Creating a needed parts list or FAQ for a 3 inch lift

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Dragos80

Dragos80

10 Year
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Threads
45
Messages
5,286
Location
Traffic Land
I've done some reading in many threads here and found it difficult to compile all the information necessary for a 3 inch lift kit.

In my case I got the 3" Dobinson flexi coils (C59-612V and 613V) and a set of ARB OME long travel shocks.
I also got a set of 2" Manafre front control arm drop brackets.

Some say there is no need for a front adjustable panhard bar, some say it is absolutely needed.
The rear adjustment is more or less universal, just about everybody agrees on a needed correction.

Are the rear upper and lower control arms needed?

I got a heavy duty rear bumper with a spare tire carrier and plan on getting a set of rock sliders very soon.
Front ARB bumper.
So the extra weight hopefully keeps me at 3 inch or slightly below as Dobinsons are known to run a little higher especially in light weight vehicles.

I even heard a 3 inch lift may not require a lot of caster correction if any. But again the opinions on this matter are split with more people saying it is needed.
In any case I should be covered by the 2 inch drop brackets.

I already have sway bar drop brackets and longer brake lines.

Do I need lower bump stops for the rear?
Running 33's mostly and 35's occasionally.

Front bump stops?

Is there anything else needed to be considered?







Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
 
Dragos80 said:
I've done some reading in many threads here and found it difficult to compile all the information necessary for a 3 inch lift kit.

In my case I got the 3" Dobinson flexi coils (C59-612V and 613V) and a set of ARB OME long travel shocks.
I also got a set of 2" Manafre front control arm drop brackets.

Some say there is no need for a front adjustable panhard bar, some say it is absolutely needed.
The rear adjustment is more or less universal, just about everybody agrees on a needed correction.

Are the rear upper and lower control arms needed?

I got a heavy duty rear bumper with a spare tire carrier and plan on getting a set of rock sliders very soon.
Front ARB bumper.
So the extra weight hopefully keeps me at 3 inch or slightly below as Dobinsons are known to run a little higher especially in light weight vehicles.

I even heard a 3 inch lift may not require a lot of caster correction if any. But again the opinions on this matter are split with more people saying it is needed.
In any case I should be covered by the 2 inch drop brackets.

I already have sway bar drop brackets and longer brake lines.

Do I need lower bump stops for the rear?
Running 33's mostly and 35's occasionally.

Front bump stops?

Is there anything else needed to be considered?







Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Click to expand...
From what I've read, the Dobinsons lift is probably going to net out to a little more than 3" even with the armor you have on your truck (no winch and no rear drawers/RTT/etc) so it's right at the limit between the smaller lifts that don't require many changes and the large ones that do. I think you'll be fine w/o an adjustable front trackbar, but you can always add one later if you decide you need it. In the rear, I recommend a trackbar relo bracket (Delta.) It re-centers the axle like an adjustable bar, but it also improves the angle of the bar (keeps it flatter) which makes it more consistent as the suspension moves. The OME "L" shocks don't require additional front bumpstop, but the rear should have an extra 1/2" to avoid over-compressing them (that's helpful with the 35's anyway.) I don't think you'll need different control arms. The drop brackets will address caster (the Land Tank 3" correction plates are nice alternative option w/o limiting ground clearance like you'd have w/ the drop brackets.) Your ride height would be high enough at 3&1/2"ish that there's a chance you might get some driveline vibrations that would require a double-cardon front drive shaft or adjustable rear upper control arms, but I'd try it w/o them and only add them if your end up needing them.
 
Dobinson-Kit-8.webp
dropbrackets-1.webp
dropbrackets-2.webp
20201011-072610.webp
20201011-072742.webp
 
I mean technically you don’t need much.

Pragmatically;

Rear factory control arms should work but you can buy adjustable uppers if you have driveline vibes.

You don’t necessarily need brake lines unless your shocks are 26” full extension, if they do, get some.

You don’t need rear panhard corrections and you dont need the Delta panhard bracket, to be honest with you, a 41.5” bar at 7 degrees is gonna have negligible difference raising it to zero degrees. Your roll center increases 3” and you reduce lateral movement by 0.25”. That’s a lot of money for not even 1%.

you also don’t need an adjustable front panhard bar, factory is fine.

Sway bar spacers are only needed if they are restricting droop, so entirely up to you.

Bump stops may be needed depending on your tire selection and shocks just to protect from rubbing or bottoming your shocks but up to you.

Caster correction, this is probably the only thing I would say you more or less “need”. Correction bushings usually aren’t enough but will kind of work, and lowering the mounts just makes it heaser to grab rocks. I def recommend the Delta caster correction arms. My 3Ls will be for sale soon.

That said, you can absolutely do whatever you want. I’m running a 3” at the moment and have none of those things and spending hundreds to thousands on all that would give me something to do but wouldn’t actually make much difference.
 
Last edited:
JoeCova said:
I mean technically you don’t need much.

Pragmatically;

Rear factory control arms should work but you can buy adjustable uppers if you have driveline vibes.

You don’t necessarily need brake lines unless your shocks are 26” full extension, if they do, get some.

You don’t need rear panhard corrections and you dont need the Delta panhard bracket, to be honest with you, a 41.5” bar at 7 degrees is gonna have negligible difference raising it to zero degrees. Your roll center increases 3” and you reduce lateral movement by 0.25”. That’s a lot of money for not even 1%.

you also don’t need an adjustable front panhard bar, factory is fine.

Sway bar spacers are only needed if they are restricting droop, so entirely up to you.

Bump stops may be needed depending on your tire selection and shocks just to protect from rubbing or bottoming your shocks but up to you.

Caster correction, this is probably the only thing I would say you more or less “need”. Correction bushings usually aren’t enough but will kind of work, and lowering the mounts just makes it heaser to grab rocks. I def recommend the Delta caster correction arms. My 3Ls will be for sale soon.

That said, you can absolutely do whatever you want. I’m running a 3” at the moment and have none of those things and spending hundreds to thousands on all that would give me something to do but wouldn’t actually make much difference.
Click to expand...

I already got the MAF drop brackets. I got them a few years ago in preparation to the lift kit. By today's standards they are extremely cheap. The front control arms from Delta would be a very nice choice. Maybe sometime in the future I would go that route if somehow I am not happy with the MAF brackets and I end up hitting way too many rocks.

My issue with the panhard rod (stock one) is that the axle shift would be a bit much.

I will get some bump stops I guess since the shocks are 26" extended. So probably 0.5" as someone mentioned for the rear. Not sure what the fronts should be or what the selection is. I need to look into it.

I guess I can just install everything I got right now and take it from there. See if anything else is needed once everything is installed and see how she drives.
 
When I lifted my first 80 in 08 I had j springs, which were about 3 1/2 inches. I had no castor correction was very scary on I 25 and groved roads. I then got maf 3 inch brackets, they were better but caster was now only 1 degree. Drove that way for bit, then realized it sucked too and could be better. Ended up with castor plates which put me to 2.5 degrees, truck drove so much better.
I would go straight to castor plates or do arms.
 
Happy Thanksgiving!


What is the go to Steering Damper for our 80's? Is there a consensus?

Dobinson, Ironman, ARB-OME?

32mm? 35mm? (piston/bore?)
 
Dragos80 said:
Happy Thanksgiving!


What is the go to Steering Damper for our 80's? Is there a consensus?

Dobinson, Ironman, ARB-OME?

32mm? 35mm? (piston/bore?)
Click to expand...
Personally I don’t think they do much in the 80 series.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom