Raising Silverado Front ends

mark97213 · June 8, 2004

Greetings boys and girls! You know, I just love my 2002 Silverado 4x4 but you know... for a 4x4, the drooping front end just doesn't look right... at least not to me. Now, I am really just concerned with appearences to save on the discussion points of 4 wheeling advantages... So, with that... Can one raise the front end up on the 4x4's to level out the truck a little more with out any drawbacks on ride quality or wear and tear after raising and re-aligning?

Shaners · June 8, 2004

BY cranking the torsion bars you can get an inch or so of lift out of the front of your truck. Re-alignment is a good idea afterwords.

I doubt an inch of lift will cause any problems with wear and tear items.

Your ride will stiffen up a little bit depending on how far you lift the front with the torsion bars, but it isn't very bad and in alot of cases actually makes the truck ride better, because it tends to match the stiffness of the rear suspension.

mark97213 · June 8, 2004

Thanks for the insight.... being a Silverado owner... what's your opinion on the droopy front end? Should they have raised it? I have to imagine Chevrolet had an intended purpose for such but...?!

Shaners · June 9, 2004

The front ends sit lower so that if you have the max cargo capacity in your bed, then your headlights aren't spotting racoons in the trees at night.

Most people don't carry heavy loads in their beds all the time, so a little cranking of the torsion bars helps give a little better apearance.

mark97213 · June 9, 2004

Ahhhh gotcha.... definitely makes sense! It just always seemed the 1500 Drooped a little more than most, espcially compared to thhe 2500 & 3500 but like you said, that makes sense... the hheavier thhe suspension, the less of a "droop"!

MSUChevyMan · June 10, 2004

Is cranking on these torsion bars anything complicated? Or is it something that I can do on my own? I agree that aligning would be a good idea afterwards, so should I just have a shop do the torsion bars and the aligning? Thanks!

Wingnut · June 10, 2004

You can crank your own bars in less than 5 minutes. It only takes an 18mm socket.

jasonaspears · June 10, 2004

You can always go with Ford T-bar keys as well. That will accomplisht he lift without maxing out the bars! $35 or so bucks and everything is all nice and pretty without maxing out anything!

bsimpson · June 10, 2004

I adjusted my t-bars up on my 2500 crew 4x4 2004 and the ride dramatically changed. I'll be putting it back to stock and going with a lleveling lift. I never thought it would make that big of a difference, but if you like a bone jarring ride go for it..it does look good.

lrymal · June 10, 2004

I totally agree with bsimpson. Leave the torsion bars alone!!! They are not there just for look enancements, but for adjustment in case you have to load the front end with heavy accessories.

If you constantly have access to nice smooth roads and rarely have to deal with crummy highways, then yeah, the crank up of the TBs are ok.

But, if you are on rural dirt roads, awful highways with misaligned expansion joints, pot holes, etc., then you'll be missing your smooth ride which you have now.

Once you play around with those torsion bars, the ride will stiffen up. Don't believe it? Ride in a truck that has had it done. Go with the lift.