help with '94 gmc 1500 4" lift

so i got a stock 94 gmc 1500 4x4 and am lookin for some lift. i was lookin around and pro comp and fabtech make some decent 6" lifts for my truck, but im not real sure i wanna go to that big of a lift. I was wanting to put 285's on it which if im not mistaken are roughly 33's. I have heard that 6" lifts need 35's to look decent, and that 35's on stock gearing mean trouble, so im trying to steer clear of such problems. so i was thinking more along the lines of a 4" lift. now i know that you can crank tha t-bars in the front and add a leaf or put a amall block in the rear or put in air bags to fit such tires but i dont wanna go down that road, and t-bar keys are out of the question to me. so  im lookin for a good 4" lift kit, and was wondering who makes em, where can i get em(im in canada), what do they consist of and perhaps some pros and cons of such lift kits? thanks.  

Rancho makes a 4inch with shocks for about 1500.00,
I installed one in a friends 93 k1500 it came out nice, but with all lift kit your going to have to do some cutinging or grinding, I have a dana 44 front axle now but i had a pro comp 6in befor and it was a good kit also. The instructions the give to you with the kits are good just take your time and read them first and than follow them and you can have it done in a weekend no problem.  

Forgot, check out 4wheel part wholesellers
http://www.4wheelparts.com/ thay ship ups and fedex  

I have my old instrutions for the pro comp lift I can scan them and post them if you want them.  

mudman_454:
so i got a stock 94 gmc 1500 4x4 and am lookin for some lift. i was lookin around and pro comp and fabtech make some decent 6" lifts for my truck, but im not real sure i wanna go to that big of a lift. I was wanting to put 285's on it which if im not mistaken are roughly 33's. I have heard that 6" lifts need 35's to look decent, and that 35's on stock gearing mean trouble, so im trying to steer clear of such problems. so i was thinking more along the lines of a 4" lift. now i know that you can crank tha t-bars in the front and add a leaf or put a amall block in the rear or put in air bags to fit such tires but i dont wanna go down that road, and t-bar keys are out of the question to me. so  im lookin for a good 4" lift kit, and was wondering who makes em, where can i get em(im in canada), what do they consist of and perhaps some pros and cons of such lift kits? thanks.

Try looking at a lift from BDS. They have the best warranties in the lift industry, if you brak the part for tany reason, they replace it with no questions asked. They are superior for design and function and strength. If I had IFS I'd run a BDS before anyting else. 6" lifts with 35s really isn't that big. If you want to go cheap go with a 2" body lift and you can fit the 285s without any issues. www.BDS-suspension.com  

body lifting is not my thing.  pointless as far as i am concerned.  but i would go 6" with 35's but i have heard that 35's on a half ton are no good without lower gears, and if you dont you start burning through trannysl.  

mudman_454:
body lifting is not my thing.  pointless as far as i am concerned.  but i would go 6" with 35's but i have heard that 35's on a half ton are no good without lower gears, and if you dont you start burning through trannysl.

That is right. If you put 33s on a stock truck (assuming stock size is about 29-30")I would still regear it atleast a step lower to get things back to where they should be. As for 35s I find that in the trucks I've built gearing should be at the minimum a 4.56 but 4.88s are best. I first experienced 4.88s in a 83 Blazer with a 305 with almost 300,000 miles on it and a 700R4 trans, 208 tcase and I pulled 23 miles to the gallon! I know the newer trucks are better as far as trannies holding up but my best advice would be to run 4.88s with 35s and it won't disappoint you at all. Its expensive by the time you install the lift, gears, driveshafts, tires, etc. but its what its all about.
As for the body lift, I don't like them myself and I don have one on my 74 but I can only use the excuse I have for it and that is to allow a gap between the frame rail and the bed floor for the fuel filler hose for the gas tank I built that is mounted between the frame rails. No big huge 3"er just enough for the hose to fit which this one I cut a 3" kit down to 1 3/4".