de-installing lift

[snowninja]

been looking for a new used truck (7.3L) and it seems the only ones i can find are lifted 6" or more. i like the looks of the lift but they are not practical for my intended purpose so how hard is it to remove and return to stock or lower back to something more reasonable, say 2" - 3". does it all depend on the kit used, etc??

thanks!

[Tony_ONeil]

You should find out what kind of kit is installed on the truck and then try to get a hold of the directions.
I don't know much about lift kits but I'd hope there wouldn't be any permanent changes to install the lift that wouldn't allow it to be removed, possibly the discarding of a stock part or two though.

[blandproud]

there isn't any permanent changes unless the owner decided to do somethin extra or ect. you will need stock parts such as springs ect. i have a fabtech 3.5 shackle lift basically a level kit. it levelled my early 99 perfect. if you find one with a 6" and want to trade everything i would be interested.

[Greg03PSD]

Shouldn't be too hard to go back to stock - provided you have or can get some of the stock parts.

If the rear is lifted with blocks (would be very easy to tell), the stock springs are generally retained & longer u-bolts are used. To return to stock, you just need to remove the blocks and get some shorter u-bolts. If the rear is lifted with replacement springs with a larger arch, you would need a set of stock rear leaf springs.

The front should be lifted with new springs. None of the lift manufacturers offer blocks for the front end since it's illegal and extremely unsafe. You would need a set of stock front leaf springs to put the front back to stock. That change is very simple. The front axle track bar may be relocated by use of a bracket on the front axle or frame. As long as nothing was cut off, you should be able to return to the stock location. If the track bar was relocated & you don't return it to stock location after removing the lift, you will probably find that the axle will be shifted several inches toward the driver's side. Adjustable track bars are available that may work if you can't go back to the stock brackets - I would just worry about the aftermarket bracket hitting something underneath the truck when the front suspension is compressed.

Other little things to think about:
1. With a 6" lift, there is most likely a drop Pitman arm installed on the steering gear box. It's easy to tell - the stock arm does not have any offset at all. A drop arm will have several inches of offset. If you went back to stock height, you would most likely need to go back a a stock Pitman arm.
2. If you have a 2 piece driveshaft, the center support bearing may have several inches of shims installed to help correct the difference in driveline angle. You would need to remove those shims. All you need for that is some shorter bolts.
3. With a 6" lift, you would be pushing it if longer brake lines weren't installed. If longer brake lines are installed, you might want to go back to stock length lines, depending on how much slop there is in the longer lines with the truck at stock height. The ESOF hub vacuum lines are probably lengthened as well, but you can shorten those very easily by cutting a few inches of tubing off.
4. I don't remember what the largest tire a stock suspension will accommodate - I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 33". If you have taller tires, you would need to go to a smaller tire or go with a shorter lift or leveling kit for proper clearance.

That should cover the majority of lift kits out there. There are exceptions that could make the job harder. For instance, I have a Skyjacker Z-link kit that would require more work, as well as the stock brackets, to go back to a leaf spring setup (the Z-link is a coilover conversion). I'm sure there are other manufacturers out there that would require extra work to go back to stock.

Greg

[snowninja]

great info thanks for the responses. as always, this site brings a wealth of information together..