Lifting my '02 Durango

[Travis Rhyno]

So for a year or so now, I've been thinking of lifting my Durango. Nothing major, just 1.5 to 2 inches to fit a little bigger tires. I'd been I visioning a simple torsion/shackle lift and I found a kit with the shackles and a set of new keys for 150, but I'm suspicious of how cheap and easy this would be. So I've got a few questions for you guys. First, is a torsion shackle lift a viable option for offroad? I don't plan to do much rock crawling, but I go through rock gardens on occasion. Second, would it make sense to buy the nee keys or will the stock ones be fine? They are advertised as being stronger than stock but, does that matter much? Lastly, what would some good alternatives be if a torsion/shackle lift isn't viable. I'm not looking for a big lift. I just want slightly bigger tires and still be able to handle offroad. Thanks.

 

[khorsa]

Totally viable offroad lift. It is no different than my back-up vehicle, my 96 explorer. Shackle plus helper spring in the back and you can either crank down your torsion bars in front or go with the keys. Keys will give you more room for fine adjusting with the torsion bolts. You aren't going high, so no problems. Just remember you will need a fresh alignment once you do that.

 

[Travis Rhyno]

Totally viable offroad lift. It is no different than my back-up vehicle, my 96 explorer. Shackle plus helper spring in the back and you can either crank down your torsion bars in front or go with the keys. Keys will give you more room for fine adjusting with the torsion bolts. You aren't going high, so no problems. Just remember you will need a fresh alignment once you do that.

Awesome. Thanks, bud.

 

[khorsa]

No problem

 

[AlexG]

How Rare... Another Durango Rig.
I 'm not sure what the factory ride height is in the front, but I think I've managed almost a three inch lift by just cranking the stock torsion keys. But they are towards the limits. I'm not sure how much your bumper set up weighs but that might be a factor. I'm sure you've found, not much of an aftermarket for lifting Durangos.
I've tried the shackle lift but I did not like how much the stuck out from the back. Eventually I relocated the rear axle below the leaf spring and re-installed the factory shackle. I haven't tried the Add-a-leaf, but the axle flip gave me a enough lift alone.

 

[Travis Rhyno]

How Rare... Another Durango Rig.
I 'm not sure what the factory ride height is in the front, but I think I've managed almost a three inch lift by just cranking the stock torsion keys. But they are towards the limits. I'm not sure how much your bumper set up weighs but that might be a factor. I'm sure you've found, not much of an aftermarket for lifting Durangos.
I've tried the shackle lift but I did not like how much the stuck out from the back. Eventually I relocated the rear axle below the leaf spring and re-installed the factory shackle. I haven't tried the Add-a-leaf, but the axle flip gave me a enough lift alone.

There's some stuff for Durangos, but not as much as there is for everybody else. I've been going back and forth on lifting it for awhile. Having the shackles stick out has definitely been a factor. I don't like the look but more importantly, I'm worried they will catch on stuff. How does this axle flip work?

 

[AlexG]

I kinda wish I took some before and after pics but here it is Now. If you notice, the sway bar is gone. Where it was mounted before are now the shock mounts, with a section of steel channel.
New leaf spring perches will need to be installed on top of the axle and I was able to use the original u bolts. Also notice the u bolt plate is now on top and they had to be switched, left is now on right.
I did the work my self. Maybe not the best way to do things. In the process I also removed the front sway bar. Maybe not the best way to do things but no problems so far and still drivable with out the sway bars.

 

[Travis Rhyno]

View attachment 64992 View attachment 64993 View attachment 64994 I kinda wish I took some before and after pics but here it is Now. If you notice, the sway bar is gone. Where it was mounted before are now the shock mounts, with a section of steel channel.
New leaf spring perches will need to be installed on top of the axle and I was able to use the original u bolts. Also notice the u bolt plate is now on top and they had to be switched, left is now on right.
I did the work my self. Maybe not the best way to do things. In the process I also removed the front sway bar. Maybe not the best way to do things but no problems so far and still drivable with out the sway bars.

Wow. That's a lot of work to do on your own. Good job. I'm not sure I'll lift it, I haven't really needed much more clearance anyway. I don't hit any hard trails at all, but it would be nice to have the clearance if it were needed. How long did all that take?

 

[AlexG]

Thanks. I don't do any hard trails. Hardest I've done so far was a moderate rock garden. The rear axle set up took me a good weekend. Tricky part was getting the rear lifted enough to reinstall the leaf springs on top. Some things I had to improvise last minute.
As far as the front goes, I found a company online the makes a kit to drop the front differential two inches. I don't know if they're still around though. The idea with that is to relieve the angles on the CV axles when you crank up the torsion bars. That's how I managed to crank in an extra inch of lift in the front. It doesn't help with clearance on the front diff, but it's more of a stress relief for the cv's.

 

[Travis Rhyno]

Wow. That's a whole lot of modification. I think the furthest I'll go is the torsion/shackle lift if I lift at all, much simpler. I appreciate the input though. Glad to see another Durango.

 

[Jakeapclyps]

Thanks. I don't do any hard trails. Hardest I've done so far was a moderate rock garden. The rear axle set up took me a good weekend. Tricky part was getting the rear lifted enough to reinstall the leaf springs on top. Some things I had to improvise last minute.
As far as the front goes, I found a company online the makes a kit to drop the front differential two inches. I don't know if they're still around though. The idea with that is to relieve the angles on the CV axles when you crank up the torsion bars. That's how I managed to crank in an extra inch of lift in the front. It doesn't help with clearance on the front diff, but it's more of a stress relief for the cv's.

Just stumbling onto this thread....any luck finding out if the front diff drop bracket is still available anywhere?

 

[AlexG]

Just stumbling onto this thread....any luck finding out if the front diff drop bracket is still available anywhere?

The original manufacturer stopped making them awhile back and it appears some one else took over. I found this on ebay a while back.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-2011-Dodge-Dakota-Steel-Differential-Drop-Brackets-Kit-4WD-4x4-PRO/253716468911?hash=item3b12ae14af:g:7BsAAOSwK5Fb~clf:rk:3:pf:0

Not sure if i put the link correctly but if you search, it should pop up.

 

[Jakeapclyps]

The original manufacturer stopped making them awhile back and it appears some one else took over. I found this on ebay a while back.


Not sure if i put the link correctly but if you search, it should pop up.

i appreciate the link! thanks a lot.

now I am trying to decide if it is worth my time to try and extend the life of the front end or just let it do its thing.

wish my lottery plan would hurry up so i could just SAS this thing.