'99 OBS Tahoe - lift choice

[Spargman]

I'm currently in the midst of building my expedition rig, a '99 4dr 4x4 OBS Tahoe in great condition.

I've done tons of research on IFS v SAS and i'm sticking with IFS! I believe with the right parts and most importantly, careful driving...i can make this truck into an awesome overlander.

Some items planned for Jan/Feb:
Hydroboost conversion + PS cooler - almost done!
14bsf conversion - awaiting rebuild
Front/rear custom bumpers + winch
Custom tie rods w/heim joints
HD pitman/idler arms + brackets to reduce wear
Custom HD CV joints
HD ball joints
slip yoke eliminator
Addt'l trans cooler
Custom rear leafs - no blocks!
New 383 Crate (maybe)
33" tires on 3.73 gears

B/c this is for overlanding, I'm thinking 2-4" lift will be perfect...any objections or alternate recommendations? I'm really struggling with the best lift to buy though. This thing needs to be as strong as possible as we will be on terrain fairly remote...unfortunately I just really don't know which is the best lift for my rig b/c there are tons of reviews saying yay/nay on every lift out there.

With you guys all building overlanders, I thought this wouold be the perfect group to ask!

Based on the above, any recommendations?

 

[82fb]

I have 3.73's with 33's in a 98 suburban, and am wanting to go to 4.10's. Will be easier on the tranny and engine.

 

[Spargman]

yeah, i've been contemplating 4.10's but was worried about the mpg going down too much....plus I'd need to buy gears for the front and rear.

 

[82fb]

4.10's and 33's is pretty close to stock ratio. I was getting a little over 16 before I went from 245 to 295's, then dropped to 15. The added grunt on the hills will be nice too. I think the next tires I get will be 255/85r16. Similar height, but less width.

 

[Spargman]

Any recommendations on lifts?

Is it better to simply do a 3" body lift? I know I'd loose clearance vs suspension lift, but then I don't have to worry as much with the IFS breaking....

 

[Ryan1975]

oddly enough, I have a hand me down '99 Tahoe as well. Debating keeping it and rocking that as my adventure vehicle for awhile instead of forking out cash for something else. I'm not sure that I understand everything on your list in the first post.

 

[Spargman]

I'm building a website and once I'm done, everything will be linked to vendors, photos, reasoning etc....but it's about 2months away from being completed.

i'll be doing a bunch of writeups on this forum and a few others as well that you may find interesting.

If you search those items against your Tahoe, you should dig up a lot of info. For me to cover it all here would be REALLY long but I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

net net - the items listed in my first post are intended to make the Tahoe a tougher version of how it came out of the factory. It's a great truck, but it does have some limits. As-is, it would function great as an offroad vehicle, but b/c of how long I'll be gone, I'm adding a lot of heavy duty components to lessen the chance of a break/failure.

 

[Ryan1975]

Right now my Tahoe is my winter / tow vehicle. I'm a Soldier at Ft Drum (Upstate NY). As the white stuff falls the Corvette heads to the barn (literally).

The biggest problem that I have with my Tahoe is the lack of brake pedal feel. The travel is extremely long and feels like it's going to the floor. Is that something that you experience as well?

 

[1leglance]

Like I mentioned on Pirate...
use it to travel as it sits now..
build up the inside for comfort and travel first and susp later.
Money spent to go places is a better value than money on mods

Looking forward to whatever you do as long as you get out there and use it

 

[Spargman]

Thanks 1leg...man this community is small

Ryan - all of us Tahoe guys have that crappy spongy brake feel so i know where you're coming from. There are a few options out there (i.e. aftermarket master cylinder) that will cure the brake feel and provide marginal stopping distance at a fairly low price. Sometimes upgrading to high end brake pedals (i.e. Hawk LTS/Super duty) will help, but will not cure completely.

IMHO, I think upgrading to the hydroboost is the best option (especially over a complete after market system - $1000+). Hydroboost typically comes on 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks (the bigger diesels) and utilizes the pressure from the power steering pump to increase available pressure to the calipers. To get a brand new AC Delco setup (this is what GM uses), expect to spend around $700+ for a Master Cylinder, Power Steering Pump, Hydroboost unit, x3 new brake lines, brake pedal (REALLy hard to find some times).

I'm actually finishing mine conversion up this week/next and put together some info. With my '99 Tahoe, the '99 Hydroboost was literally plug and play...the hardest part was getting the old parts off.

Google, hydroboost conversion and you'll see a bunch of guys have done it....beware though, not everyone does it the right way. My personal opinion, buy the entire setup from one year truck and don't miss/match b/c there are differences in the 90's...i used a '99 Suburban 2500 as my base vehicle when looking for parts.

 

[cowboy63645]

You have a great plan going on for your tahoe, but I am with 1leglance. Get out and use it, and add your mods according to what it needs, not the wants. I think you will be far happier with the final outcome. I am sticking with the IFS under my 94 suburban, and I am glad I did. It goes everywhere I want to with no problems. Now, to the suspension. I went with cranking the t-bars 1.5", added a rear add a leaf and put in bilstein HD shocks. Rides great on the road, does very well off road and was cheap to do, not to mention it added enough room in the wheel wells to run a larger tire.

 

[Ryan1975]

Thanks 1leg...man this community is small

Ryan - all of us Tahoe guys have that crappy spongy brake feel so i know where you're coming from. There are a few options out there (i.e. aftermarket master cylinder) that will cure the brake feel and provide marginal stopping distance at a fairly low price. Sometimes upgrading to high end brake pedals (i.e. Hawk LTS/Super duty) will help, but will not cure completely.

IMHO, I think upgrading to the hydroboost is the best option (especially over a complete after market system - $1000+). Hydroboost typically comes on 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks (the bigger diesels) and utilizes the pressure from the power steering pump to increase available pressure to the calipers. To get a brand new AC Delco setup (this is what GM uses), expect to spend around $700+ for a Master Cylinder, Power Steering Pump, Hydroboost unit, x3 new brake lines, brake pedal (REALLy hard to find some times).

I'm actually finishing mine conversion up this week/next and put together some info. With my '99 Tahoe, the '99 Hydroboost was literally plug and play...the hardest part was getting the old parts off.

Google, hydroboost conversion and you'll see a bunch of guys have done it....beware though, not everyone does it the right way. My personal opinion, buy the entire setup from one year truck and don't miss/match b/c there are differences in the 90's...i used a '99 Suburban 2500 as my base vehicle when looking for parts.

Thanks man. I'm in Afghanistan at the moment (don't cry for me, I got to see the Salang Tunnel Pass) If you come up with a parts list, I'll copy your recipe to the "T".

 

[Spargman]

Ryan - thank you for serving!!

In my write-up, I'm also going include part numbers so all you'll have to do is order, then install.

Once you know how to do it, it's a piece of cake (relatively). I'll try to include as much as I can in the write-up so it's a pretty easy plug&play for you.

On the lift- I'm thinking 4" RCX! 4" will give me the ground clearance I need and supposedly it's built really well so I don't have to worry about breaking parts...CV's will remain flat.

 

[Saiyan66]

If you are going to consider an IFS lift, just make sure that it can be returned to stock so that if you change your mind later on you aren't stuck with it. Many IFS lifts cut the frame and front diff so they cant be used in a stock configuration ever again. In my opinion (having done a 6" RCD lift in the past), I would take half of the money you were planning on spending on the lift and have a good off road fab shop make you some uniball upper control arms and be done with it. You were already planning on HD CV's so you wouldn't have to worry about that aspect, and the UCA's would allow you to crank the torsion bars a bit without limiting your droop travel and ride. I have never been really impressed by any of the IFS lifts, and this is the route I would go on my 99 2 door Tahoe if I was going to use it for expo travel.

 

[Spargman]

unfortunately i don't know of a single fab shop that can do that kind of work in the tri state area...also.my front dif is a np246 so I may scrap the HD CV's b/c I know the CV's won't break, which means the tcase is now the weak pt. Knowing that, I unfortunately will have to stick to OEM CV's so I really cant crank them. However, when I get back, I'm going to swap to the 9.5" front tcase!

Agreed on cutting and not be able to return to original condition, but unless I do a body lift, i'm really limited on lifting this thing. I'm also not comfortable running with a tbar lift for so long and I really don't think a SAS is necessary.

hmm...the choices.

What didn't you like about the 6" lift?