Will this kit damage my truck?

johnrunner89 · December 23, 2012

Hey guys, so seeing all the pics with leveling kits has made me interested. Also, I often like to take my Silverado on little adventures and put the 4wd to the test. Usually when we go dirt bike riding on the weekends, we sometimes take our trucks in the hills a little for grins. My ground clearance is low compared to some of buddies stock F250's, F350's or Tacomas. So I was hoping to just raise the front a little to level the truck and remove the bottom bumper plastic air piece to add some additional clearance. Would a leveling kit be okay in this situation or will the rough terrain and stress of off-roading do damage to the truck with the kit on? I just want to make sure that a leveling kit won't hurt anything since I will be taking my truck off road from time to time.

Kit I'm in interested in is the Rough Country 2" level kit.

http://www.roughcoun...eveling_kit.php

And don't know if my model of Silverado makes a difference but its is a 08' Silverado 1500 (6.0L vmax) LTZ Crew Cab z71 4x4.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

Oh and for those of you that have added the kit. Would you recommend installing it yourself? Or is it something a shop should do?

zach1990 · December 23, 2012

I've takin mine offroad multiple times with a 2" level with no problems

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Mckenzie · December 23, 2012

I've taken mine off-roading through a fence and ditch going 50mph and my truck is still running fine haha...so to answer your question your truck will be fine and will benefit from the leveling kit!

scz71864 · December 23, 2012

Having a leveling kit that is 2.5 inches or less on these trucks is fine. It keeps your CV angles at a safe angle. You will also gain ground clearance. If you search at the top for "rough country" you will find a plethora of threads on that particular level kit.

SarahsGMC · December 23, 2012

you'll be fine, if you wanna offroad alot do a 4" rcx lift you'll be happy

johnrunner89 · December 23, 2012

Thanks guys for the replies. I'll go ahead and order the kit. And thanks for the tip Sarah, I was looking at those 4-6" lift kits but its a big leap in $ so I'm just going to go the route of the leveling kit.

johnrunner89 · December 24, 2012

Another quick question, the kit has two different part #'s. I guess if our control arms are aluminum or not matters. Is there somewhere we could check online to see if our truck has that or do all silverado's have/not have aluminum control arms? thanks.

BlackZ71Silverado · December 24, 2012

The XFE / hybrid models have aluminum. Your truck does not. Check the color of the lower control arms, should be almost black. I have the same truck.

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Jutty_Z71 · January 3, 2013

I would go with a STEEL kit if I were you. I read that the poly kits can warp/crack/settle over time. The kit that I have on my truck is made by Heavy Metal and you can get it on EBAY for around $65.00 shipped. If you can't find that, search for "Autospring". They pioneered the kits for the F-series trucks and make a similar one for our bowties. Your best bet is to measure from ground to wheel well on all four corners of your truck. Subtract the big number from the small number and thats the kit you need. For me, I got the 2.5'' HM kit and now my truck sits perfectly level. And no, it will not damage your truck. Just don't go above 2.5''.

BlackZ71Silverado · January 3, 2013

Nothing wrong with the Rough Country or any other Poly kit. They have been using that material fot years without issue.

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johnrunner89 · January 7, 2013

Well took the plunge and ordered the RC leveling kit! Can't wait for it to come in!

johnrunner89 · January 18, 2013

Alright guys, took my truck in to a dealer and had the RC level kit installed. Now I hear a squeaky noise coming from the front right wheel? Told the dealer about it and they said it was fine and they greased everything up, now the noise is back after driving around for a day. Any clues on what it could be? Thanks.

BlackZ71Silverado · January 18, 2013

It should not be making any noise. Check all the bolts to make sure they are torqued properly.

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johnrunner89 · January 18, 2013

I took it back to the dealer who installed it and they said everything was fine and they regreased it. Now after an afternoon of driving, the noise is back. It sounds like the noise come once after every rotation. Bearings maybe?