Rough Country 4"/6" kit install tips.

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Aparke4

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Rear is 1.5 block, air bags which add some lift .5-.75 at 10 lbs and 3 inch BL. Front sits just higher so I’m thinking WFO shackle flip and remove block will do the trick!

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Aparke4

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I wanted to report that aligning the truck after lift was not too bad. I have a lifetime alignment with Firestone and went to one of the companies brother sister stores wheel works and they had a newrly new hunter machine! Here are my final specs and it drives and tracks pretty darn well. RC did their research and with fresh parts in the front end the truck has never driven better. I also opted for the bolt on steering stabilizer too. Last step in steering is a new box from red head. I will say that my cognito steering brace kit fit I just needed to shave part of the nut and the diff for proper clearance lock to lock.

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Aparke4

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Lastly, I drove it about 75 miles and you will need to go back and retorque all bolts. Maybe it’s the 8 lug but I had a few bolts that had loosened up. Def ensure you follow torque spec recs, especially the top 4 bolts on the diff cradle and front control mounts: they really need to be 175. It’s a high mark but after driving I see why.
 
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I like your style. I’ve got a twin 93 in white with a long box. I’ve had a lot of trouble with the alignment. After I finished with the lift install my steering wheel was upside down. The first place that did the alignment corrected the wheel to the wrong direction. So I lost 3/4 turn of the wheel to the left. They tried twice more to correct it to no avail. I took it a Chevy dealership (only other option as it seems no one messes with a lifted heavy truck) and they got it 80% better. Still not right. First try cost me $125. Second was $145. I did a full steering rebuild with Moog problem solver maybe 12k miles ago and it is all garbage now. I went with mevotech ball joints when I did the lift and noticed the pitman arm was shot (replaced). The tech who aligned it last pointed out the garbage idler assembly and steering box last week. I’m about to order the redhead along with some new mevotech stuff in hopes that it’s not you know what... Have you upgraded your steering shaft? I’d like to hear your input on the xJ “upgrade”
 

Aparke4

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Good top know on the mevotech as I used their balljoints. Idler and pitman arm are pro forged which were on rock auto but seem to have left as a vendor. I dont have any more than 1500 miles on these parts + bushings but I will keep an eye out.

I have the rag joint replacement upgrade using the flaming river joint instead of the XJ shaft. It was an easy install and actually gave the steering wheel a more defined range of slop. My lower seal at the pitman arm nut is leaking probally due to age and time + heat traveling up shaft when I was removing pitman arm and the redhead box will be the last final upgrade for steering. I am planning on getting the ported box in hopes of hydro assist for a SAS down the line. When I installed the lift I did add the RC steering stabilizer too if that makes any difference. The redhead box recommended to me by redhead for my k2500 is down below.


My turning radius still stinks and I don't have your long box! I think its just the nature of these trucks. The lift did solve my slight frame rubbing with the 35's (16 wheels, about 4.5 BS). I have plenty of room for 37's and plan on 37x12.50x17 soon.

From Redhead:


"Thanks for reaching out to us! We would be happy to help with a rebuild on your gearbox. We can rebuild yours if you would like to send it in, or you can purchase an already rebuilt gear from us off the shelf, and then send your gear back as the core. The price winds up being the same in the end doing it either way.


If you send your gear in, I would recommend having us rebuild yours as an 18:1 ratio (approx.. 4 turns lock-to-lock). The slower ratio will give you more leverage in turning those larger tires. The stock ratio for this gear is 15:1 (approx.. 3 turns), which is probably what you have now. Having us port the gear box for the hydraulic assist is also something that we would recommend.


The cost for us to rebuild your gear would be $296 + $110 for the porting + shipping to get it back to you. Turnaround time is 2-3 business days in house.


If you wanted to order one already rebuilt, you would want to order our part# 2864S M/H (18:1 Ratio) and select “Yes Please” for “Include Pre-Tapped Ports & Plugs for Hydraulic Steering Assist”. The cost for the gear and the porting are the same as rebuilding your unit; however, there would be an additional core deposit of $150 charged up front, which is refundable once we get your old unit back as the core.


Part # 2864S M/H (18:1 Ratio)

Gear/Rebuild Cost - $296

Porting - $110

Core Charge - $150

Shipping Est. - $70 (includes a return label to send your core back)"
 

Aparke4

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WFO FTW! Beefy... shackle flip kit with 5 inch shackles and u bolt flip to get rid of 1.5 block and level truck front to rear. Kit claims 5 inches lift but from what I have read it’s about 4 inches with the 3/4 ton. RC kit came with 4 inch blocks I believe.

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Lastly, I drove it about 75 miles and you will need to go back and retorque all bolts. Maybe it’s the 8 lug but I had a few bolts that had loosened up. Def ensure you follow torque spec recs, especially the top 4 bolts on the diff cradle and front control mounts: they really need to be 175. It’s a high mark but after driving I see why.
Man you’re not wrong!! I’m already fed up with the re-torquing. I’m going to weld mine in.
 

Aparke4

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Yeah- torque-ing the 4 main cradle bolts is really hard to do from the nut, which mine are installed towards the motor/ inwards. I talked with some friends and since they are grade 8/ new hardware with no corrosion I can torque from the head and bump up the pounds to about 205 to account for the difference. Not preferred but will work with grade 8 hardware as the shear strnegth is something pretty crazy on a 5/8 bolt. Even with the lift I had to use ramps to get my bog old torque wrench the real estate to match those values. Let's just say getting those 4 torqued was enough to say I didn't need to go to the gym that day. I am going to source a pipe to slide over the torque wrench to help with mechanical leverage which is crazy as my wrench is one of the big long ones to begin with.

The only reason I would say caution on welding is service. For the control arm brackets, yeah that makes sense to torque to spec and tack weld nuts into place. If you want to stitch the brackets to frame rails, etc. then if the permanence of that is OK and you don't want to ever change the set up then yeah that would solve the problem haha.
 

Aparke4

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WFO FTW! Beefy... shackle flip kit with 5 inch shackles and u bolt flip to get rid of 1.5 block and level truck front to rear. Kit claims 5 inches lift but from what I have read it’s about 4 inches with the 3/4 ton. RC kit came with 4 inch blocks I believe.

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So interesting weird GM stuff... it turns out my 3/4 ton k2500 which pops up as an HD on vin decoders, etc has 1/2 rear leaf hangers?! Who knew?? The truck has the bigger frame, 7.4, FF 14 bolt, oil and tranny coolers, etc. but for some reason GM sourced their 1/2 leaf hangers and pattern from the 1/2 ton model on my 1996. In short, GM probably used what parts they have available for transition years from OBD1 to OBD2 + interior change so measure the bolt pattern and dimensions before hand! WFO helped me out big time and sure enough the truck has the heavy duty leaf pack with overload, all of the 1 ton parts on the HD 3/4 ton, 3/4 front end but alas there is a solution and that is using the 1/2 ton brackets from WFO. Install pics to come.
 
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Got my new steering gear, pitman and idler stuffs. Oh and stuff came back from the powder coat guy. I’m installing the torsion bar relocaters this weekend. My trans crossmember needs fabricated. Once it’s all welded up I’ll post some pics. Damn the squeaks.
 
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