GM fullsize AWD Van Info thread

[Teacher88]

Ok so I am ordering all my lift components. 3/4 suburban springs, 3" lift keys, and bilstein shocks all the way around. I am stuck on a few things.

REAR SHOCK NUMBER
24-221948. These r 4600 series
24-185615 These r 5100 series
I want to go with 5100 any thoughts?

NEXT QUESTION is upper control arms. Has anyone who maxed there torsion keys had trouble with allienment, ball joint angles, or the uca hitting the stops on the down travel? I have read about a someone using freedom offroad UCAs ($320 a piece) and the moog UCAs ($40 a piece). The moogs only fix the ball joint angle put seem to be the financially smarter route.

I have had my head boggled around these UCAs for days. I want to do this right the first time but dont want to be throwing money away

This is where the UCA could hit the stop. Is this happening to anyone with 3" lift on the front?

These are the freedom UCAs. Claim to give more wheel travel before hitting the stop and help with alignment

These are the moog that help with ball joint angle when u lift.



Sry for the long post (1st one) but I want to lift this van 1 time the right way and not have to worry about it or wish I did something different down the road

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[stevets]

I just did a 5000 mile trip which included interstate, 2 laners, washboard,and getting pretty close to as off roady ( steep, basketball sized loose rock) as I’d care to get with the lift and shocks you’ve described with no control arm change.
My van performed perfectly in all conditions. I can’t say for certain whether or not there is any unusual wear but I never felt or heard and bottoming out.
I believe that with the lift as described, your drive axles end up about the same angle as stock but angled down rather than up.
Hope this helps.

 

[sackettmw]

NEXT QUESTION is upper control arms. Has anyone who maxed there torsion keys had trouble with allienment, ball joint angles, or the uca hitting the stops on the down travel? I have read about a someone using freedom offroad UCAs ($320 a piece) and the moog UCAs ($40 a piece). The moogs only fix the ball joint angle put seem to be the financially smarter route.

These are the moog that help with ball joint angle when u lift.


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Those Moog control arms won't help your ball joint angle. They just have offset bushings to allow more camber adjustment. I think the other ones you posted are $320 for a pair.

 

[eaglevo]

Ok so I am ordering all my lift components. 3/4 suburban springs, 3" lift keys, and bilstein shocks all the way around. I am stuck on a few things.

REAR SHOCK NUMBER
24-221948. These r 4600 series
24-185615 These r 5100 series
I want to go with 5100 any thoughts?

NEXT QUESTION is upper control arms. Has anyone who maxed there torsion keys had trouble with allienment, ball joint angles, or the uca hitting the stops on the down travel? I have read about a someone using freedom offroad UCAs ($320 a piece) and the moog UCAs ($40 a piece). The moogs only fix the ball joint angle put seem to be the financially smarter route.

I have had my head boggled around these UCAs for days. I want to do this right the first time but dont want to be throwing money away

This is where the UCA could hit the stop. Is this happening to anyone with 3" lift on the front?

These are the freedom UCAs. Claim to give more wheel travel before hitting the stop and help with alignment

These are the moog that help with ball joint angle when u lift.



Sry for the long post (1st one) but I want to lift this van 1 time the right way and not have to worry about it or wish I did something different down the road

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Same lift but with Fox 2.0 no issues on plenty offroad for over a year now.

 

[MoonMan]

Since the front end of these vans is from a GMT800 Silverado 1500 (99-2006) aftermarket upgrades for the trucks should work for the vans.

I have been researching a front brake upgrade kit that uses factory ACDelco parts. But haven't pulled the trigger because my brakes are in great shape so far.

• 12 to 13 inch rotor upgrade
• Wave slotted rotors with thicker than stock walls for increased warp resistance
• Corrosion resistant coated rotors
• Larger caliper pistons
• Ceramic pads
• Increased pad surface area
• All OE parts: available nationwide at any dealership
• Downside: Have to upgrade to 17" wheels

Anyone ever do this or something similar? Or figure out the part numbers for what would fit?

 

[boardrider247]

Same lift but with Fox 2.0 no issues on plenty offroad for over a year now.

Any chance you have part numbers you could share? So I can add them to the list.

 

[eaglevo]

Any chance you have part numbers you could share? So I can add them to the list.
[/Q

Any chance you have part numbers you could share? So I can add them to the list.

Rough Country Level Kit #7592 Fox 2.0's were custom tuned for the van by Agile Offroad.

 

[boardrider247]

Fox 2.0's were custom tuned for the van by Agile Offroad.

 

[drsmonkey]

Eaglevo, did you also put Fox 2.0's for the front? How are they working for you?

I've got the Bilsteins that most are using and finding the damping disappointing both on and off road. I had been talking to Ramsey about some Sprinter parts I was looking to get rid of and some new shocks for my van just before he passed away and have been meaning to get back in touch with Agile since then.

 

[Snailstrail]

Hi guys!! I'm guessing I'm one of the few ladies in this group. My husband and I recently bought an 04 Express AWD conversion van that was used as a wheelchair transport. It's in good shape, has less than 100k miles and has a mid rise topper on it. We are looking forward to converting it into a camping van, and already have started pulling the crap we dont need out of it. This thread has been a great resource so far, so thanks for being here!

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone has done any headlight upgrades? And if so, what kind of recommendations do you have?

It wont let me attach any pics, says the files are too large. Lame.

 

[dleeallen]

@Snailstrail I assume you have the composite headlights? I was able to get a very minor improvement with the composite headlights from a bulb upgrade based on recommendations from the Candlepower forums. Be careful of any LED conversions or 'upgrades'. Candlepower forums is a great place to read up on those sort of things.

My new plan is to remove the composite headlights and put the base van grill and headlights in so I can use Hella E-Code headlights. I believe it's the 200mm square lights. The H4 is a nice headlight. I've had good luck with buying from Rally Lights in the past. I'm not sure there is much out there that will work any better and not blind oncoming traffic. That grill/headlight set up should be cheap from a junkyard. I got mine from someone parting out a van on Craigslist for $50.

 

[marret]

Hi guys!! I'm guessing I'm one of the few ladies in this group. My husband and I recently bought an 04 Express AWD conversion van that was used as a wheelchair transport.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone has done any headlight upgrades? And if so, what kind of recommendations do you have?

It wont let me attach any pics, says the files are too large. Lame.

Welcome.

I have no personal experience, but people over on sportsmobileforum have been pleased with Vantage Optics. Scott is a member there too.

Scott Thompson
Vantage Optics*
vantageoptics.com
Vantageoptics@gmail.com

 

[drsmonkey]

Hi guys!! I'm guessing I'm one of the few ladies in this group. My husband and I recently bought an 04 Express AWD conversion van that was used as a wheelchair transport. It's in good shape, has less than 100k miles and has a mid rise topper on it. We are looking forward to converting it into a camping van, and already have started pulling the crap we dont need out of it. This thread has been a great resource so far, so thanks for being here!

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone has done any headlight upgrades? And if so, what kind of recommendations do you have?

It wont let me attach any pics, says the files are too large. Lame.

If you have the the old school rectangular lights, the Rigid Truck-lite LED replacements are excellent. Low beams are bright with great cut-off, high beams are almost light-bar bright. One of the first things I did to my van and highly worth it if you are driving at night anywhere with wild life.

 

[Snailstrail]

@Snailstrail I assume you have the composite headlights? I was able to get a very minor improvement with the composite headlights from a bulb upgrade based on recommendations from the Candlepower forums. Be careful of any LED conversions or 'upgrades'. Candlepower forums is a great place to read up on those sort of things.

My new plan is to remove the composite headlights and put the base van grill and headlights in so I can use Hella E-Code headlights. I believe it's the 200mm square lights. The H4 is a nice headlight. I've had good luck with buying from Rally Lights in the past. I'm not sure there is much out there that will work any better and not blind oncoming traffic. That grill/headlight set up should be cheap from a junkyard. I got mine from someone parting out a van on Craigslist for $50.

Awesome, thank you! I will check into that. I'm not really attached to the current grill anyway, haha. And I'll look at the candlelight forum. I know there's plenty of junk LED out there, that's why I figured I would ask here.

 

[Snailstrail]

If you have the the old school rectangular lights, the Rigid Truck-lite LED replacements are excellent. Low beams are bright with great cut-off, high beams are almost light-bar bright. One of the first things I did to my van and highly worth it if you are driving at night anywhere with wild life.

No, I wish they were. I already upgraded our old Dodge B350 with nice, high quality LED rectangular replacements. It would've been nice if I could've just robbed those for the new van. But no, they're different. Thanks anyway though!!