Question for Tom

Off Road Red · September 15, 2002

Tom, I ordered a 3" PA body lift for my 99 Sierra and was wondering if you had any suggestions or tips for installing it. How much extra did you have to pay for those gap guards, also did you have to modify the gas filler neck at all?

MountaineerTom · September 15, 2002

Congrats. :thumb:

The gas filler neck does not have to be modified any at all. Only on the 2500's.

I got my Gap Guards here: http://www.tyres1.com They are $48.95 now, but they were around $53.00 when I bought mine. I think S&H was around $7-$8.

As far as tips, just plan on a full day, take your time, and if you have some buddies that can help, let them. It made it easier and fun too, for me. The job wasn't hard, just time consuming. We took the front and rear bumpers and the grille off on a Friday night. Then Saturday morning, about 8: 00-8:30, we jumped right into the job. We didn't rush anything because I knew we had Sunday to work on it too, if needed. By 10-11:pm, we had everything pretty much back together. That included stopping to eat lunch and supper, plus BS-ing a little bit along the way. I didn't have the airdam completed that night though. I took about a week and did a little thinking on how I wanted to fix the tow hooks. Personally, I thought the hardest part of the whole thing was removing and reinstalling the rear bumper. It seemed like there was a ton of bolts/nuts back there and all in kind of tight places. It didn't help that it was dark during both the removal and installation.

I've got some info on my page that may be able to help as far as a reference. My body lift page On that page of mine, there is a link to chevy4x4truck's web page, that has some info and pics of his body lift as well. They helped me before I put mine on. They are under the link "Install Info" link and Pictures" link.

Good luck and feel free to contact me if you need to. :thumb:

Lets see some pics too when your done.

MountaineerTom · September 15, 2002

Forgot a couple things. Check to see that you got all the parts in the kit against the parts list in the instructions. I was missing a couple washers. I e-mailed a lady named Mary Matli at PA, and she helped out a lot. I had the washer at my house with in 3-4 days.

Also, there are two skinny spacer blocks that go between the trailer hitch and rear bumper, if you have the factory hitch. They look just like the two skinny blocks that go between the frame and the back of the bed. But, the diameter of the holes that the bolts go through are different. The blocks that are not drilled out you will be able to see a small mold line in the center hole, the blocks that are drilled out will have a swirl pattern down through the center hole. If in doubt find the 14MM bolts in the bolt pack, They will be the largest diameter and check to see which blocks it will go through, these are the bolts that will bolt the blocks between the hitch and the bumper. That explanation of the bumper/hitch blocks was given to me by Mary, at PA. :thumb:

Off Road Red · September 16, 2002

Thanks a lot Tom, I don't think i'll have to worry about the hitch though, when I bought the truck it had a Hidden Hitch on it and I don't think think it bolts to the bumper a all.

MountaineerTom · September 16, 2002

Thanks a lot Tom, I don't think i'll have to worry about the hitch though, when I bought the truck it had a Hidden Hitch on it and I don't think think it bolts to the bumper a all.

How is that hidden hitch made? Is it the kind that you have to flip the license plate down to put the reciever in? If so, do you think it will come out just below the bumper after the body lift?

If it's not the kind that's behind the plates, will you still have a gap between it and the bumper after the lift (like my factory one)?

Do you have any pics of it? I'd like to see a before and after pics of the hitch, if you can and don't mind doing it.

When do you plan on installing it?

Off Road Red · September 16, 2002

This a picture of the hitch that I have(found a pic on a website), sorry I don't have a pic of it on the truck. The reciever sits below the bumper right now but it doesn't bolt to the bumper step like yours does.

My Webpage

chevy4x4trucks · September 16, 2002

congrats, it's a cheap and easy way to gain that more aggressive look. I've got a lot of install pics on my webpage as Tom had mentioned so be sure to look those over. The kit isn't all that hard to install, just very time consuming. I would recommend having a lot of tools on hand, including every imaginable socket and extension. I would also suggest having one or two people to help you out with it. It comes in handy when you can wrench underneath the truck and have a buddy get the bolt/tools ready for you. Saves a lot of time. Just make sure they are organized as well, a lot of bolts go in and out and I think the hardest part of the whole job was keeping everything straight.

If you have any questions or problems feel free to ask. If you want I can give you my phone number so if you hit a rough spot during the install you can bug me.

I got lift lips for my truck. I still have the rear ones I think, never got a chance to put them on before the truck got t-boned. But, they were about 50 bucks from liftlips.com I've still got a ton of bolts and stuff from the lift if you want my extra pieces from the lift we can work something out. I'd send the stuff to you, just pick up the S&H.

Off Road Red · September 17, 2002

Thanx alot for the help guys, but it's looking like it might be another couple weeks or so until i can put it on. I had a little accident last night, you see some teenagers went around pulling down road signs in the the country and one of the ones they pulled down was a dead end sign. Needless to say I took a wrong turn going to my buddys farm and went through this dead end at about 50mph staight through a barbed wire fence. No one was hurt, just a ton of scratches a broken grill and one very angry driver.

chevy4x4trucks · September 17, 2002

ouch, well keep me posted. If you have any questions or anything about all the pics on my site let me know. Drop me a PM or email me at [email protected]