Need Help With 1997 2500 Snow Plow Install

ecro77 · October 27, 2011

Hello- I am getting ready to buy a very nice 1997 gmc 2500 with the 6.5 Diesel. Am I going to have any isue with putting either a Fisher XLS, Extreme-V or X-blade on this truck? Need to know before I buy the truck.... Thank you!

canadiantowman · October 27, 2011

not a 100% sure on this but I think they will be a little heavy for a 2500, I think you will need to put timbren under the front susp.

http://www.timbren.com/

Hopefully some of the plow guys will jump in, I have always used a 3500 to plow with.

Also you can go on snow plow sites to get more info.

http://www.letstalksnow.com

http://www.plowsite.com

Hope this helps you.

newdude · October 28, 2011

Hello- I am getting ready to buy a very nice 1997 gmc 2500 with the 6.5 Diesel. Am I going to have any isue with putting either a Fisher XLS, Extreme-V or X-blade on this truck? Need to know before I buy the truck.... Thank you!

The Fisher E-match on their site shows nothing more than a 7'6" blade. If you do go bigger, do Timbrens, maybe a bar crank or two.

A must if you go big and do not want any frame issues is gussets at the control arms.

This is a gusset install on a similar year truck, as 99 and up use only 1 gusset: http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=113...mp;postcount=43

Some more info: http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=8...ighlight=gusset

ecro77 · October 28, 2011

Do I get the Timbrens just for the front, or front and rear>> The truck has a 2" lift, does that help or hurt this situation?? Thanks

Kodiak450 · October 28, 2011

What size blade are you going to go with? The V plow's are big blades and weigh too much for your truck with a diesel. I have a friend who put a fisher V plow on his 06 powerstroke diesel and the blade was draggin practically. Every little bump or uneven part of the road he traveled would cause the blade to scrape, he had about 1/2" clearence fully raised.

I would definately use timbrens ses up front no matter what size blade you choose. they make them for the back, but question is are you going to be hauling alot of weight? I personally would do heavier springs up front on your year truck as those years had smaller frames and very little clearence up front. Even though a 7.6 blade would be ok, you will wear tires down real fast (especially with a diesel engine). The Timbrens SES are close to $200 shipped to your house, they go on easy if you get your truck on a lift, but you still can use a good jack to install them. After install, you'll notice a good 3" of clearence at first, as you start driving they settle some, then once you put the blade on they settle a little more. So don't worry about adjusting your headlights at first. Before Timbrens were installed on my truck, my 8.0 Western Pro Plus would drop my front end 2 3/4" when raised. With Timbrens SES installed my front end only drops 1" when blade is raised. I no longer have to slow down on roads that are bumpy as my truck doesn't cause blade to impact asphalt or gravel roads when driving with the blade raised.

With rear i opted to go with a heavy duty spring added to my stack. It raised the rear 3 1/2" and no longer does my trailer drop my rear when loaded. It takes over 2000 lbs to drop my rear 1" with the heavy duty springs. And even with a 2000 lb palet of rock salt loaded on my bed, my truck sits 2 1/2" higher then it did unloaded when it was stock. The added springs give me longer tire wear as well. Use to buy new tires every 12-18 months tops before the heavy duty springs, now I'm getting 2-3 years out of the rear tires. So the springs have paid for themselves. Best $400 investment I made in suspension and highly recommend it.

With your gen truck, your frame is 2" smaller in height and has no torsion bars to crank. Though I ran a 7.6 blade on my 96 F250 cause I used to live int he eastern part of the state which had small driveways and a 7.5 suited my needs and a 8.0 was too big to navigate tight streets with many parked cars, along with small driveways I never bothered to add leaf's to the front stack. I've seen them added on other F250's that had 8.0' blades as it needed the strength to support it. The stock clearence between the 90's ear trucks and the 03's and up is the difference between night and day. I really love the clearence that the HD's come with stock, but still needed some tweaking for my needs. I'm not familar with 2" lifts or any type of lifts for that matter when it comes to having them and using the truck for plowing. I would imagine it would put stress on the lift assembly and the shocks would be absorbing alot of the weight. With adding rear springs to your existing stack, you are directing the weight onto the frame vs the tires. I know that sounds kinda strange, so I'll explain it like this. If you took a yard of crushed gravel and loaded it into your bed via a front loader, your bed would drop some, causing your tires to squat and appear as if they needed air added to them. With having added springs to your existing stack and taking that same load of crushed gravel added to your bed, your bed would not drop as much (depending on the weight of the stone) as I stated earlier, it takes little over 2000 lbs before my bed will start to drop with the added springs, as compared to a stock spring stack, where it would drop 3" easily.

You also will have a stiffer ride, I personally prefer a stiff ride, it also eliminates the rear from jumping around unloaded when you hit ruff pavement or pot holes and you feel the rear skipping. My rear stays stable and feels 100% in control with the added springs.

I have a friend who purchased a used 99 2500 and even though it was a 4wd truck with the big block engine, it stood in height like a 2wd truck compared to mine. I measured it and it was almost 4" smaller in height all around. Your truck has enough weight in the front right now with having a diesel engine and is pretty much at the stressing point. The Timbren SES will give you the extra strength and peice of mind knowing your front end will be slightly higher and feel much stronger. I would do a search on bing or google for best prices on the Timbren SES's. Some local auto parts stores in your area might also carry them, like a Napa which also carries a limited supply of plow repair kits.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask.