Lift Kit

tcracing425ex · March 8, 2008

will this work on my 03 GM 1500HD? anything else i need to get with it? im only looking to get a little more height out of my truck and this seems like a killer price one something like this.

lift site

kdog55 · March 9, 2008

Where in the heck would those coil springs go? I am no mechanic, but these things are torsion bar suspension. I have had an 88, 96, 2000, and now a 2005 and none of mine had any coil springs. Some one let me know where these would go, please.

Also, if this lift is for a 2003, why would they have an example picture of a mid-80's style truck? They are no where even close for comparison. And they would of had a leaf spring suspension also. I really don't understand it. But like i said, I am not a mechanic!!

tcracing425ex · March 9, 2008

yea i was wondering that too. but it says it will work on a 1500, and 2500 so all i can figure is it has a different picture than what the actual kit is.

justin95 · March 10, 2008

This is why i dont like JC whitney, They arent accurate on what there selling. There would be 2 different kits for the 2500 and the 1500 because they need different lift keys. Just find some "green keys" and some 2" blocks and a set of longer front shocks if you wish. Same thing.

2000DV4.8 · March 10, 2008

This is why i dont like JC whitney, They arent accurate on what there selling. There would be 2 different kits for the 2500 and the 1500 because they need different lift keys. Just find some "green keys" and some 2" blocks and a set of longer front shocks if you wish. Same thing.

The "green keys" are not worth it. Just crank your stock keys no more than 1.5". You should be able to get that much "lift" on the stock keys easily. If you go higher than that, you'll have wear issues, and your ride will really suffer since the upper control arm will be resting on the bump-stop, and your suspension will have no down travel.

Also, when cranking the t-bars with stock or aftermarket keys, you DO NOT need longer shocks. All the keys do is raise the spring rate of the torsion bars, and force the front suspension further down into it's range of travel. The suspension will bottom/top out on the bumpstops before the shock bottoms or tops out, so longer shocks will do you absolutely no good.

If you want a good example of what can happen from over-cranking the t-bars, just take a look at this thread. It is WAY beyond normal wear and tear.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=sad+day

justin95 · March 10, 2008

True, but thats just if he wants it level. And sometimes that doesnt work like on my truck.

tcracing425ex · March 10, 2008

i have tried leveling it by tightening up the torsion bars some and it didnt change the height at all. i have recently bought leveling keys off ebay, but they say if i want to go past 1.5in i will need longer shocks. while i dont think i will want to go past the 1.5, i would much rather just have a 2in lift all the way around. another thing is with my truck (1500hd) which would i buy for a 1500 or the 2500? the keys i bought were for a 2500. and i got them figuring alot of the stuff from the 1500hd is actually 2500. i dont know if i screwed up doing that or not either.

justin95 · March 10, 2008

1500HD = 2500. All the keys are the same for the 2500, 1500HD and 2500hd. This is the only 2" lift you will get/find. Unless you want a 2" body lift which would be 2" all around, but cost alot more. Just put the keys on you have already and set em as high or low as you like. There are alot of people running keys and blocks already.

2000DV4.8 · March 10, 2008

1500HD = 2500. All the keys are the same for the 2500, 1500HD and 2500hd. This is the only 2" lift you will get/find. Unless you want a 2" body lift which would be 2" all around, but cost alot more. Just put the keys on you have already and set em as high or low as you like. There are alot of people running keys and blocks already.

That sounds like great advice, except for the fact you failed to mention the added stress on front end components (ball joints, CV's, tie rods, pitman and idler arms). Anything over a 1.5" crank and you will start to wear things out a lot quicker. Set them as high as you like, just beware of the consequences. And just because a lot of people do it, doesn't mean it's the right way to do things.

I posted this earlier, but nobody seems to have noticed it:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=sad+day

justin95 · March 10, 2008

Im sure he knows. Its mentioned on like every thread ever made....

tcracing425ex · March 10, 2008

so even with the leveling keys it will wear more? i have heard a body lift is alot of work, and i dont know what blocking the rear end is. i have heard it said many many times but i have never even see it or told how it was actually done.

2000DV4.8 · March 10, 2008

so even with the leveling keys it will wear more? i have heard a body lift is alot of work, and i dont know what blocking the rear end is. i have heard it said many many times but i have never even see it or told how it was actually done.

Yes, the leveling keys do the same thing to the suspension as cranking the stock keys. The only difference is that they are re-indexed, so they allow you to crank further (like I said before, not a good thing). Body lifts can usually be put on in a weekend with a couple of people. And a block for the rear is just a taller block between the leaf springs, and the axle. It just lifts the leaf springs further away from the rear axle.

tcracing425ex · March 11, 2008

Yes, the leveling keys do the same thing to the suspension as cranking the stock keys. The only difference is that they are re-indexed, so they allow you to crank further (like I said before, not a good thing). Body lifts can usually be put on in a weekend with a couple of people. And a block for the rear is just a taller block between the leaf springs, and the axle. It just lifts the leaf springs further away from the rear axle.

will that effect the handleing at all? and how would i go about lifting the front end?

Paulie G · March 11, 2008

So is there a rule of thumb for the max angle on the front axles before a lift kit should be considered that drops the differential? 1.5" sounds like a good gauge but are you talking about 1.5" starting from 0" or the stock height (hard to tell what that is if the height has been tampered with). If one cranks 1.5" from the current height of the truck it could be to high. Maybe cranking to keep your front axle angles under a certain degree would be most accurate if anyone knows what that degree is.