3" lift - what shocks do I buy?

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JJZ71

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Guys - Im ordering a 3" lift (keys & blocks) for my 1998 K1500. I want to replace the shocks at the same time, will OEM shocks be fine to get or should I get something else because of the lift?
Yes, this is a serious question LOL
 

df2x4

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I'm no help with the shocks, but if you haven't ordered the lift yet then I would recommend considering different options. Aftermarket torsion bar keys aren't going to gain you anything on these trucks, you can crank to the droop stops with the factory keys. Even with the aftermarket keys if you crank up 3" your CV angles are going to be really bad and you'll tear up front end parts quickly. I ran my Suburban's front end cranked up 2" for a year or so, the ride was awful and it ate parts like crazy. I cranked it back down an inch or so and no more issues.

If you really want to lift the truck I'd look into spending a little more on a different kit. Just my two cents.

EDIT - Just saw that you've been here since 2011, you probably know all this already. Carry on! :lol:
 

JJZ71

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82 people looked at my post and 1 had a partial answer for me (thanks df2x4). I'm told you should change to an extended shock when adding 3" or more. FYI
 

thz71

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Heres an answer for ya. Key lifts dont work on these trucks. Stock shocks obviously wont work with a 3" lift. Try Google next time.

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red97k1500

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Here’s an answer from experience, get the sky jacker 3 inch upper control arms. They have replaceable ball joints. The rough country arms are the same price. I own them, and they have been installed on my truck since 2016.
The 3inch rough country kit comes with shock extenders so technically you could just run stock length schocks in the front. If all you want is a 2” lift, as others have mentioned I would forget about the aftermarket keys. Just buy some skyjacker upper control arms, and use a block/add a leaf in the rear.
This is just my opinion, I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do for everyone. But I do think it would yield far better results than a cheap eBay keys/block kit.
 

randomguy

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I don’t see why you would need extended shocks on a hill billy key lift. I just took stock length shocks off my truck with the suspension in full droop. With the UCA on the droop stop the shock is not over extended.

3” crank is going to ride like crap either way. Hope you like doing TRE’s, pitman arm, idler arm, CV shafts, and ball joints ever pay few thousand miles.

1 to 1.5” crank is totally reasonable without killing your ride. Mine is about 1” and I like it.
 

Supercharged111

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I don’t see why you would need extended shocks on a hill billy key lift. I just took stock length shocks off my truck with the suspension in full droop. With the UCA on the droop stop the shock is not over extended.

3” crank is going to ride like crap either way. Hope you like doing TRE’s, pitman arm, idler arm, CV shafts, and ball joints ever pay few thousand miles.

1 to 1.5” crank is totally reasonable without killing your ride. Mine is about 1” and I like it.

Derr, that seems like a solid answer. Probably ought to use extenders out back though for articulation, then you could run the Bilstein 4600 all around. The 5100 are for real lifts in the 4-6" range. A lot of the other options seem like garbage, but I had some Gabriel gas shocks on my stock height C1500 forever ago and liked them a lot.
 
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