New member advice or direction.

Hello, new member and hoping im posting in the right place. If not direct me to wherr i should post.
I have owned my 1998 for many years and now that i have retired i am looking to update the truck. I have studied all i can but am confused about lowering the truck. I recently put 4 new tires on the truck 235/75-15 and would like to use them on the lowered truck until i can find something different. It is a 1998 regular cab short bed. Im thinking of doing a 3/5 drop but am worried about tire clearence or id go lower. Does anyone know if i am able to do this or possibly go lower. Anyone recommend a kit that is reasonable for someone on a fixed budget. I can buy stuff in stages if need be. Another issue is shocks. I need new ones but unsue as i see aome kits with shock extenders/ adapters. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

This is just opinion with a little humor mixed in, I have a 98 swb that I have had for years and it is 4/6 drop and if I was going to give advice, I would say "don't do it" =) As i get older and taste change I wish mine was stock height again.
But I used Beltech flip and c-notch in rear and shock extend brackets. With drop spindles & springs up front with Bilstein shocks. I never tried to use my 235/75/15 stock tires, originally I went with truck steel rally's and 235/70/15 front and 255/70/15 rear. Years later updated to 245/50/18 all the way around with American Racing torque Thrust wheels.
With the old steel rally's I used years ago with the 235/70/15 front and 255/70/15 rear I had to roll fender edges under or they would rub on bumps, and those were 8 inch steel rallys the tires were on.
Everyone has there own taste and ideas, but I out grew the lowered thing long ago, but it is what it is now. Just my 2 cents worth

I was looking and measuring today and remembered i had put lowering shackles on several years ago. I was looking at flip kits and see that tey say 6" drop. I measured and feel a 4-5 would be good for what im wanting. If i am thinking right, after i install the flip kit i can always raise the leafs up a tad at the rear shackle. Am i thinking correctly? Im still thinking a 3" inch in the front. I have seen 3" lowering springs advertised. Could i just do the springs or should i do the spindles or a combination of the two ? Thanks

If it were me, I'd 2/4... that way if you don't like it lowered, it's relatively easy to go back to stock and you haven't notched your frame. But I think a mild drop looks good on these trucks.

So how do i achieve a 2/4 drop? I already have shackles in the back. Do i not do a flip? Just do front leaf spring hangers? Like i said im new to all this and it gets confusing.

bustedknuckles said:

So how do i achieve a 2/4 drop? I already have shackles in the back. Do i not do a flip? Just do front leaf spring hangers? Like i said im new to all this and it gets confusing.

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Spindles or springs for the front. Springs will be cheaper and won't require you to have to trim the lower control arms. Drop spindles require they to be trimmed for steering clearance, unless you put a larger wheel on the truck. If you stick with 15s, gotta trim them. But that's easy to do. In the back, shackles and hangers or you can do drop leafs. People have varying experiences with both. You will also want to get shock relocators the back to correct the shock angle. Also, I'd recommend that you get the upper shock relocators too. Belltech offers them. It corrects the angle even more so when used in conjunction with the lower relocators. Then get ya some shocks and an alignment, then your ready business!

Aarong23 said:

Spindles or springs for the front. Springs will be cheaper and won't require you to have to trim the lower control arms. Drop spindles require they to be trimmed for steering clearance, unless you put a larger wheel on the truck. If you stick with 15s, gotta trim them. But that's easy to do. In the back, shackles and hangers or you can do drop leafs. People have varying experiences with both. You will also want to get shock relocators the back to correct the shock angle. Also, I'd recommend that you get the upper shock relocators too. Belltech offers them. It corrects the angle even more so when used in conjunction with the lower relocators. Then get ya some shocks and an alignment, then your ready business!

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After measuring again and again i think a 3 5 drop is what im looking towards. So if i do a 2 inch front hanger with my already installes 2 inch shackles that will be 4. So what are my options if i need a tad more? Also i have read conflicting posts that say i should need to do a notch at this level. Alsi how would i achieve a 3 inch in front springs alone? Or spindles and aprings? Any thoughts

if you want a 5" drop in the back, you will want to do a flip kit. That will be the most recommended route. But, you will want to put your stock shackles back on, because you will end up with a 8" drop. A flip kit for these trucks achieves a 6" drop, so once you flip it, you will want to put a 1" LIFT shackle on to get you to 5". I would strongly recommend a c-notch, because you will bottom out without. 4" is the lowest you can go without bottoming out. For the front, you should do 2" drop spindles. It will allow you to get a good alignment, because springs alone with that much of a drop will keep you in the tire shop. To save you money, don't buy drop springs. Take your stock springs and cut 1/2 a coil. That will give you about 1.25" drop. Drop springs IMO, are way too soft and makes your front end too bouncy. Get shock relocators for the top and bottom. It will allow your shocks to work properly, because they won't be at such a slanted angle. So, in short, here are the things you will need for a 3/5 drop:

2" Drop Spindles.

Cut 1/2 a Coil.

Flip Kit for the back

1" Lift Shackle

Top and Bottom Shock Extenders

Shocks: Belltech makes quality shocks for these trucks.

C Notch: I have one for sale if you are interested. Never been used and it will save you a ton. Notches are at least $150

Lastly... Lower the truck first before you change wheels or tire size... You don't want to drop your truck on new wheels and tires and find out that they rub too much or doesn't fit properly. To save more money, you could just go 4/6, skip the lift shackle and cut 3/4 of a coil for roughly two inches. This is a lot of info, so you can PM if you have any questions.

Sewlow, if I missed anything, go ahead and fill in the gaps! lol