2019+ leveled trucks

[bluemonstercali]

2wd motofab 1.5" bottom spacer. 

[Luckyfd]

On 2/14/2020 at 12:05 PM, Flatblack83 said:

 

What wheel n tire did u choose..? The wheels look good, its hard to tell tho on the tires and the size.

35” bfg all terrain 18” Kmc XD wheels 

[Fast325it]

I've been lurking on this thread as well as others and am considering Bilstein 5100s to level the front of my 2019 HC 6.2 and a 1" block to keep a small rake for towing. Has anyone that's installed a front level or a rear block noticed a vibration front or rear after install? Other threads discuss vibrations after installations of blocks, perhaps because pinion angles have changed. Would a 2" front level create a need for different UCAs or axles? What's the difference between standard front axles and AT4 front axles?

[MRP]

Something to remember when you lifting the front of the truck to level it,  the chassis and jacking points are raised.  As such you may have a problem using your standard jack to lift the front tire off the ground.  The AT4 and Trailboss have different jacks to take this extra ride height into account.

 

I have done two things to help remedy this.  I have made a wooden jack base that I place the jack on when lifting the front.  I also have a block of wood that I put in between the UCA and the bump stop (sits on the back side of the shock turret) to limit the amount of downward wheel travel.  Both work well and cheap and easy to do.

[MRP]

11 hours ago, Fast325it said:

I've been lurking on this thread as well as others and am considering Bilstein 5100s to level the front of my 2019 HC 6.2 and a 1" block to keep a small rake for towing. Has anyone that's installed a front level or a rear block noticed a vibration front or rear after install? Other threads discuss vibrations after installations of blocks, perhaps because pinion angles have changed. Would a 2" front level create a need for different UCAs or axles? What's the difference between standard front axles and AT4 front axles?

If your High Country does not have magnaride  then the 5100 swap and ride height adjustment should be straight forward.   I have just completed a 2 inch lift on my 2019 Elevation using the AT4 5100's with the fronts at +0.55 inches above stock AT4 height. I used the Readylift 2.25 blocks in the back and removed the wedge/shim that was installed from the factory.  I also installed the tapered lift block with the wide side at the front (contrary to what Readylift said) as I found that this got the pinion angle close to the angle of the drive train.  No vibrations. If you are going to go up to two inches on the front you should be ok with the CV axles as long as you do not hang them out to the max when off roading etc.  The AT4 CV axles are a bit longer to cater for more droop.  Your upper control arms will be fine as the they are the same on the lower Elevation type models and the AT4/Trailboss models, as long as you do not go too far past the 2 inch lift.  I have attached the  installation for the 5100 front shocks for the non lifted GM trucks as well as the installation for the AT4/Trailboss.  If you plan on lifting the front 2inches with the 5100 then rather go for the AT4 shocks and keep standard height.  If I recall correctly the standard 5100 rear shocks for Elevation etc. could be used when the back is raised 1 inch.  i.e. you could use the AT4 front shocks and the Elevation back shocks.

Bilstein shocks for AT4.pdf Bilstein shocks for elevation.pdf

[lapoolboy]

10 hours ago, MRP said:

The AT4 and Trailboss have different jacks to take this extra ride height into account.

Nope.  The jacks are exactly the same, with the same part number as the standard trucks' jacks, and the same extension.  I checked against the one that came in my truck vs. a buddie's AT4 jack vs. the one that came in my lift kit.  All identical.

[lapoolboy]

9 hours ago, MRP said:

I used the Readylift 2.25 blocks in the back and removed the wedge/shim that was installed from the factory.  I also installed the tapered lift block with the wide side at the front (contrary to what Readylift said) as I found that this got the pinion angle close to the angle of the drive train.

Why?  Did you put a gauge on it or did you just eyeball it?  You've increased the pinion angle over stock by doing this.  What is the angle at the tailshaft vs. at the diff?  There is a reason lift blocks are tapered....it is to correct the pinion angle for the increased lift AND keep the driveshaft in the transmission.  

[MRP]

9 hours ago, lapoolboy said:

Nope.  The jacks are exactly the same, with the same part number as the standard trucks' jacks, and the same extension.  I checked against the one that came in my truck vs. a buddie's AT4 jack vs. the one that came in my lift kit.  All identical.

That is interesting and contrary to what I was told by my lock GM dealer when I was investigating lifting my truck.  When I looked at the GM 2 inch lift kit, and asked why it included a new jack, I was told that it was to cater for the extra lift on the front and that is why the AT 4 and Elevation had different jacks.  Either way, I did not end up going with the GM kit, primarily because I did not want another set of Rancho shocks on my truck.   Hence just going the wooden block route mentioned in my previous article.  If it turns out that I do not need the blocks, it's still a win as I do not have to turn the jack out so far to make contact.

[MRP]

9 hours ago, lapoolboy said:

Why?  Did you put a gauge on it or did you just eyeball it?  You've increased the pinion angle over stock by doing this.  What is the angle at the tailshaft vs. at the diff?  There is a reason lift blocks are tapered....it is to correct the pinion angle for the increased lift AND keep the driveshaft in the transmission.  

It would be impossible to just eyeball those angles.  I used a gauge and put it on the front crank pulley and on the heads of the bolts for the auto box pan, just to get two engine/drive train angle readings.  I then put it on the face of the pinion flange.  What made it work out is that I took out the wedges that were in from  the factory before I put in the  lift blocks.  The taper on the factory wedges is about double that of the lift blocks.  When I spoke to Readylift, they said to leave the factory wedge in and then install the lift blocks with the narrow side to the front.  I did not want to leave the wedges in as they are shorter than the length of the lift blocks.  I now have full contact between the blades and lift blocks.  The nett effect in terms of change in pinion angle would be the same as the one offsets the other.

[lapoolboy]

2 hours ago, MRP said:

It would be impossible to just eyeball those angles.  I used a gauge and put it on the front crank pulley and on the heads of the bolts for the auto box pan, just to get two engine/drive train angle readings.  I then put it on the face of the pinion flange.  What made it work out is that I took out the wedges that were in from  the factory before I put in the  lift blocks.  The taper on the factory wedges is about double that of the lift blocks.  When I spoke to Readylift, they said to leave the factory wedge in and then install the lift blocks with the narrow side to the front.  I did not want to leave the wedges in as they are shorter than the length of the lift blocks.  I now have full contact between the blades and lift blocks.  The nett effect in terms of change in pinion angle would be the same as the one offsets the other.

What are your MEASURED angles now, specifically?

[MRP]

38 minutes ago, lapoolboy said:

What are your MEASURED angles now, specifically?

2 degrees off vertical

[srqtboss]

like to see 2019 trail boss level kits also

[DkG]

On 8/16/2019 at 8:24 PM, rmkmb said:

2” front level ,1” rear block

285/60/20 Toyo’s

 

 

Your truck looks great!

Do you know what the Rake ended up being?

[SSCHUU]

I just picked up a '21 RST 2WD and want to do a level kit on it. Which one should I go with? Upper or Lower Mount? 

[davidr83]

5 hours ago, SSCHUU said:

I just picked up a '21 RST 2WD and want to do a level kit on it. Which one should I go with? Upper or Lower Mount? 

On a 2wd it's not as critical since there is no front axle shaft that could potentially hit/rub on a bottom mount if you go with 2"+ lift blocks. You could go with either or both depending on how high you go. More than 3" I believe (someone who's done it correct me if I'm wrong) you will want to consider getting new upper control arms.

Bottom mounts are a little easier to install since you don't have to remove the struts. You should still get the alignment checked regardless of which type of level you use as well.