2014+ Lowering / Drop Kits

lovelessjl · March 5, 2018

The spindles are part number 34204, which do come with the upper control arm, and my control arms are the stamped steel versions. I'm using the 34155 kit which is the strut rings and spacers and the rear adjustable flip kit to get a 3/5 drop.

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OK, a little update on this particular combo from mcgaughys.

The rear flip kit went in with no issues, everyone knows it's a bit of a pain to do especially on Jack stands. So no surprises there, with the exception that instead of having to shorten my driveshaft as some have had to do on an RCSB, I actually could probably add an inch and still have plenty of room for movement.

Now on to the front. The spindles and the strut rings/spacers go in easy enough. It's a little different because the top ball joint stud is recessed (you need a deep 19mm thin walled socket for this) and you have to cut the stud off, even with the bottom of the nut, or close to it anyways, to make room for the cv axles.

Here's where things went sideways. When I tried to reinstall the cv axle, no go. The strut ring hits the axle and I will have to do a significant amount of grinding to make enough clearance to get the cv axle to fit.

While this combo will work to lower a 4x4 truck, I wouldn't recommend it due to the added grinding required to make it work. There are easier options out there.

Note: mcgaughys lists the 34155 kit as fitting a 2wd truck, they don't list it for 4x4 trucks. Now I know why. I knew there was the possibility of things not fitting just right, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways.

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Eddie 70 · March 5, 2018

I put McGaughy's 2 inch shackles in mine a few months back to lower the rear. One of the guys I work with has a 2014 Z71 that is stock. Last week he parked beside me and my 2wd is setting at the same height. I looked up at his shackles to verify his were stock and he has a couple of inches room above his shackles and they are short. Mine are dropped shackles and right up against the rib on the bed. Any ideas why is mine so high? The before and after measurements prove a drop occured.

Nasty · March 5, 2018

2 hours ago, Eddie 70 said:

I put McGaughy's 2 inch shackles in mine a few months back to lower the rear. One of the guys I work with has a 2014 Z71 that is stock. Last week he parked beside me and my 2wd is setting at the same height. I looked up at his shackles to verify his were stock and he has a couple of inches room above his shackles and they are short. Mine are dropped shackles and right up against the rib on the bed. Any ideas why is mine so high? The before and after measurements prove a drop occured.

Is yours a regular cab and his a crew cab?

Eddie 70 · March 5, 2018

3 minutes ago, Nasty said:

Is yours a regular cab and his a crew cab?

I am double and his crew. I am 2wd , his 4wd.

SirenRed16 · March 5, 2018

I put McGaughy's 2 inch shackles in mine a few months back to lower the rear. One of the guys I work with has a 2014 Z71 that is stock. Last week he parked beside me and my 2wd is setting at the same height. I looked up at his shackles to verify his were stock and he has a couple of inches room above his shackles and they are short. Mine are dropped shackles and right up against the rib on the bed. Any ideas why is mine so high? The before and after measurements prove a drop occured.

First thing that comes to me is do you guys have the same wheel/tire set up? 2 inches should of gave you a good amount of difference between the two

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Derek66lsx · March 6, 2018

On 3/5/2018 at 12:12 AM, lovelessjl said:

OK, a little update on this particular combo from mcgaughys.

The rear flip kit went in with no issues, everyone knows it's a bit of a pain to do especially on Jack stands. So no surprises there, with the exception that instead of having to shorten my driveshaft as some have had to do on an RCSB, I actually could probably add an inch and still have plenty of room for movement.

Now on to the front. The spindles and the strut rings/spacers go in easy enough. It's a little different because the top ball joint stud is recessed (you need a deep 19mm thin walled socket for this) and you have to cut the stud off, even with the bottom of the nut, or close to it anyways, to make room for the cv axles.

Here's where things went sideways. When I tried to reinstall the cv axle, no go. The strut ring hits the axle and I will have to do a significant amount of grinding to make enough clearance to get the cv axle to fit.

While this combo will work to lower a 4x4 truck, I wouldn't recommend it due to the added grinding required to make it work. There are easier options out there.

Note: mcgaughys lists the 34155 kit as fitting a 2wd truck, they don't list it for 4x4 trucks. Now I know why. I knew there was the possibility of things not fitting just right, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways.

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thanks for the update! sounds like a pain in the ass

i guess i will see if i can find any other spindles that will work with a 4x4 and aluminum front end, or just leave at my current 2" drop i guess

lovelessjl · March 6, 2018

thanks for the update! sounds like a pain in the ass

i guess i will see if i can find any other spindles that will work with a 4x4 and aluminum front end, or just leave at my current 2" drop i guess

So after talking to Rob at suspensionsuperstore.com, turns out they have 1" lowering springs. So I'm gonna try that out instead of grinding away a lot of the spring mount. Should be here in a day or two, I'll let you know how it goes.

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KD5FPV · March 7, 2018

On 2/28/2018 at 1:51 PM, GMC_SD_Ult_16 said:

That is looking good..I have a similar looking truck...I can see why you did it...You don't happen to be in the DFW Texas area and are interested in doing one...Did you have to adjust for Magride?

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Bonjosco3ss · March 9, 2018

Has anyone found a helper bag kit for a 3” drop in the rear. I was looking at the 4-6” drop kit and maybe making a spacer.

Heavy_Static · March 9, 2018

51 minutes ago, Bonjosco3ss said:

Has anyone found a helper bag kit for a 3” drop in the rear. I was looking at the 4-6” drop kit and maybe making a spacer.

At a 3" drop you're nowhere near bottoming out even with heavy loads, so that's why you're running into trouble finding a kit. Understanding your aesthetic concerns with the rear riding lower than the front when loaded, you're going to have to fab something to work if you want to go that route. Or just slam it and go air ride ;)

Bonjosco3ss · March 9, 2018

At a 3" drop you're nowhere near bottoming out even with heavy loads, so that's why you're running into trouble finding a kit. Understanding your aesthetic concerns with the rear riding lower than the front when loaded, you're going to have to fab something to work if you want to go that route. Or just slam it and go air ride ;)

Not worried about bottoming out. I load the truck up from time to time. I just wanna keep it level when loaded. So it’s not sagging in the rear.

Heavy_Static · March 9, 2018

Just now, Bonjosco3ss said:

Not worried about bottoming out. I load the truck up from time to time. I just wanna keep it level when loaded. So it’s not sagging in the rear.

Right. So you're going to have to fabricate something to make one of the other kits work for your needs.

GMC_SD_Ult_16 · March 11, 2018

I went to my dealer the other day to talk about dropping the back end 2" using drop shackles...Dealer guy said they had several that had done this and started getting bad vibration due to the driveline distance beening affected. Anyone else noted this issue or had to adjust this in someway to prevent issues..I know the Magride can cause bad ride as well unless adjusted. Any feed back appreciated.

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KD5FPV · March 11, 2018

4 minutes ago, GMC_SD_Ult_16 said:

I went to my dealer the other day to talk about dropping the back end 2" using drop shackles...Dealer guy said they had several that had done this and started getting bad vibration due to the driveline distance beening affected. Anyone else noted this issue or had to adjust this in someway to prevent issues..I know the Magride can cause bad ride as well unless adjusted. Any feed back appreciated.

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IMO It's probably not the distance that is causing the vibration. Most likely the angle. I know a lot of kits come with shims to straighten up the driveline.

GMC_SD_Ult_16 · March 11, 2018

IMO It's probably not the distance that is causing the vibration. Most likely the angle. I know a lot of kits come with shims to straighten up the driveline.

Hey KD,
Thanks for the feedback... I happened to be over there trying to get the details of how to adjust for doing the drop on Magride...What you are saying makes sense...He did not explain it fully so trying to understand what he was saying. Between adjusting for Magride and driveline shimming the last thing I want to do is have the truck start driving differently or vibrating.
Thanks.

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