Considering Lifting My Suburban

[E.J. Webb]

www.cognitomotorsports.com/. Just call this company and talk to people that build lifts, I run the upper arms and keys on 285/70/17 with a 3/4 inch spacer in the back on my Z71 Tahoe and it rides nice on and off road.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Just my opinion but considering that this is a Suburban with 300 grand on the clock, spending, what, $3k to regear (isn't it about $1500 per axle?) would be like putting a $40 saddle on a $10 horse. :sombrero:

FYI- I know a local guy who will do it for $850, which includes the gears and install. New bearings are extra. I regeared my Explorer- it really woke it up. I now bomb over those high elevation passes turning 33s at or above the speed limit without straining the motor.

Edit: and I should be clear. That's for BOTH axles.

 

[rayra]

CVs too. Rockauto has some good values for OEM replacements. Basically all the movement / metal will need looking at. I bought mine with ~126k and it was a bit ragged out, a mom taxi. Brakes shot, alignment and tires beat from curb strikes, steering wheel peeling from hand lotions. First thing I did was a 100k mi 'recommended service' to baseline everything. Changed all the fluids, replaced stuff like belts and tensioner pulleys. Rest is in my 'hey vortec guys' topic. Then as part of messing around with the lift I replaced all the suspension rubber, end links etc. I'm still on the original balljoints and that's part of upcoming planned maintenance and will be an excuse for me to buy a shop press.

Basically you can replace almost all your wear parts for the price of 1-2 spiffy 'overlanding' mods, if you can do the wrenching yourself. And I encourage you to learn if you don't know how. These vehicles and their drivetrains are very easy to work on and very affordable to work on. They are right in the middle of their 'used car' sweet spot for parts availability and affordability.

Also expect your oil pump to be near the end of its life.


We started out with a new '99 Tahoe K1500 Z71. Traded it in with about 150k on a new '05 Tahoe K1500 Z71. IT's about to over 200k mi. Bought my '02 Suburban K1500 Z71 3yrs ago when I wanted a project vehicle to head back into the desert with. Done a lot of road trips on-road and off with those vehicles and all manner of towing. That's 19yrs and 350k++ mi in these big GM SUVs. Bought the Sub when I wanted to retire my C-10, had that for 32yrs and 360k, most of that to hell and gone all over the Southwest, driving a one-legger where it had no business going. A few years in the middle driving a M998 humvee around some of those same deserts when I was in the Marine Corps. And before all that, flogging 2wd mini trucks with home-brew lift kits around the high desert, offroading and hauling dirt bikes and ATCs to amateur racing events. I've got a lot of off-road miles on a lot of vehicles. Sometimes I know WTH I'm talking about. And when I don't, I usually don't pretend that I do. And I sure as hell don't have any patience for somebody who's repeatedly been shown to be wrong in their 100% certitude pronouncements. It doesn't help anyone to mislead them with BS, Matt.

 

[CrazyDrei]

I understand that shocks don't set ride height. You can't leave the consumer with that many options.
Ok, that's good to know. My front went up a little like .75 inches. I only cranked it up 5/8 of an inch so because of where it was already and the fact I did not want to max them out.

Shifty98,

You got some fun discussions going on here. Anyway, try the Ford Keys for the front end first they are around $20 shipped on eBay and you can rent the torsion bar unload tool from AutoZone for free as part of their loaner tool program.

Once you get the new keys in you can play with them and adjust them to desired height even if your torsion bars are fatigued.

Keep us posted.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Basically you can replace almost all your wear parts for the price of 1-2 spiffy 'overlanding' mods, if you can do the wrenching yourself. And I encourage you to learn if you don't know how. These vehicles and their drivetrains are very easy to work on and very affordable to work on. They are right in the middle of their 'used car' sweet spot for parts availability and affordability.

Rayra,

Well said, that's by far the most truth of any comment I've seen on ExPo.

That's all.

 

[shifty98]

I am not an expert on the truck yet, but I am not afraid to crawl under it and turn a wrench. I am very familiar with the Autozone borrow a tool program. For better or worse all the employees there know my name... My Dad is on his 3rd Suburban (98 2500, 03 1500, and 08 2500) so he is usually somewhat helpful but he has never lifted his, just runs 285s and does nearly everything else aftermarket. I know the truck was in really good shape drivetrain wise when I got it. Since then I've put a some miles on it and I've done or had done everything that I knew needed to be done. That being said until now I did not realize my suspension was in bad shape because it deteriorated slowly enough I didn't really notice it until recently. Frankly, I had always planned on selling this truck and getting into a crew cab pickup or something but the more I drive it and read some of your threads I think that if I take care of it, it could be a pretty nice road trip rig. I do know ball joints, tie rods, brakes, are in good shape without even looking at the receipt binder (I have all receipts going back to 90K). I'm going to do some more looking, thinking, and researching this weekend. I did replace the headlights last weekend and did an unexpected replacement on the Jeep's radiator hose.

 

[perfectlift-tips]

Agreed with Rayra, if you are considering a good ride quality with the cheap keys & spacers, then you can only go for a limited lift. But for a higher lift height, one should consider investing in some decent quality lift kits they not only raise your vehicle for the extra ground clearance with larger tire but also improve your ride handling.

 

[rayra]

Geron / BurbOne is really getting it done with his coil-over modification / setups. So nice he's now done it thrice -
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...t-living-suburban-build-thread.153444/page-17