Finally finished my 2" rear lift

[Mike H.]

I finally got around to it today. I've had all the parts put together for some time. My objective all along was to do a small lift ALL AROUND (I prefer the rake look). I did the PRG lift on the front awhile back, which gave me between 2" and 2.5" up front. So I chose 2" on the rear as well, and added 2" untapered steel blocks, flipped and upsized the u-bolts (to 5/8" Grade 8), and got new shocks. I flipped the u-bolts because I think it gives a cleaner look to the rear axle.

I built the blocks myself using two pieces of 6"x2.5"x1" thick steel plate welded all around, plus a 9/16 solid rod welded down the center to act as the centering pin. I got the steel from a contractor for free as a favor, so other than the time cutting and welding, these were more or less free. I think I may have paid about $1 for two 4" long 9/16 bolts, which I cut off the head and threaded portions of to make the 9/16 centering pins.

I had the 5/8" U-bolts and 3/8" thick spring top plates custom made to my specs for $86 delivered, by these guys: http://www.customsuspension.com/Products.php . I welded the factory bump stop to the new top plates (since it previously clamped on top), as you can see in one of the pics.

The shocks I went with are Rancho RS5000, part #RS5269. They are 16.5" compressed, 27.25" extended and 10.75" travel. Rancho lists them for the rear of '99-current GM 1/2-ton 4x4's with a 4" lift, '02-current Dodge 1/2-ton 4x4's, Hummers, and a couple of others. I got them from Summit for $87 delivered: http://www.summitracing.com/landing/truck/ . The tops fit perfectly. On the bottoms I had to use two 9/16 washers to make up for the slightly narrower lower bushings.

A note on the factory off-road rear shocks: They are TOO SHORT from the factory, even without a lift! They only extend to 24". When I jacked up my truck and first let the axle free-hang before disassembly, they supported the axle. When I took them off, I found that the axle will hang a little lower (to about 25" between shock mounting eyes). Keep that in mind if you are doing heavy off-roading. If you are doing even a very small rear lift, you need new shocks.

I will post pics of the overall truck in a few days once it is clean, and its not raining outside. But here are a few of the parts close-up.

[Mike H.]

Well, here is one rainy and dirty picture of it. It is not supposed to stop raining here for some time.

[ensclark]

Mike, That looks good! Nice job on it.

[Prlauren]

I was thinking about doing that myself till I heard about the shock! Very nice job looks good! I was wondering though about why the stock shocks don't move that far.....Is their a reason for it? If the rear end drops to far off-roading with the new shocks, will this slide the driveshaft out to far from the tranny? I'm interested to know?

[smoothTitan]

all i can say is perfection!!!!!. i was actually gonna have my prg spacers cut down a little, but aftet those pics maybe i should just raise the rear a little. i have never messed with leaf springs or blocks, how difficult was it? also would you oppose to using the aluminum blocks from like autozone, i checked those out but the feel pretty light and not really like aluminum?

[Mike H.]

Originally Posted by Prlauren

I was thinking about doing that myself till I heard about the shock! Very nice job looks good! I was wondering though about why the stock shocks don't move that far.....Is their a reason for it? If the rear end drops to far off-roading with the new shocks, will this slide the driveshaft out to far from the tranny? I'm interested to know?

I think Nissan just dropped the ball a little on the off-road package. I have no idea about the length of the non-offroad shocks. Anybody checked them out yet?

As far as the driveshaft, with the length of these trucks, the drive shaft angle and drop is really not an issue.

[Mike H.]

Originally Posted by smoothTitan

all i can say is perfection!!!!!. i was actually gonna have my prg spacers cut down a little, but aftet those pics maybe i should just raise the rear a little. i have never messed with leaf springs or blocks, how difficult was it? also would you oppose to using the aluminum blocks from like autozone, i checked those out but the feel pretty light and not really like aluminum?

I would absolutely NOT use any of the Autozone or similar products. They are light duty. The u-bolts are small diameter and are not Grade 8, and those cast aluminum blocks are too small and are fragile. If you want to do it, put it all together with good parts, or wait for PRG to start selling his rear kits. I'm sure they will be premium. I wanted plate steel so I could weld them (eventually, after warranty period) to the axle pads for a stronger system. I also wanted to flip my u-bolts for a cleaner bottom look.

As far as actually doing it, you have to be careful not to overstress the brake lines on the driver side. You can't lower that side of the axle down low enough to slip in the block. So I compressed the leaf spring with a pair of c-clamps to raise it as well until I could slip in the block. Otherwise no problems.

[Quad T]

Originally Posted by Mike H.

Mike, nice job, truck looks great, and great pics too I might add.

Can I ask a question? Your pic above shows rather clearly the "bracket" the lower end of the shock bolts into. Now I know the Titan is very well built from a structural/strength point of view, I mean after all they did give it a towing capacity of nearly 10,000 pounds, however, every time I look at that bracket it just seems too light weight and wimpy to me. Does the shock not take a huge load, is that why that thin metal is strong enough?

[QWIKWHIP]

Originally Posted by Mike H.

Well, here is one rainy and dirty picture of it. It is not supposed to stop raining here for some time.

Wow! That looks like the perfect stance. I have one really big favor to ask though. Could you whenever you get a chance take a measurement from the ground to the highest point of the truck. My biggest concern is that my truck must be able to fit in my standard garage door. And this setup looks tall enough to look lifted but not too tall to still fit in my garage. Thanks in advance.

[Mike H.]

Originally Posted by QWIKWHIP

Wow! That looks like the perfect stance. I have one really big favor to ask though. Could you whenever you get a chance take a measurement from the ground to the highest point of the truck. My biggest concern is that my truck must be able to fit in my standard garage door. And this setup looks tall enough to look lifted but not too tall to still fit in my garage. Thanks in advance.

The truck is too hard to measure, but here are some pics to help you judge. I have a standard 7' door opening. After the molding at the top, I have a little less than 83" clear. I have about a 2" step coming onto the garage slab from the driveway, so that helps a little keeping the rear wheels low until the high part of the truck is through the opening. There is a lot of space. It's roughly 77"-78" tall. I could go to 35's and still fit in mine. Hope this helps.

[Mike H.]

Originally Posted by Quad T

......... Now I know the Titan is very well built from a structural/strength point of view, I mean after all they did give it a towing capacity of nearly 10,000 pounds, however, every time I look at that bracket it just seems too light weight and wimpy to me. Does the shock not take a huge load, is that why that thin metal is strong enough?

The shock does see a good bit of load, but it is in-line with the shock body, not lateral. The bracket does look mousy, but there is no side to side load on it. It is boxed at the bottom, which is not shown in the pic. It would be thicker if I had made it......

[Quad T]

Originally Posted by Mike H.

It would be thicker if I had made it......

I hear ya man, I hear ya!

Thanks for the reply/insight.

[QWIKWHIP]

Originally Posted by Mike H.

The truck is too hard to measure, but here are some pics to help you judge. I have a standard 7' door opening. After the molding at the top, I have a little less than 83" clear. I have about a 2" step coming onto the garage slab from the driveway, so that helps a little keeping the rear wheels low until the high part of the truck is through the opening. There is a lot of space. It's roughly 77"-78" tall. I could go to 35's and still fit in mine. Hope this helps.

Your the man! Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to see.

[mtbendo]

Very slick job with the flipped U-bolts...

[John Harden]

Thanks for the great pics and write up. Funny thing is we have the same truck. Same color, everything.

You inspired me to get mine lifted the same way. Pre-runner Greg is coming over next Monday to install the leveling kit and a custom 2" block in the rear. The look should match yours pretty closely. We're going with the Bilstein shock he researched, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Question. How big a tires do you think will fit on it with that setup? Just wondering as I'd like to upsize my stock ones when they wear out. I'm thinking 34's would fit easily and perhaps 35's.

Regards,

John