6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

I'd love to throw a 6 inch lift on my 86 one ton.... HOWEVER, I DO NOT want to mess around with drive shafts popping in and out and having to lengthen

well, not really. If anyone has put their 6 inch lift on, I'd love to hear what all you had to mess with besides the brake lines and steering box... oh and the shift linkage.... just interested in hearing about the drive shafts... the more information the merrier.

Also, I could get a t-case lowering kit so that I don't have to lengthen the drive shaft.... I THINK... will I have the most problems with the front or the rear drive shaft???

Thanks guys

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

you should be able to get away with out lengthining your drive shafts with a six inch lift as long as you drop your t-case an inch or so. as for steering components and linkage you only mess with that when your doing a body lift.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

If you are using a suspension lift you won't have to worry about shift linkage. But you will want to look into a steering arm.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

With a 6" lift on a 1 ton you will probly need longer shafts. A 1 ton sits 2" taller than a 1/2 and 3/4 ton. So overall lift your gonna have it 8" lift.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

Let's see some photos of your truck.

You'll likely have to address the e-brake, too, but I'm not sure. I had to modify the e-brake cables on the 4" lift for my '73.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

I have done several lifts and you dont need to extend rear driveline, but it is recomended because you may feel viberations. I usually take the factory metal sleeve spacers that are 1-1.5'' long that the bolts go through to attach the transfercase crossmember to the frame and put the spacer between the frame and crossmember allowing you to drop the crossmember down for the lenghth of the sleeve.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

Here's the current lift, and I think it's damn near perfect for what I'm going for. It is 4in suspension lift with 2 leafs added to the rear springs, 1 leaf added to the front springs.... as I haul A LOT of weight on a regular basis 15,000 lb +... Then I threw a 1" body lift on to showoff the frame and gain a little tire and hood clearance. So i'm guessing it's right around a 6". NO DRIVESHAFT ISSUES THUS FAR :)

Sorry the pictures took so long.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

on my 84 we put 6" front springs in with a 4 degree shim under them to correct the front pinion angle some. Also it may not be necessary but i took off the factory sway bar mounts on the front of the frame off and put a small piece of 1"x1" box tubing between the mount and frame to lower the sway bar back to near factory position. Used factory brake lines for front, just did some small L brackets on the bottom of the frame and ran the lines through them. with the 6" i did a 4" lift steering arm. my trucks a long bed and the rear d-shaft does stick out of the T-case pretty bad but i havent got to drive it like this yet. Hope this helped -84

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

15k on a single wheel phewwwww something i would never do lol and what about a crew cab or suburban driveshaft does anyone know the length differences maybe its possible to swap in one of those over getting a custom one just a though i only have a 4in block lift and 3in body and my driveshaft was fine until i swapped in a 2005 full floater which for some reason the pinion area is about 2.5in shorter than my stock semi floater so now mine is almost all the way out but ill be getting a custom one anyways which price wise isn't too bad you could always ask around for one just to get an idea

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

You have to keep in mind that all 15,000 lbs aren't on the truck, that's just the weight of the trailer. I'm fairly certain that the ratio for this trailer is about 70%:30% meaning approximately 70% of the 15,000 is on the truck so about 10,500 lbs

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

Someone explain how dropping a transfer case 1" compensates for dropping the axle 6"?

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

I have a 3/4 ton with a 6 inch lift and i have to get the front driveshaft lengthend. the rear drivehsaft is still good tho, but barley

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

If I remember correctly, there is a large difference between a 3/4ton and a 1ton.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

I have an 86 K30 with a 6" lift and stock drive shafts. You do have to grind the cv stops on the front driveshaft as most lift instructions tell you. Once you get past 6" you need to start lenghtening drive shafts in most cases.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

:chevy:thanks a lot for the replies guys. I appreciate all the input. Hope you guys like the "finished" product... of the lift that is. They're never finished

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

I found what 86454k30 said to be true. I had been told I'd need to lengthen my front when I put in the 4 inch front springs, not true at all. Then I swapped them for 6 inch HD springs and the front drivesahft pulled out a little, but still well within working limits. I did have to grind down the cv stops as mentioned.

I can't recommend degree shims, I used a set once with a 4 inch lift, they cracked and fell apart, which in turn left me with a loose front axle and a dangerous situation. IDK how true it is, but I have also been told not to use the t-case spacers to drop the t-case. It looks like they were put there for just that purpose, but supposedly it will concentrate a lot of load over a tiny area, and I've seen pictures of cracks originating from right there. Although others always chime in and say it's not true. So, just passing it on, don't know how accurate it is. I didn't drop my t-case at all, my angles and lengths are fine with 6" up front, and 4 inch blocks with a big stack of leaves in the back.
I didn't have to mess with the e-brake cables, have had to on 1/2 and 3/4s before. I disregarded advice on the steering, I was told I shouldn't use the steering block to lift the steering, but I had already bought it so I did. Bad idea, I snapped 3 of the 4 studs, replaced them (and the whole knuckle)with super-duper ones from Offroad Design, and they have to be checked and torqued regularly, won't stay tight, and ORDs jam nuts are a really bad idea too. Going to get rid of the block and do a dropped pitman arm soon as I can.
This is all on a street driven cclb with little 235/85/16 tires, so I don't know what would happen with big rubber and flexing offroad.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

With big rubber and flexing you'd have crossover steering.

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

have 8" lift on my 85k30 crew. rear shaft is stock 2 piece with dropped center bearing, shackle flips, & dropped t-case. never had any cracks or problems with it, but you will most likely have to trim your floor to use 4lo. front stock shaft worked on flat roads, but bought a longer hi angle slip yoke just to be sure. used L drop brackets for brakes at first, then longer braided lines, your brakes will feel better with the bigger tires you'll put on. with 6" you should'nt have to drop bracket your e-brake cables. i would use shackle flips on the rear (4" lift) cause it will help keep your pinion up, unlike leafs. i would put the 6" in & see if your front shaft will work-if not buy a longer slip yoke, all trucks are different

Re: 6 inch lift on an 86 k30... help?
 

Just put a six inch lift on my 82 K25. Should probably grind CV stops but rear drive shaft is good. No issues so far. Blocks in rear, dropped steering arm, brake line extension. Want to put a few more leafs in rear to level it out since I usually carry quite a bit of weight in the back (work truck). Happy so far -- body needs work but that's later on down the road.:metal::metal::metal::metal: