rough country Rough Country 3.5" Lift

[Newber]

Hi All. I know this topic has been touched on numerous times now, but I thought I would add my two cents on the Rough Country 3.5" Lift and my experience. I wanted to create this post for other who may have the same lift and need some guidance on what to expect and what to do to correct the known issues. This is for a 2008 Chevy Suburban LT/Tahoe LTZ. I am sure this will apply to Avalanche as well, but may give other vehicle owners a starting point. Plus, I have not found this information on the internet anywhere.

 

I purchased this lift for a friend to lift her 2008 Chevy Tahoe with Auto Ride. I knew it wasn't made for Auto Ride, but i did an Auto Ride delete. After all, thinking base suspension, resetting to stock is a no brainer. However, I questioned some things that did not seem right during the installation namely the knuckles. The UCA's that came with the kit were tough enough, however, they sat at a 45 degree angle. Setting caster could not be done. She had a budget and I did what I could under her budget. Also, the front axles were almost at max angle too.

 

Well, I have a 2008 Chevy Suburban without Auto Ride, and I wanted the same lift for my vehicle. I bought the lift, but what I did different was that I also purchased Skyjacker 3.5 - 4" lifted knuckles. The cost was $671 and you have to contact Skyjacker to purchase them separate from their kit. This solved the UCA angle problem and brought it back to stock spec. It also brought the front axle angles back to to stock spec as well. Then three new problems arose. One, toe could not be set and the wheels were way out of whack. Two, as mentioned in other posts, camber/caster could not be set because the new knuckles have an offset neck. This cause the tires to stick out at the top, and maxes out the UCA within the bracket. Three, when installing bigger tires, one side sticks out farther in the rear toward the passenger side, and the driver side is tucked in.

 

Fixing issue one: I had to modify the outer tie rods by having 1" cut off with a chop saw. I went to a muffler shop and they did it for free. Then I realized I still did not have enough adjustment, so I cut off half an inch of the tie rod itself. This preserved integrity but also gave me what I needed in terms of toe in/out adjustment. The new lift knuckles tie rod side of the knuckle curves in, whereas stock is straight.

 

Fixing issue two: Purchasing and installing offset ball joints into the UCA's to correct the camber/caster issue created by the new lift knuckles. When I realized the problem, right away, the camber is just "almost" there but not quite. As mentioned in other posts, you will run on the outer edge of your tires. By installing this part it restores camber/caster adjustment by pulling the UCA "out" from maxed in position allowing for adjustment. The part number from MOOG RK100215 Driver side and MOOG RK100214 Passenger side. (Cost: $137 per UCA depending on where it is purchased). These UCA's come with the offset ball joint. I took mine in to Tire Rama, and because it is a "specialty" part, they installed my part without issue. Tire Rama was very cheap. I paid $162 for the install and $81 for the alignment. (This may vary based on your location) Everything is now fixed and aligned without further issue or worry. (NOTE: The RC UCA's did not work on my application. The cup on the RC UCA is too deep to accommodate the offset ball joint.)

 

Fixing issue three: Purchasing an adjustable track bar allows for the rear wheels to be evened out. The stock track bar is not adjustable. This might not matter to some people, however, you can get the dog leg effect where the rear of the vehicle does not drive in a straight line with the front of the vehicle. Spohn makes one for my vehicle and it costs around $125.

 

You will need to cut the UCA bracket before UCA installation if you decide to go with these parts mentioned above. I am a newb, not to working on vehicles, but to doing lifts. The lift I did on my vehicle is my only second one. The lift itself is straight forward. I added new tail lights, headlights, fender flares (Had to get the ones made for the Chevy Avalanche,as they do not make the pocket style for suburban), tinted windows (3M 20%front, 35% rear over stock tint), dual cat back exhaust w/flowmaster super 10 and 18" tips. I ran with an 18" 10 ply GoodYear Wrangler Duratrac Tire, and a 18" Fuel Vapor D569 wheel with -12 offset. My project is almost complete as of today, all that is left is to tune it.

 

I hope this helps someone. I wish I had this information sooner myself.