Just thought a would post this up for anyone who is interested in buying a lift/level kit from Spindle Source or the website http://treklinemotorsports.com. I searched around before buying my 4" spindle and 2" block lift. I knew rough country had a kit but it was a little pricey and came with shocks I did not need. I found Spindle Source on eBay and started doing some research. I didn't find anything from this generation of trucks but I did find people who had bought stuff for 1 or 2 generations after ours and they said they were pretty good.
I have a 1996 Chevy C1500 Extended Cab (2wd of course)
Little back ground I needed to replace the ball joints in the front of my truck before getting a alignment and new tires. I didn't really like the factory rake of the truck so figured I would take the opportunity to level it. After research I seemed the best setup o would be a spindle lift and blocks in the back since it don't screw with control arm angles.
Rough Country is the best known kit but for 500$ plus shipping I thought I could do better since I didn't need shocks.
So I order from Spindle Source on eBay the kit cost 320$ shipped for Spindles, Blocks, and U Bolts.
The kit seemed to but pretty nice. Tapered lift blocks and the spindles are pretty heavy duty looking. Oddly enough the rear took almost as much time as the front. The U bolts they supply are too long so you have to cut them down yourself. That not a huge deal. The problem is the U bolts a a bit too tight. They seem to be a little small at the top so once you get them over the spring, block and axle they bow out to where they will not line up the the bracket at the bottom. I had to slot the holes int the bracket a bit and use a C clamp to pull the bottom the U bolt together to get it in the bracket. The pinched locking nuts for the U bolts are terrible. Some thread somewhat easy and other are very hard.
The factory brake shield/wheel speed sensor mount would not fit on the new spindle with out some modifying and the wire would be very tight. My ABS does not work so we just left them off.
The major issue now is that the rim on the passenger side hits the spindle on the inside. Whats odd is even the brake rotor unless you get the wheel bearing adjusted just right hits the bottom of what the brake caliper slides on. The Drivers side clears just fine. These are just stock 15" Alloy wheels.
I guess you get what you pay for.
Also just a heads up if you are looking to do a spindle lift it will push the front tires out about 1.5" each side so Spacers for the rear will be needed to match it. The flexible brake line will need to be replaced with longer ones in the front. The kits usually call for 31x10.5 tire but thats what I had on my truck before and with the lift they look small.
Hopefully the front settles more then the rear because as of now its 1" taller then the rear.
I have a 1996 Chevy C1500 Extended Cab (2wd of course)
Little back ground I needed to replace the ball joints in the front of my truck before getting a alignment and new tires. I didn't really like the factory rake of the truck so figured I would take the opportunity to level it. After research I seemed the best setup o would be a spindle lift and blocks in the back since it don't screw with control arm angles.
Rough Country is the best known kit but for 500$ plus shipping I thought I could do better since I didn't need shocks.
So I order from Spindle Source on eBay the kit cost 320$ shipped for Spindles, Blocks, and U Bolts.
The kit seemed to but pretty nice. Tapered lift blocks and the spindles are pretty heavy duty looking. Oddly enough the rear took almost as much time as the front. The U bolts they supply are too long so you have to cut them down yourself. That not a huge deal. The problem is the U bolts a a bit too tight. They seem to be a little small at the top so once you get them over the spring, block and axle they bow out to where they will not line up the the bracket at the bottom. I had to slot the holes int the bracket a bit and use a C clamp to pull the bottom the U bolt together to get it in the bracket. The pinched locking nuts for the U bolts are terrible. Some thread somewhat easy and other are very hard.
The factory brake shield/wheel speed sensor mount would not fit on the new spindle with out some modifying and the wire would be very tight. My ABS does not work so we just left them off.
The major issue now is that the rim on the passenger side hits the spindle on the inside. Whats odd is even the brake rotor unless you get the wheel bearing adjusted just right hits the bottom of what the brake caliper slides on. The Drivers side clears just fine. These are just stock 15" Alloy wheels.
I guess you get what you pay for.
Also just a heads up if you are looking to do a spindle lift it will push the front tires out about 1.5" each side so Spacers for the rear will be needed to match it. The flexible brake line will need to be replaced with longer ones in the front. The kits usually call for 31x10.5 tire but thats what I had on my truck before and with the lift they look small.
Hopefully the front settles more then the rear because as of now its 1" taller then the rear.
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