2.5" Skyjacker final thoughts

[danzey]

I wanted to post a quick update on my 1986 K10 lift kit and hopefully it will help someone make a decision if they are looking for a mild lift that rides well.

When I first bought my truck it had a very rough riding 4" Superlift system on it with a raised steering arm and 4" tapered blocks in the rear. I knew I wanted 33" tires and feel like the 33's didn't fill out the fender well with a 4" lift. After much research and reading a great thread from @Redfish I went with a custom kit consisting of C125S front springs from Skyjacker which are advertised as 2.5". I also upgraded the shocks with some Ranchos for a 2" lift and purchased some 2.5" Procomp blocks for the back. I put it all together and just didn't love the ride or the slightly nose up appearance as the fron springs lifted closer to 3". After a 1,000 miles of driving and bouncing around I decided to take the time and remove the bottom leaf out of the 5 leaf stack.

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Clamps are a must unless you want to deal with a rocket nut!! I purchased a new set of bolts for the stack as well.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

The truck rides 100% better as I have a very pronounced "bump" in the road close to my house. Going over that bump before was head rattling - now it goes over it with minimal impact in the cab.

Front measurements went down about 5/8" from ground to fender well center opening. That was just enough to get a little rake that I was looking for.

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Below is the picture that shows the slight amount of difference. Top is after spring modification and bottom is before. Whatever your preference is I hope this photo comparison helps you. I am running 33x12.5-15 BF AT.

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If you are looking for an approx. 2" lift here are my thoughts:

The skyjacker 2.5" c125S springs are about the same ride quality as Rough Country unmodified. If you take the bottom leaf out I feel like you truly get a 2.5" lift vs. a 3-3.25" lift unmodified.

When you modify and take that bottom leaf out - WOW! - it rides really good. These springs coupled with a borgeson quick ratio steering gear and rag joint delete shaft makes this 40 year old beast handle really well.

If you are looking for a 3" lift I would buy the skyjacker 2.5" front ez-ride springs and couple it with a 3" block in the rear. It will ride rough. Should be dead level.

If you want a 2.5-3.0" lift and prefer a dead level or slightly nose up truck then run the front springs without modification and 2.5" blocks in the rear.

My setup helps the truck have a little rake and ride nice. Spring modified and 2.5" blocks.

I hope someone reads this post and it helps them decide to remove the bottom leaf BEFORE you install the springs. @Redfish and I both had to make modifications after the initial install which is a real pain in the rear.

 

[Redfish]

@danzey I am Very Impressed with your work and your final results. Excellent photodocumentation of the job as well.

When I post my work and when I answer questions from other forum members I always hope that they can take what I learned and improve upon it. You did exactly that. Yours came out better than mine and that makes me Very Happy.

For your knowledge and anyone else who reads this, the ride quality of the unmodified Skyjacker was much better than the generic 3rd leaf that had been added to mine. And even though decades have passed and my memories are dust covered, the Skyjacker rides better than the factory negative arched 2 leaf setup. I will never forget how bad that really was.

My only complaint about my Skyjacker after I removed the bottom leaf is that the truck rolls more in tight curves than it used to. Small price to pay for a significantly better ride.

Well Done Sir. Very Well Done.

 

[Shorty81]

I wanted to post a quick update on my 1986 K10 lift kit and hopefully it will help someone make a decision if they are looking for a mild lift that rides well.

When I first bought my truck it had a very rough riding 4" Superlift system on it with a raised steering arm and 4" tapered blocks in the rear. I knew I wanted 33" tires and feel like the 33's didn't fill out the fender well with a 4" lift. After much research and reading a great thread from @Redfish I went with a custom kit consisting of C125S front springs from Skyjacker which are advertised as 2.5". I also upgraded the shocks with some Ranchos for a 2" lift and purchased some 2.5" Procomp blocks for the back. I put it all together and just didn't love the ride or the slightly nose up appearance as the fron springs lifted closer to 3". After a 1,000 miles of driving and bouncing around I decided to take the time and remove the bottom leaf out of the 5 leaf stack.

You must be registered for see images attach

Clamps are a must unless you want to deal with a rocket nut!! I purchased a new set of bolts for the stack as well.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

The truck rides 100% better as I have a very pronounced "bump" in the road close to my house. Going over that bump before was head rattling - now it goes over it with minimal impact in the cab.

Front measurements went down about 5/8" from ground to fender well center opening. That was just enough to get a little rake that I was looking for.

You must be registered for see images attach

Below is the picture that shows the slight amount of difference. Top is after spring modification and bottom is before. Whatever your preference is I hope this photo comparison helps you. I am running 33x12.5-15 BF AT.

You must be registered for see images attach

If you are looking for an approx. 2" lift here are my thoughts:

The skyjacker 2.5" c125S springs are about the same ride quality as Rough Country unmodified. If you take the bottom leaf out I feel like you truly get a 2.5" lift vs. a 3-3.25" lift unmodified.

When you modify and take that bottom leaf out - WOW! - it rides really good. These springs coupled with a borgeson quick ratio steering gear and rag joint delete shaft makes this 40 year old beast handle really well.

If you are looking for a 3" lift I would buy the skyjacker 2.5" front ez-ride springs and couple it with a 3" block in the rear. It will ride rough. Should be dead level.

If you want a 2.5-3.0" lift and prefer a dead level or slightly nose up truck then run the front springs without modification and 2.5" blocks in the rear.

My setup helps the truck have a little rake and ride nice. Spring modified and 2.5" blocks.

I hope someone reads this post and it helps them decide to remove the bottom leaf BEFORE you install the springs. @Redfish and I both had to make modifications after the initial install which is a real pain in the rear.

Very nice. Good job, a little rake is where it's at!

 

[Bextreme04]

The other thing to consider is that it is likely that the sway bar is binding up and greatly stiffening up your ride. The sway bar disconnect kit from ORD is a huge improvement to ride quality and I usually just leave it disconnected while daily driving. When I am towing or have a heavy load in the bed, I will then connect the sway bar back up.