Snailstrail
New member
Thank you! I'll look into them
GM fullsize AWD Van Info thread
- Thread starter boardrider247
- Start date
That's great, I'll look again at them. Last time I looked I didn't see any options from them.
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Rough Country keys from Amazon? I had a similar problem and ordered the F-150 keys. Pretty sure the Ford part number is XL3Z-5B328-CA.
1.75" with a quarter turn left. Didn't want to max out to save ride quality.
A little off topic but I just thought I should add to this thread. I have looked through a lot of posts throughout this forum before lifting my van. I just thought I would share my experience to help others.
Parts List
Suburban 2500 rear leaf springs (LKQ)
rear shocks Bilstein 24-186742 (Amazon)
front shocks Bilstein 24-186643 (Amazon)
KSP torsion key for Silverado (Amazon)
Front Bilstein shocks and cheap KSP Silverado torsion keys worked great.
I used a set of used Suburban springs that I pulled at the local pick your part. Overall the fit was good. Like others on this forum have noted, the bolt on the clamp that keeps the leafs from twisting is very close to the frame but I feel that this is a minor issue. Also, I removed the overload leaf from the leaf pack to lower the back of the van a little. Removing the overload leaf dropped the rear about 1.25" and this made the van almost level without having to max out my torsion keys. I feel like this leaf pack is plenty heavy enough for normal use and I do not plan on hauling any loads.
The rear shocks that I have listed are not a very good choice for the van. I'm not sure where I found that number( somewhere on this site), but I would not suggest using them. First off, the factory shock on the van is a bar pin shock and the Bilstein 24-186742 is an eyelet shock. I fabbed up some upper shock mount conversion brackets to make them work (do not try to use the Jeep bar pin conversion mounts, the van shock mount has a different hole spacing). Second, the Bilstein 24-186742 is really a little too long for the lift that you get with just the Suburban rear leafs. I used a forklift to flex the van out and measure the compressed length. At full stuff the shock only has about 1" until bottoming (this was measured static- I believe that the van could be flexed enough to bottom the shock in a moving condition). I didn't measure full drop but I did install the shocks with the van on a lift and I had to compress the shock at least 5" to get it in the mounts.
With all that being said, I finished the lift, and I'm happy with how it turned out. The van clears 265/70/17 easy (they will clear 265's stock) and my next set of tires will be 285/70/17. The stiffer suspension does help the van's handling as it doesn't body roll near as bad now and really doesn't ride rough at all.
Parts List
Suburban 2500 rear leaf springs (LKQ)
rear shocks Bilstein 24-186742 (Amazon)
front shocks Bilstein 24-186643 (Amazon)
KSP torsion key for Silverado (Amazon)
Front Bilstein shocks and cheap KSP Silverado torsion keys worked great.
I used a set of used Suburban springs that I pulled at the local pick your part. Overall the fit was good. Like others on this forum have noted, the bolt on the clamp that keeps the leafs from twisting is very close to the frame but I feel that this is a minor issue. Also, I removed the overload leaf from the leaf pack to lower the back of the van a little. Removing the overload leaf dropped the rear about 1.25" and this made the van almost level without having to max out my torsion keys. I feel like this leaf pack is plenty heavy enough for normal use and I do not plan on hauling any loads.
The rear shocks that I have listed are not a very good choice for the van. I'm not sure where I found that number( somewhere on this site), but I would not suggest using them. First off, the factory shock on the van is a bar pin shock and the Bilstein 24-186742 is an eyelet shock. I fabbed up some upper shock mount conversion brackets to make them work (do not try to use the Jeep bar pin conversion mounts, the van shock mount has a different hole spacing). Second, the Bilstein 24-186742 is really a little too long for the lift that you get with just the Suburban rear leafs. I used a forklift to flex the van out and measure the compressed length. At full stuff the shock only has about 1" until bottoming (this was measured static- I believe that the van could be flexed enough to bottom the shock in a moving condition). I didn't measure full drop but I did install the shocks with the van on a lift and I had to compress the shock at least 5" to get it in the mounts.
With all that being said, I finished the lift, and I'm happy with how it turned out. The van clears 265/70/17 easy (they will clear 265's stock) and my next set of tires will be 285/70/17. The stiffer suspension does help the van's handling as it doesn't body roll near as bad now and really doesn't ride rough at all.
christ0pher_m
New member
Anyone replaced all the brake lines on one of these? Paying the price for letting it sit too long and have a lot of rusty lines with one serious leak. I was hoping to find a all in one pre-bent kit, but no such luck in my searching and not a lot of luck in finding some of the individual lines I need. Any words of wisdom if I have to roll my own?
eaglevo
Member
I'm super happy with the Fox 2.0's. No issues in the past 2+ years they been on.
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
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How did this turn out? Do the stock springs have less leafs? Anyways to check if I have stocks springs. I've always felt that my van rides extremely stiff.
Also , Can I get a run down on what you guys are getting for mpgs ? My van is still stock wheels, gearing, new trans, only engine code right now is PO446 Evaporative Emissions System Vent Control Circuit
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Eaglevo I was also interested in the Fox 2.0 option but I emailed Agile and they quoted me $748 for a set for the front. They said they were custom valved but for that $$ they must be Gold valves. To rich for my blood. I decided to try the new Rough Country N3 front shocks. I also am not that happy with the Bilstein overall ride on my van. I will have the RCs next week.
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I have the same issue. ordered the Motofab keys for my 2014 AWD and they are the same as my stock keys. So it sounds like not all the clocking is the same by year. If anyone has a 2014, what keys did you use?So I lined up my new torsion key with my old one and they are indexed the same. Did I already have aftermarket keys or were the new ones I bought bogus. My old ones appear to me to be original
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Edit: pulled a 2003 F-150 key from the salvage yard it was marked XL3Z5B328CA, it was clocked a few degrees but only gave me an inch so I pulled the trigger on the Maxx Cam 2 from Summit Racing. I figure it was the only option. I can't understand why but maybe my torsion bars are sagging already. The original owner was the US Gov so who knows what abuse it got.
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Dorman makes hard line kits for the vans. You can get new line sets in stainless steel.
I was really hoping to find stainless steel braided brake lines but no luck with that so far, I'll probably measure up a set but I'd need to get some old hoses from the junk yard.
I was really hoping to find stainless steel braided brake lines but no luck with that so far, I'll probably measure up a set but I'd need to get some old hoses from the junk yard.