GM fullsize AWD Van Info thread

[86scotty]

My apologies if this is already covered in this thread. I read just a bit about it in the beginning but it's taking me some time to get through the whole thread! Is the Rough Country leveling/lift kit any good? It looks stupid cheap and I wonder if the quality equals the price. Even for a temporary fix I need to get some new shocks under my van and want 2-3" lift. Looks like this comes with everything. I mostly wonder if the shocks are junk. It's pretty hard to screw up lift blocks and U-bolts. Anyone running it?

http://www.roughcountry.com/gm-leveling-lift-kit-283c.html

 

[boardrider247]

My apologies if this is already covered in this thread. I read just a bit about it in the beginning but it's taking me some time to get through the whole thread! Is the Rough Country leveling/lift kit any good? It looks stupid cheap and I wonder if the quality equals the price. Even for a temporary fix I need to get some new shocks under my van and want 2-3" lift. Looks like this comes with everything. I mostly wonder if the shocks are junk. It's pretty hard to screw up lift blocks and U-bolts. Anyone running it?

http://www.roughcountry.com/gm-leveling-lift-kit-283c.html

I used it on my van initially.
You are correct the lift keys/blocks/u bolts are all standard quality stuff no problem with them.
The front shocks were OK I ran them for about 40k I think. No real issues but they did get bouncy towards the end (my van get's pretty well overloaded at times)
The rear shocks don't fit so you still need to buy those separately.
All in all for the cost it's hard to beat. At this point I have switched over to Bilstiens all around and 3/4t suburban springs in the rear so the only part left of the original rough country kit is the keys. If you run your van light-ish then I would have no issue recommending this kit.

 

[86scotty]

Hmmm. Bummer about the shocks but great info. Maybe I'll just look for the blocks and keys separately and buy 4 better shocks, Fox or Bilstein. If I can find some Burb springs it will simplify things. Will I need new U bolts with Suburban springs? I can have them bent locally but still need to know.

Thanks Boardrider!

 

[boardrider247]

These are the springs I purchased. No complaints about the vendor and their price was good.
https://www.generalspringkc.com/product_p/22-907.htm
As I recall the spring pack is almost 2" thicker than stock so you will need new U bolts.

Will I need new U bolts with Suburban springs? I can have them bent locally but still need to know.

 

[45Kevin]

I got the RC kit.
I also got the suburban springs from the pick-n-pull.

So, from the kit I used the keys, the u-bolts and the front shocks. The shocks seem OK.

It's not a bad deal even with the left over parts.

 

[North]

Has anybody done the brakes on their Express? Labor seems pretty straightforward just wondering what parts people like to use for rotors and pads. OEM? NAPA? RockAuto and Summit seem big on PowerStop (Edit: seems like bad reviews on Amazon). Anybody have a particularly good experience with any brand out there? New territory for me as Toyota guys typically prefer OEM. No idea what GM people like.

 

[boardrider247]

Has anybody done the brakes on their Express? Labor seems pretty straightforward just wondering what parts people like to use for rotors and pads. OEM? NAPA? RockAuto and Summit seem big on PowerStop (Edit: seems like bad reviews on Amazon). Anybody have a particularly good experience with any brand out there? New territory for me as Toyota guys typically prefer OEM. No idea what GM people like.

I replaced rotors and pads all the way around with Napa premium line a year ago. Thus far no complaints. I would say that they are as good as oem.

 

[Len.Barron]

Hawk LTS Pads and PowerSlot Cryo-treated rotors are the combo I install on everything...best braking set up I've ever had and the least dust.

 

[Choff]

I Did brakes on our van,
Went with R1 Concepts -great brake products, shop on line and sent to the house. do not remember the pad name, but the site has very friendly navigation to upgrades.
I have used these pads a calibers twice now, got about 50,000 on first set, on my second set from them and like the stopping power with the slotted rotors, they don't fade.
I am running stock lines with 191,000 on them and work great.
Heavy vans stop slow but with good disks on all fours it can stop quick.
Good luck !!!

 

[sackettmw]

Has anybody done the brakes on their Express? Labor seems pretty straightforward just wondering what parts people like to use for rotors and pads. OEM? NAPA? RockAuto and Summit seem big on PowerStop (Edit: seems like bad reviews on Amazon). Anybody have a particularly good experience with any brand out there? New territory for me as Toyota guys typically prefer OEM. No idea what GM people like.

I recommend Akebono pads. They are the designer of the oe brakes and they seem to outlast and work better than most other pads I've tried. Rock Auto has them. Any premium rotor is probably ok. I'd buy rotors locally though since rock auto tends to not pack them too well. Power Stops would not be my choice. Pretty much any Bendix, Raybestos or Wagner in that price point would be better.

 

[goin camping]

There are many posts on this thread showing how to do various things.

Most of the pictures are gone now due to Photobucket.

I hope the original posters will go back and put the pictures back in. It would really be helpful.

BTW Can anyone point me at a how to lift thread with pictures for an Express AWD?

 

[ben2go]

There are many posts on this thread showing how to do various things.

Most of the pictures are gone now due to Photobucket.

I hope the original posters will go back and put the pictures back in. It would really be helpful.

BTW Can anyone point me at a how to lift thread with pictures?

You can get a browser add-on for firefox and chrome that fixes the picture problem.

Here is the place to get it for firefox 60+. I don't use chrome or any other browser on my computer.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/user/jlevers/

 

[wallydog]

I have a 2013 Express passenger van. I did my conversion 3 years ago based on the great information on this forum. Lift kit etc. I have removed all the rear seats and lower side panels to do my basic camper work van conversion. I tried to remove the headliner to insulate and put in a different headliner but the airbag control wire harness could not be disconnected with-out the air bag dis-function warning light going on. Dealer said there is no work around and the rear air bags could not be removed/ deactivated because of DOT. I ended up leaving my headliner in because of this. I would really like to increase my headroom and get rid of the stock headliner. Has anyone come up with a work around solution for deactivating the rear airbags?

 

[45Kevin]

I have a little bit about my lift in this thread.

https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/marooned-in-paradise-another-express-awd.156576/

 

[frazbmw]

Would I be correct in stating that none of the Express 5.3 engines have active fuel management?