I might be walking home. The final straw was when the F-150 cracked the block and started dumping water in the oil. (well maintained, plenty of antifreeze, never abused) By that time I was so PISSED at Fords I sold the truck for junk and started hunting a Dodge. I looked at a lot of absolutely WORN OUT Dodge trucks and was amazed at what the high asking price was. Usually they was in good condition mechanically but things like interior, or electrical or rust turned me off. I ran across this Ramcharger that had a for sale sign in the window for $2800. For that low price I expected it to be typically like the other junk I had looked at. But surpisingly it was in excellent condition. It needed very little so I snagged it. Now I have since had it painted and decided to 'restore' it to like new condition cosmetically. Now the high mileage 318 has been replaced by a torque making 360 and larger meats and a lift will really make this thing stand out.
Thank you Lord! This Dodge is a keeper!

 

I feel for you man, thanks for testing out those Fords, so I didnt have to do it! LOL! I would have to say that the 208 is one of the best chain transfers made. Being around several buddys, mostly running chevrolets, they have tortured the 208's time and time again. Even have friends running them with big blocks. The only weak spot I see in them is the case. They will crack under sever abuse, AND I mean sever. I have a friend with a built 355 probably ball parking 400 horse, with a four speed. With Q78's like mine, he would back up on a blacktop as fast as he could and throw his tranny in 2nd gear and side step it up around 4500 or so. It would leave the neatest posi fish hooks you ever seen, and long ones. I think the beer probably had a little to to with this abuse. After about 5 times of this, his transfer started leaking ATF. It was cracked. He just filled it up with gear oil and still drove it for several weeks like that. Where you are running an automatic, I see you having NO problems with your 208. I suprisingly have been impressed with my 241, NO problems yet from it. Of course im not turning any horse power either, atleast no till santa hopefully visits!

 

Had big power in a MoPar before........

I have worked on MoPars since I was 19 years old. (36 now) I have had several big block B bodies cars in the 80s including 2 Plymouth GTXs with 440s. My last MoPar car was a '69 Coronet with a 10:1 383. I built that one for excellent power and good gas mileage. It got 16 MPG on the hwy and that is pretty good considering it was rated for 14 MPG when it was new. I had always believe that POWER and mileage could go hand in hand if you carefully chose your parts and didn't lose sight of your performance goals and didn't go hog wild looking for power. My performance goal was a potient street car that eat Mustangs and Camaros for lunch and still get descent mileage. And it did. It got good mileage and was extremely FAST. But it was a hot rod still. It had to have 92 octane or it wouldn't run. It was noisy because of the headers and chambered mufflers and 2.5" exhaust tubing. When premium gas shot up to $1.60 a gallon around here I knew my hot rod days were coming to an end. The car was a thrill to drive but it was just an impractical toy in reality. I sold it earlier this year.
Now a more practical vehicle lives alone in my driveway. The ole Ramcharger. It runs well on 87 octane and can haul or pull anything I like. I have seen as high at 13 MPG on the highway, but adverage is 11-12 MPG. There is more to be had. My performance goals is in a way having my cake and eating it too.
I have had many people tell me that many of the new Dodge 4x4s with a 360 only get 13-14 MPG adverage. They are fuel injected and computer controlled. If I can match or better those numbers that would be a great victory. I believe I can because I still have a few tricks up my sleve.

 

I hac a 99 sport shortbed 4x4 with the 360. The best I got was 14 to 15, usually averaged around 12. The only mods I had was upsized tires, (285's) and flowmaster exhaust. My 2000 Z71 wasent much better. It averaged around 15 or so with the 5.3 befor I lifted it. Then I got around 11 with it. I sold it a while back and bought a ZR2 S-10. I sunk alot of money in my Z71 from 6in superlift, chrome Nitro wheels with 35x12.50x16 swamper SSR radials. It had lots of extras including a good mark cowl hood. With the extra money Im saving on payments, Im saving up for a 402 crate motor for my 91 dodge. I sold my Q78's and will be posting my chrome Alba wheels for sale as soon as I get them cleaned up. Next week I start on the axle swap. Today I removed my dana 44, leaving a empty space for the hog dana 60. I will have to get some new wheels, and I want to run some sort of 38 in swamper.

 

question

would that look like my truck if i added that 6" lift and 3" body? heres a link

http://www.dodgetalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1271

 

if it was me, i'd put a part-time 44 in the front w/ warn hubs and get a np205 tranfer case. that what a lot of the old powerwagons had, and as you know they were pretty much bulletproof.

 

I was recently poking around the skyhacker site, and noticed this. If you want to eliminate the rear block (which contributes to axle wrap, driveline weirdness, and u-joint destructions), heres a possible solution. Go with a six inch FRONT spring set, and purchase an eight inch rear lift. add a 1 inshc add a leaf, and, wellah...you should be level.. The 6 inch lift totals about 5.5 inch according to specs, the 8 inch runs about 7.5. The rear stock blocks in a dodge are 3 inshces, the 1 inch add a leaf would accomodate that nicely, unless my math is way off. From what Ive seen shopping around. Skyjacker or superlift is the only way to go with a dodge. All the other sites either dont supply for trucks that old. or the kits and systems just arent as well put together. I read an article in one of the 4 wheel mags, and stock height, the tallest tires you can run without rubbing (allowing for little or no spring sag) is a 34 inch tire on most dodge bodies. a 2 inch body lift would accomodate that initself, but, hey, if your axles scraping....OUt of the box (stock) from my observation, you cant beat a dodge for trail readiness. Once my front axle was good to go, (no lockers or posi anywhere) I was able to pull 60 degree slopes at an idle (it was scary stomping on it) with 31 inch tires with a decent mud tread. Another nice thing about dodges, is the distance between springs, allows you to turn inside any other comparable sized truck from the same year range, by as much as a ten foot reduction in radius. With a little thought and work, you could probably knock another five feet off, just by re-arranging backspacing, tire size, and your steering stops on your front axle. so have fun, and remember, when everyone else is driving like a rock, youll be out actually driving, if you take care of your truck

 

Hey, the latest developments is a bought a complete 360 MAGNUM out of a '94 van. It is complete with all the accessories and I plan to transplant it into the Ramcharger.
I am waiting on a MP dual plane intake for it (expensive) and then a drop in.
This is too cool because I have been wanting to get better mileage and wanted to swap to a serpentine belt setup for the accessories. I scored EVERYTHING for $550.
Pulled the pan and EFI intake off for an inspection and there was no gum or sludge buildup anywhere. I have never seen a well used engine this clean. There were no oil leaks anywhere and this can be attributed to the excellent gaskets the magnum engines use. Much, much better than the 3 peice oil pan gaskets that were prone to leak no matter how careful you were about assembly.
I am going to top it off with a ThermoQuad carb.
I firmly believe the Carter ThermoQuad is the absolute best designed carb ever. It will run just as sweet on a 318 as it will on a 440 and give you excellent low end and gas mileage.
I have doubled my efforts in finished up all the details on the Ramcharger because my wife and I have decided to sell her Toyota Camry (YES! No car payment!) and she will drive the RC back and forth to work. This is good because the RC it is PAID FOR and it doesn't get driven much because I drive a company vehicle most of the time.
She said she will miss the power locks, windows, and the CD player in her Camry. WELL, what is stopping me from converting the RC to power locks and windows and adding a CD. She thinks it is too noisy too. Hmm, new door and window vent seals on the way! It is funny the things I wouldn't do for myself I jump at the chance to do for my wife. I guess that makes it ligit in a way.

 

lol, my brother had a 72 w100 power wagon with a 360 interceptor block. It was running a carter thermoquad, which worked excellent. We rebuilt the engine and tranny, and dropped everything back in. With the new cam though, we gutted the thermoquad :O..literally sucked apart from the inside out. We dropped a 750 holley on it, and wow, new carb = new truck..lol (not pushing hollies, though) We found that, not only would the thing lunge of the ground in first and second, the thing got somehting like 22 miles to the gallon on highway....
In my 73 W00, with a carter AFB 500 cfm on a 318, I found i could easily coax 17 on the highway, and somewhere around 14 or 15 around town. I ended up dropping an edelbrock 600 cfm 1405 on it, becasue finally the AFB gave it up. I dropped the hammer on it one day in a parking lot, and touched down in the middle of the street, fortunately, I was facing the driveway, and no pedestrians happened along as I cleared the sidewalk from about ten feet back, and no cars were coming either. Of course, I promptly reverted to citizen driving mode, and quickly made my way home... The best mpg I was able to get out of the edelbrock, was about 15 to 16, but that was still pretty good for a 30 year old truck. Note, the edelbrock also tuned in so nice, you could french kiss the exhaust. you couldnt smell exhaust at all. I never had it smogged, but it was a super clean burning set up.
Now tell me, why the heck do they need all this clean air garbage when with a little care, you can beat the mileage, and breathe at the same time without killing trees?

 

4x4

Hey Doc,
I think you need to visit "shaggys offroad". They are Dodge suspension experts. They can set you up witht he best parts around. I use them and they work. I would go with a 4:56 gear and a limited slip along with your 35' tires. Remember tho once you do this change you have to run larger tires or you'll run real high revs on the highway. You need a LS diff because if you ever pull a boat, drive in the mud,ice or snow it can be a real bear without one. If you go to Shaggy's tell em "High Mobility" sent ya!!
Good luck.
highmobilityinc.com :rck:

 

i got a 87 ram with 35 10.5 boggers and broke alot of stuff. your best bet is find a 3/4 ton front and rear end with 4.10 gears. as for the lift get rid of the blocks. buy a 6 inch lift for the front and a 10 inch for the rear because this will make up for the 4 inch factory block.

 

I agree with racerdave talk to shaggys offroad