Suburban Build

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Does anyone have any experience with lift kits and off-road bumpers/winches for a 94 GMC Suburban? I'm getting ready to start on my new project, once I have the vehicle up to near 100%. Thanks.

 

[ujoint]

Is it a 1500 or 2500? If you plan to just do an IFS lift, I would recommend RCD. (race car dynamics) I've installed a couple hundred, best quality & reliability. I've also done a bunch of solid axle swaps, which is the best thing you could do. It all depends on what you plan to use the truck for & how capable you want it.--

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

It's a 1500 with a 350V8. Do to the fact I don't need anything overly extreme; I will keep the IFS. I do believe that IFS can be made to work reasonably well for most offroad applications. I will run air shocks or air bags in the back for the equipment I will carry. I would like something in the 4-6inch lift range. Tires in the 33-35in. range (16in rim sizes)....I loved my BFG AT's I had on a CJ7 I had or maybe Goodyear MTR's. Thanks for replying.

 

[absolute]

Hey

Does anyone have any experience with lift kits and off-road bumpers/winches for a 94 GMC Suburban? I'm getting ready to start on my new project, once I have the vehicle up to near 100%. Thanks.

check out CK5.com

 

[ujoint]

Your best bet will be a 6" from RCD with a 33" tire. Some will say to just go with a 4" Rancho, but you'll find that kit to be more expensive than the RCD, which is a great kit. DO NOT use a lift that uses upper a-arm drop brackets. Check with Cognito to see if they have a steering upgrade for your generation, it will prolong the life of the factory IFS crappy steering. Also try to stick with a light tire (like a BFG) & aluminum wheels to keep your unsprung weight low. This will also make the front end last longer. This setup will give you the most reliable bang for your buck.-------Chris

 

[ntsqd]

check out CK5.com

Mostly what he'll get there is "Dump the IFS and go with a solid axle."
Which may or may not be bad advice depending on actual use.

I'll second RCD kits. I've not installed one, but one friend has done many and another friend had one under a D-Max that got heavy Baja use. The steering will be the weak link. On the D-Max we made a custom centerlink and a few other bits. That seems to have made it live, but I'm not sure I like what happened to the steering geometry in the process.

 

[absolute]

Mostly what he'll get there is "Dump the IFS and go with a solid axle."
Which may or may not be bad advice depending on actual use.
QUOTE]

I will agree with you on that! As far as aftermarket bumpers and what nots... I would check out the vendor section on CK5. They have a ton of companies that deal with those every day.

Depending on what your looking to spend, www.buckstop.biz makes a great bumper for Mid 80's GM's. Not affiliated with them, just looking to purchase one for the HD.

With the lift...Fabtech is really nice for the IFS rigs too. I've been debating them, but most likely going with the Skyjacker 3"

 

[big sky trapper]

Lifts I dont have a lot of experiance with as 90% of most montana trails can be accomplished with a resonably equipted stocker vehicle. and with some very minor trimming, 15 in old style blazer wheels with a good off set to clear the lower ball joint, 33 12.5 will tuck nicley in there. and not scrub or hit.

Ive owned just about as many chevy/gmc 88-98 as i have yodas and for front bumpers that wont break the bank book, ect I dont think you can beat the warn classic. the main body will accept up to a 12,000 pounder with foot foward or foot down config. The "brush guard" is pretty cheesy tyipical thin wall tube stuff. Better off to build your own.

All of my trucks over the years have run them and have held 100's of deer strikes untill the last one....(200+# muley buck full broadside at 70MPH That one bent the front frame bumper rolled the brush guard up into the hood and sent the rad support back a few inches...)

The rear are almost identical to yodas in that they have open straight channels and and easy access so custom building is pretty easy.

heres a pic of the deer strike on the bumper not very good but ...

I just bought another of these series of trucks last week, 94, 1500 WT std cab long box to start the build on to replace my yoda thats just getting to small. keep watching for build .....