Can I Remove my Lift Kit and Go Back to Stock?

Lifting your truck or car has a lot of advantages. Most people tend to lift their trucks to get more ground clearance and increase the longevity of their vehicle. Other pros also include being able to carry more cargo.

However, you might be asking one question that many people ask when they proceed to lift their vehicles; can I remove my lift kit and go back to stock or not.

Hopefully, by the end of this informative guide that we put together, you will know whether or not you can go back to the stock condition of your vehicle.

Types of Lift Kits

Before we get to the discussion on the removal of lift kits, we must know what types of lift kits are out there. Having prior knowledge of these lift kits will help you easily identify them just by looking at how they are attached to the vehicle and act accordingly.

Non-Crossmember Lift Kits

If this is the first time you're hearing the word "Crossmember," don't worry, as most people generally do not know about this part of the truck. But, it is as important as the suspension system of your vehicle.

Crossmember refers to a part that makes up the structural integrity of the truck. It is a steel section that truck manufacturers bolt to the underside of the truck.

This design causes the engine and transmission to be linked together and support each other mutually. Now, the type of lift kit in question does not require you to cut the crossmember at all. This is why it is called a non-crossmember lift kit.

Crossmember Lift Kits

These types of lift kits make it a bit more complex as they require entirely new crossmember sections to work properly. They also use a more different front differential drop than the stock ones.

In terms of viability, these are the most extreme ones as they change entire parts of your vehicles. Installing them is hard because your vehicle's stock frame needs to be cut in order to make available space for the front differential.

Then, the front differential is lowered down to put the new Crossmember in place. Meaning, this is a lift kit that requires a lot of manual labor to deal with if something happens to it.

Leveled Trucks

The name is self-explanatory as leveled trucks are raised from the get-go. These are vehicles that have been specifically modified by the manufacturers to be raised by a few inches.

If you own one of these, you don't have to deal with "Crossmembers" or "Factory frames," making it all the more convenient for first-time truck drivers.

Since this does not involve crossmembers, you can freely switch between different heights of lifts. For example, if you have a 4-inch lift, you can go up and upgrade to a 6-inch lift. This type of design allows for more flexibility across different sets of lifting kits.

Returning to Stock

Now that we've discussed the separate types of lift kits, we can move on to the meat of the discussion, which is returning your vehicle to stock options. We will go through every type and explain if you can go back to stock or not.

Non-Crossmember

If you have a non-crossmember lift kit installed in your truck, you need to have prior knowledge of how these lift kits work. Be careful not to apply the wrong knowledge to the wrong type of lift kit.

Generally, you have to cut the crossmember of your truck to install a new crossmember that supports the lift kit. But, since this is a kit that does not require a crossmember, you don't have to worry about cutting anything.

To go back to stock, you have to remove the components of the kit one by one and put the stock components back in. Sounds easy? It is for this very reason that people prefer non-crossmember kits. 

Crossmember

In the kits that do require new crossmembers, the process is more complex. Since you need to cut pieces of your stock frame to make room for the new parts, going back to stock is possible but doubly challenging to do so.

If you don't know how to weld, then buckle up and get a professional. Because if you want to go back to stock, your only option is to fuse the pieces together that you cut before.

The thing is, most people do not keep their original stock section of the frame. Even if you have the piece, it is not advisable to weld the old pieces together due to safety reasons.

Leveled

Going back to stock is much easier with a leveled truck since the only thing you need to do is detach the leveling kit from the vehicle. It is the easiest out of the three because the vehicle essentially comes pre-lifted from the company.

If you're thinking about other options, rest assured because you have a wide range of options to choose from. Because of the versatility of these leveling kits, you can easily upgrade to a higher or lower lift without having to deal with too many mechanical parts.

Tips

If you choose to go back to stock options, then you should be mindful of these –

Final Words

So, as we've established, it doesn't matter what type of lifting kit you have installed on your truck.

Out of all the main types of kits, almost all of them allow you to go back to stock. You don't have to run around asking people about your vehicle at all.

We can guarantee that the informative guide we put together answered the question "can I remove my lift kit and go back to stock?" rather adequately.

Hopefully, you will follow this guide correctly to check whether your lift kit and your vehicle are eligible enough to go back to stock options.