lift question for chevy

catfish

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Location
asheboro
i have a 2000 chevy 3500 truck. it needs a 2-3 inch lift. i cant afford the expensive suspension lift. my other options are change the front end to leaf springs (not really an option due to the cost and time) or twist the torsion bars and go from there with the alignment and put blocks in the back.
what advice can you give to me regarding which is the best way to get this truck up in the air to clear these 305's from rubbing when i turn the wheel sharply.
 
throw the chevy to the scrap hounds & get a ctd or a psd with the straight front axle
 
sounds expensive. who's gonna foot the bill? you can make it a project truck if you want to. i've got a champagne taste too. i just have a beer wallet though. any cheaper suggestions?
 
Unfortunatly, there isn't really a "cheap" option.

It's a "Pay me now or Pay me later" issue.

Either pony up now for the lift to clear the tires you want to run, or, go ahead an twist the torsion bars, and pay for ball joints, CV half shafts, and unit bearings later.

THe CV joints/boots don't like the more severe angle that twisting the bars will afford, the ball joints don't like the increased leverage from this either. THe Unit hub bearings will hate life with a more positive offset wheel and larger tires ( Again a leverage issue)
 
i see what your saying voodoo. thanks for the input. can you give a rough idea of how much it will cost to put the correct lift on it? or the cheapest way to put the correct lift on it? i gess i dont want to put the cv joints at risk or my life that be the case.
should i just get the leaf springs for the front and get rid of the indep. front? remember, this is pretty much just a get around on the weekend truck, im not going to be playing a whole lot. just want it to look good and cler the tires
 
there's a few company's that make a 2-3 inch leveling kit, which on the chevy's usually is 3 inches in the front and 1 in the rear. it'll give you some extra clearance and a more balanced look. let me know if i can help.

Mike
Alpha Four Wheel Drive
704-893-2208
 
what kind of price are we looking at? i would love to have one but i cant afford much.
i got an idea, you take it and lift it and them put your name all over it for free advertising...lol. i wish that were true. seriously, let me know what kind of price we looking at?
thx
 
thx kevin. ill take that into consideration. alpha has been quite helpful too. hope we can work something out.
thanx to everyone in here for the advice. you have all opened my eyes to new ideas. if it aint big truck driving, im an idiot.
 
couldn't you put a body lift on it for an inch or two, so you didn't have to crank the torsion bars as far?

(I really have nothing to compare it to, other than my friend's F-150 that he did 6" suspension lift and 3" body lift)...

Greg
 
im not smart enuf to do that although thats what i would like to do. its hard to find body lift for 3500 chevy. ive heard that the lift for 1500 is the same but im not sure. does anyone know? does anyone have a lift kit around they want to get rid of? i can offer a couple of virtually new tires 35-12.5-16.5 m/t's i could trade.
 
Typically leave the torsion bars alone. It's usually no big deal to tweak on them a little for the purpose of leveling, but no more than an inch is a good rule of thumb. Any more than that, find another solution.
 
I wouldn't recommend using those torsion bar re-indexing keys. They wore out the ball joints on my '92 K1500 Suburban WAY fast. I guess they put everything in a bind or something. Just my .02:beer:
 
maybe i can twist the torsion bars about an inch and leave the rest alone. maybe that will at least help clear the tires.
 
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