Jump to content

Lifting 2004 1500 LS RWD EXT CAB


Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello all,

 

Really hoping to find some help with this. I recently was gifted an '04 1500 LS RWD EXT Cab with 107k on the clock. It is INSANELY low. Blows my mind how low it is. It looks more like an El Camino. I need to lift it.

 

So, do I lift the suspension and body, or just the suspension, or just the body? I won't be taking this thing off road, so I assume a Rough Country kit should be fine, right? Do I need a leveling kit as well?

 

What would you guys do in my shoes? I'd like it to sit a littler higher than a standard truck.

post-173449-0-70736900-1506358570_thumb.jpg

post-173449-0-70736900-1506358570_thumb.jpg

post-173449-0-70736900-1506358570_thumb.jpg

post-173449-0-70736900-1506358570_thumb.jpg

Posted

I would put a two inch body with a four inch suspension.

 

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

Thank you for the input! Do you know if I need to level it as well? Or will the kits take care of that?

Posted

It depends on how high you want it. Rough country has a 2", 4.5", and 6" kits for your truck. 2" is a levelin kit, 4.5" is a 3" spindle lift and 1.5" levelin kit, and the 6" is a full bracket 6" lift.

Posted

It depends on how high you want it. Rough country has a 2", 4.5", and 6" kits for your truck. 2" is a levelin kit, 4.5" is a 3" spindle lift and 1.5" levelin kit, and the 6" is a full bracket 6" lift.

 

With how low it sits now, it could probably use 6" of lift. Do you know if it is best to go with a 6" suspension lift, or do a 2" body lift with a 4.5" suspension lift?

Posted

 

With how low it sits now, it could probably use 6" of lift. Do you know if it is best to go with a 6" suspension lift, or do a 2" body lift with a 4.5" suspension lift?

If it were me, I'd do the 6" with a 1.5" zone body lift. I have the body lift on my 01 and love it.

Posted

Man, you got gifted a nice looking truck. My '03 is rusted as hell up here in PA.

 

I guess you're probably young and don't have endless money that you should spend on making a 2WD truck look like a 4wd truck. Another thought is that I love the pro-street look as well as the 4x4 look. IF you lift it a decent amount, you'll need rims and tires also to finish the look. Instead of body and suspension lift kits + wheels and tires, you could embrace the pro-street look and just get wheels and tires. Like 1" wider rims and tires up front, and some meaty rims and tires in the back, and save all the money of lifting. Looks like you already have a cool stance for the pro-street look.

 

Anyway, whatever you decide, that's a great looking truck and I'm sure you'll have good times in it!

Posted

Man, you got gifted a nice looking truck. My '03 is rusted as hell up here in PA.

 

I guess you're probably young and don't have endless money that you should spend on making a 2WD truck look like a 4wd truck. Another thought is that I love the pro-street look as well as the 4x4 look. IF you lift it a decent amount, you'll need rims and tires also to finish the look. Instead of body and suspension lift kits + wheels and tires, you could embrace the pro-street look and just get wheels and tires. Like 1" wider rims and tires up front, and some meaty rims and tires in the back, and save all the money of lifting. Looks like you already have a cool stance for the pro-street look.

 

Anyway, whatever you decide, that's a great looking truck and I'm sure you'll have good times in it!

 

 

Thanks for the reply! Im not young, and I have a decent amount of money to spend on making the truck appeal to my liking. Ive thought about the street SS look, but Id need to change the bumpers and remove the trim on the doors. Also, I live in Houston and would like to be able to take it through flood waters. So Ive decided to lift it.

 

What Ive read is that a suspension lift look great, but will leave its center of gravity high. With a slight body lift encorporated into the lift, it may lessen that. Just thinking everything through before I pull the trigger.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • I like the idea.  I would pick diesel if I had a choice. I need pictures though.
    • I've installed cheap eBay new aftermarket digitizers before.  They work.  Did a bunch of Cadillac CUE (aka Cadillac's MyLink) for someone years ago.  They all worked fine after the repair.    That number 22740886, that is a component part # for GM.  You can use it to search, but its not something that's obtainable at the dealer level.     So pretty much any of these will work - 2015 Colorado Digitizer for sale | eBay
    • Black bumper and the later years Z-71 style color matched grille.
    • You can install tailpipes that direct the exhaust sideways vs the OEM one that goes straight back. There are several on the market, do you own research. HOWEVER, you need to make sure the Venturi vents are still intact, otherwise it will throw a engine code. There is a sensor somewhere that detects back pressure on the exhaust. And if it doesn't collect the correct metrics, it will throw the truck into limp mode. 
    • "Teardown" is complete. Head surfaces are clean and ready, new intake is prepped and ready. Coolant drained and water pump is removed, radiator is removed, new hoses and pump are ready.   The replacement intake is also from a '95 (with I think 260k, the odometer said). Noticeably less pitting where it covers the rear coolant passages. I'm not sure if that's a tribute to more frequent use, more frequent coolant changes/upkeep, or if the intake was machined at some point. But it appears I found a good one.   My coolant hoses were original, and the lower hose still retained the factory spring inside. It's not really rusty, but it's got deposits all over it. Unsure if I should re-install it (will thoroughly clean it first). Someone said hose technology has gotten better since 1995 (has it?) and I don't need the spring. I think modern EPDM is what made those hoses last from 1995-2026, so it's a question of how much suction can the water pump really pull, and will it collapse the hose without a spring?   I'm stopped and waiting for parts, however.   When I first brought the truck home, the fan was intermittently hitting the radiator shroud. I could see someone had monkeyed with the shroud (put a bunch of cardboard as a spacer between the upper/lower shroud halves. Someone said the motor mounts have likely failed and the engine has sagged. I wasn't sure I believed that. The engine is really solid in its mounts: To remove the old intake I *just* nearly permanently welded to the heads with freshly cured RTV and gasket snot two weeks ago, I literally had to use the arms on my lift and a chain with a bolt attached to the intake to pull it loose. It almost picked the front of the truck off the ground before ....scuuuuuuuuuuup.... I could actually hear the gaskets tearing and it broke loose and the whole truck settled back down. Motor barely moved.   SO, those parts I'm waiting on... The lower radiator mounts/bushings had completely failed. The radiator needs to be insulated from the rad support, and the bushings help the rad stand at the correct height. The plastic "baffle" was also destroyed at some point. Someone had attached the shroud to it incorrectly, overlapping a joint that should have been underlapped, creating another suspect issue potentially causing things to hit the fan. Broken tabs, side is busted off, and it's perma-formed/bent where it was jimmied incorrectly.   The baffle? Unobtainum. Long since discontinued from GM, of course. Aftermarket/capa/chinese? Also unobtanium. In GM's infinite wisdom, it appears there are at least two different variations whether the Blazer is 2 or 4 door, and I can't yet tell if they shared the same part with the S-pickups. Plan B, if I can't find a viable used one, will be to create a bracket to re-assemble the critical joint I need to seal a gap with the shroud. But that will bug me, it won't be...perfect.   The water pump bolts appear to have been installed with...plumber's putty. I guess, sure, if it works...? I've found a few "backyard fixes" like that. Someone's been here before....   If I can't find someone to jam bamboo under my fingernails to fill my free time this week I think I'll install the driver's power window motor and replace the rear door speaker that's inop. I've got a genuine GM "9.5" ohm working replacement. Why GM used a non-standard resistance....nevermind. Of course they did, you can get more sound from a cheap factory amp that way.   And the saga goes on...
  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...