79' B300 Van Suspension Lift

Greatings! First time here in the offroad section...

My vehicle: 79' B300 Extended Cargo Van with rear 'Loadlifter 5000' airbags AND a set of 'Hellwig' helper springs on the original 16.5" wheels. Yes I have both helper springs and bags and it feels like a wagon but that's not why I'm here.

I live rural and need better tires, traction and clearance so after finding out the original rim size has 0 options for tires I decided to buy a set of 17" wheels.
I've decided I want 285 70r17's all the way around and the airbags provide enough of a lift to get them under the rear but there is no chance I'll be able to fit the same size tire in the front without a significant lift.

I've been searching on the Net and I can't find any kits or lift parts for my vehicle suspension other than the airbags I already have and some 1 1/2" coil spacer for the front which I'm not even sure are correct...

This is not a performance vehicle and I don't want to spend much money to get it lifted so with that criteria can anyone help me find a lift for the front suspension of my van on the cheap?

Is there a compatible part off another vehicle I can swap to give me the ground clearance I need?
I figure some bigger springs or a spring spacer/extension would do it... I don't mean those cheap spacers that you sandwich into the spring, I mean a bolt in tower extension...

Any help figuring out getting the lift for my front suspension would be greatly appreciated!

A lot of folks use a van lower control arm on the d series trucks to drop them 1". Maybe putting a dseries lcr on your van would raise it the same? That combined with some new coil springs in the front might gain you an inch and half or two inches of additional clearance.

I'll need at least 3" for the tires I'll be running but every little bit helps...
I haven't looked into D series trucks but I recon there may be some suspension components that are interchangeable...
How am I suppose to find out what will fit my B300?
How do I find what vehicles have interchangeable parts with my van?

It's a 1 ton van so would any similar year 1 ton Dodge truck part be interchangeable?

Reversing the pickup lowering plan might work. Search for info on lowering a pickup and then use the truck arms on your van.

You need to confirm if you have the heavy duty front end or light duty. Look at the tie rods, if inner and outer look the same, it's light. If the inner is much longer than the outer, it's heavy.

Sorry I don't know any more than what I shared. You could consider running a shorter tire in the front. Might check into some taller coil springs as well.

I had an 80 B300 with the heavy duty front suspension. It also had the 16.5 wheels. I ran the 9:00 16.5 tires on my van, and those would rub on about everything when you turned the wheels sharp. My tires rubbed against the frame behind the tires, and the front inner structure at the inside of the front end. They were also very close to the front bumper corners, and on bumps would make contact with the outer sheet metal in the rear fender dog legs. Taller tires will likely reduce the amount you will be able to turn the front tires.

I don't know how the height of what you want to run equates to the 900 16.5 tires, but anything taller or wider is not going to clear the outer or inner fenders and frame, and a taller tire probably isn't going to clear the floor pan, when you turn the wheels to the right or the left.

If you need the amount of lift you are talking to fit the tires under the front end, it probably won't turn very much once you get them under it. You will take a huge hit on the already long turn radius the B vans have to begin with.

I did run dirt track cars before. You can probably hack out anything that interfered with the tire movement to get the clearance you desire, then build back in the structure you need to make the van functionable again.. At some point, any tire will fit anywhere. How bad do you want those tires?

Dodge made the B vans in a 4x4 configuration during the time period of your van. The 4x4 versions were much higher off the ground then the rear drive vans were, maybe that could be a direction you want to look. You only need to mount the front axle and connect the steering, the rest of the 4x4 stuff wouldn't be required. Gene

That pretty much is your answer. Its not going to happen without radical modifications and parts. Not cheap. By the time you are done you could of found a 4x4 van cheaper.

It's a light duty...

I have 235 70's in the front now and plenty of clearance, I'm sure a set of 31.50's would fit as it sits with no issues.
I still need to raise the front to level the height.
I need at least 2" but I'm shooting for 3...

I know, any tire will fit anywhere if you make it and I'm definitely not going that route... Maybe shootin for 33's infront is wishful thinking... t's lookin like a 3" lift and 31 10.50's are going to be the way to go...

I found 2 1/2" spring inserts and a set of heavy duty springs... After hours of searching these were the only OTC mods I could find for the front end of my van.

It's definitely a step in the right direction...
I appreciate it!

So this is what I've been able to find on the net...
Maybe this will work? These parts and the control arms of a truck I think may just give me the desired lift but I'll probably have to go with 31's instead of 33's...

Ok now other than placing parts side by side to see if they match how can I find a compatible vehicle?
Is there a manual listing all interchangable parts for dodge 1 tons?
I'm kinda hoping someone can just tell me what model truck has the exact same parts my van does, it would help a lot!

How effective are these coil spacers anyway? Have any of you used them?
I imagine they don't actually lift but rather keep the coil from compressing the specified distance?

Another thing you will find out when raising the front. You most likely will not be able to align it.

How so? It's not much of a difference with spacers and HD coils...mayne truck arms but we'll see... For now it's just going to be spacers and coils...

When you raise it the tops of the tires pull inwards. You most likely can not get the camber and caster back in specs.

Other way around, raising a car creates positive camber (tops of tire goes OUT).

Struts yes, a-arms no.

If you have the light duty front end, forget looking at 1 ton trucks. You have a 3/4 ton front end, basically a half ton front with bigger brakes. When looking for parts, you need stuff for NOT 4000 pound axle.

Real 1 ton stuff is a whole different thing, other than the idler arms and drag link, I don't think anything else interchanges. Not even shocks.

I've decided that for now I'll just be installing the 2.5" spacers and will be running 31x10.50's in front.
From what everyone is telling me there will be a handful of issues trying to gain more clearance for bigger tires.

Huh... Idk why I thought my van was a 1 ton ... The front axle is rated at 3070lbs and the gvwr is 7000lbs... Definitely not 1ton...

If yet gonna lift it, go the whole 9 yards:

I might do that down the road... It can't be that difficult to convert my van into a 4x4...

What exactly do I need?

I'd need a transfer case, drive axles, mounting brackets new this new that...$$$

I'm back!!!

So I just finished putting the new rims and tires on my van and apparently I didn't have to lift it at all!
The front tires are 265/65/r17 and the rear 285/70/r17.
There is more than enough clearance around ALL of the tires and I couldn't be happier... Well, I could but you know what I mean...

I think one size bigger in either front or back would cause issues but apparently I picked out the perfect size tires!

Clearance!

The beast!