Lowering 2001 Denali

[leeah]

Hi,

I am new to the group and wondering what is a good brand to lower my Denali? I am planning on doing the work myself.

Thanks.

[asepgrad98]

all you need is a 18mm socket and a ratchet to lower the T-bars

[pwall]

Welcome to

[leeah]

all you need is a 18mm socket and a ratchet to lower the T-bars

 

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Thanks for the quick reply. I am very new to the truck and I was wondering if you can explain in details. What is T-Bar and how I need to proceed?

I thought I will need lowerin kit from Belltech or Ground Force to do the lowering.

Thanks.

[Rolandd]

To properly lower the truck you will need a lowering kit that drops the center of the front tires with respect to the suspension and you will need to move the rear axle up with respect to the rear springs.

 

The reference above involves backing off the tentioner bolts on the torson bars so that the torsion bars do not lift the front end to its normal ride height. The issue with this approach is that the front end geometry is designed for the suspension components to rest in a specific position when normally loaded (these parts obviously move, but on average, they will rest in a specific position). By backing off the torson bars, you change where the suspension rests on average. The ball joints, bushings, and other components are designed to be loaded in a specific way and if you change the load on these parts they will wear quickly. Also, your alignment is based on the suspension components being in a specific location on average. Changing the ride height by pushing the suspension out of its normal position will cause tire wear and other handling and braking issues. Also, you will lose suspension travel causing you to bottom out more frequently, further hammering on the front end parts.

 

A proper drop kit should include new spindles (the part that the wheel, brake rotor, and caliper are attached to) that move the wheel assembly up with respect to the upper and lower control arms. Some of these kits may require different rims to allow clearence for the lower control arm and other components. The kit will also include parts to drop the rear of the truck. Some kits may require welding to change the axle to mount on top of the springs instead of under them, other kits may change the spring mount points to more the axle up into the body. Make sure that the angle of the axle with respect to the drive shaft is maintained or you will have vibration issues from the rear u-joint. Also some kits require cutting and reinforcing a section of the frame on each side over the rear wheels so that the rear axle still has some room to travel.

 

When selecting a drop kit be sure that you honestly assess how you use the truck. If you load seven football-linebacker-buddies in the truck, the drop kit better allow you to carry 2000 pounds without bottoming out on every crack in the road. Do your research well before you get launched. Nothing like finding out you need $1000 in additional parts to complete the project because no one told you about the brake lines and five other things to sour the day.

 

If you are unsure of what is needed, contact a local shop and talk the project through with them. Make sure that they have done this job on this type of truck before and see what they say. What are common issues that complicate the project and what can you expect once the work is done--ride quality, parts clearance issues, long term issues, etc.? You are obviously a good mechanic if you are thinking of taking this project on. Do your homework and you should end up with an excellent mod to your truck.