What exactly am i looking at?

[Jake the Snake]

When i bought this truck the guy said it had a 3.5 in lift on it already, i don't know much about any of this, so i was hoping somebody could tell me whats going on in these pictures. What kind of lift is this? Should i get rid of it? Does anybody recognize any of this? any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

[DirtyComanche]

Rear is a regular old SOA (spring over axle) with stock or shorter shocks.  I'd change the shock mounts and get longer shocks personally, but depending what you're doing it might not be worth it.

 

Not sure who makes what in the front, but the coil springs and sway bar disconnects look good.  Looks like it has aftermarket lower control arms too, which is a good start but might not be the best thing.  The track bar and what looks like a drop bracket might not be the best thing, somebody who recognizes it can comment; in general dropping the track bar is a terrible idea no matter what.  Rough Country shocks are garbage and I would replace them as funds allow.

 

Post more pics of the control arms.

[Eagle]

The lift is a hack job. He was too cheap to buy longer front brake hoses, so he unbolted the end of the hard lines from the fender and bent them down. That's a disaster waiting to happen IMHO.

 

(Photo #2)

[terrawombat]

The good news is that it's not the worst I've ever seen!  The fact that the brake lines needed some "alterations" to work, the extended sway bar end links and the track bar drop bracket make me think that it has more than a 3.5" lift on it.  I didn't think all of that stuff was necessary until you got up into the 4"+ lift range.

[gogmorgo]

I would expect more than 3.5" to match the SOA as well...

[DirtyComanche]

7 hours ago, Eagle said:

The lift is a hack job. He was too cheap to buy longer front brake hoses, so he unbolted the end of the hard lines from the fender and bent them down. That's a disaster waiting to happen IMHO.

 

(Photo #2)

 

The only problem with that is he didn't bother to secure them again.

 

Most aftermarket longer brake hoses are junk.   Of course you could use YJ ones or GM truck ones, but relocating the hose end is perfectly acceptable providing you secure it and make sure there is no interference issues.

 

Edit, looking at photo #4 there is something far worse going on with the brake lines and hoses there. That needs a Dakota hose and some proper securing.  Looks like the axle vent line has been stuck in the bracket for the brake hose, rather than into the fitting it belongs.  And the brake hose and line is just out there...

[DirtyComanche]

2 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

I would expect more than 3.5" to match the SOA as well...

 

I'm SOA with 3.5" coils.  Although those leaf springs don't look quite as flat as mine.  Without measuring, who knows, all the aftermarket coil springs work out differently anyways...  But it does look higher than 3.5".

 

The sway bar links are also way too long.  They will make the swaybar smash into the inner fenders on compression.

[DesertRat1991]

"Hack job" seems a bit harsh.  I don't see any widow makers that need fixing, just lots of cleanup work.  Run some self tapping screws through those front brake line brackets and clean up that rat's nest of lines/tubing on the rear axle.  The front lift components are decent enough.  The Rough Country dampers are obvious.  Those are RC swaybar disconnects too.  That looks like the Rubicon Express track bar bracket, can't really see the bar itself but it looks adjustable.  The rear shock setup is questionable, but functional.  Although they probably won't last long off road.  What's your shackle set up look like?

 

If she tracks straight and stops decent I would put this in the "wheel it till it breaks, then upgrade" category.