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question about removing a lift done by previous owner

953 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Jayota
hi, just wondering about removing or correcting a lift done by a previous owner. I'm looking at buying his truck, and I'm driving it 22 miles a day and I figure thats enough to justify shooting for the best fuel mileage. He's done a suspension lift, and complains about needing new CV joint yearly also. Otherwise the truck is in great shape for a 1991. Any thought? I dont want the headache of going through CV joints, and I dont need the lift either. Thanks, Ryan
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Ryan,

I know others are much more experienced with lifts than me. But, it would seem to me that you might be better off looking for one that is not lifted unless this one is a particularly good deal. To reverse the suspension lift would require purchasing stock shocks and springs at a minimum and probably ball joints and other suspension parts, not to mention tires and wheels. If it is a body lift rather than a suspension lift, it may be a bit easier to do. If it's a combination of both then there is more to do.

That being said, 22 miles per day isn't really a lot of miles. That only comes out to just over 8000 miles a year. Just for reference, I get about 18 MPG on my stock 4x4 4 cyl. That would come to about 445 gallons per year x about $3/gal = $1335/year. If you were getting say 14 MPG now, you would only save 127 Gallons of fuel or about $381 per year. In my opinion, it would be a lot of work to save a little over a dollar a day in fuel.

These things aren't exactly gas sippers in the first place. If you really need fuel economy and do not need 4x4, I would recommend either a 2 wheel drive or a different vehicle altogether. That's where you would see a real improvement in fuel usage.
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Thanks for the reply. Its too bad, its a clean truck although it has around 190K miles on it. The head gasket and entire suspension and front end have been redone. I just dont want to deal with the issues the lift would cause, seeing how Id never offroad the thing! well.....maybe once or twice.
I would really like to see some pictures of the front end. That way we can see exactly what the PO did, and we can help you fix the problem/ revert back to stock.
Thanks for the reply. I'm actually passing on the lifted one. Theres a 4x4 3.0 '90 for sale cert and etested with just over 130K with the H/G done. all maint record etc.. The body needs love, but it'll give me a summer project! Thanks again for the help.
As long as it works out in the end, But just to let you know. I have a feeling the PO just cranked the t-bars for an easy 1-2" of lift. That can cause exsessive cv joint wear, especially when the truck is not equipped with manual hubs.
Thanks man, I ended up turning that truck down adn bought the '90 last night. I started work on it right away, peeling the purple tint off! The guy I bought it from was a really good guy, and gave me a fair price. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Lets see some pictures :D
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