Lifting 94 C1500

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blmiller8

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Picked up my 94 C1500 the other day I got it on trade for some IT work I did for a junkyard (so basically free truck that runs great). Its 2wd so I am not going to go crazy with it just some minor stuff like the lift and paint.

I ordered a 4" lift kit for it from Rough Country. Just had a few questions before I start tearing the truck down. Will I still need to get a level kit for it? Do the break lines need to be extended.

Thanks in advance.
 

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bornchevy

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http://s3.amazonaws.com/roughcountry/install/7500.pdf

Measure from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel well both front and back. Take those measurements and add 4" to the front and 2" to the back and you have your lift height over stock. If the back is still a little higher than the front and you want a level truck then 1 option is to just add a 1" block instead of a 2" block. Or get a bigger coil isolator for the front and that should net you an inch or 2 in the front. If this is your first go around with these trucks front suspension I would strongly suggest you research the safety concerns about removing the spindle. As for the brake lines I would jack up the front of the truck and let the front suspension just droop and look to see if there is enough slack in the brake line to move the caliper down 4" then you can determine from there if longer brake lines are needed.

Good looking truck. Sure do wish my paint was that nice. lol Specs on truck?
 

blmiller8

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When I saw it sitting at the junk yard I was really surprised about the condition of the paint and body on it being that its 22 years old. As far as specs go its a 94 C1500 V6 2WD one nice thing is working AC and power windows and locks. I almost pulled the trigger on a SAS but decided I would rather just buy a 4x4 if I was going to put that much money into it. However, I could probably get everything I need through the junkyard as its owned by my wife's family.

Thanks for the inputs I didn't think to much about measuring because the suspension is shot on one side. I got new coils and forgot to mention ordered 3" insulators and 1" blocks just in case I needed them from my measurements the rear is 3" taller than the back on the side that seems to sit normal.
 

matad311

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I just did the 4" RC kit to my truck and mines a 98 c1500. The kit consists of the new shocks 4" spindles and 2" rear blocks. I wish i got 3" blocks instead for towing. But also the brake lines wernt an issue i was able pull enough through the brackets to make them work with out getting brake line extensions. Might have to bend the brackets a little bit but the kit i did on a Sunday and only took about 6 hours, no big deal.

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blmiller8

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Nice looking truck!

I did get a spacer kit prior to ordering the RC kit. I plan on digging in tonight when the RC kit comes in. Its not a daily driver just a fun truck so I plan on just doing one side at a time and spread it out over a couple of days. Ill have to take some pics as I really didn't find any good howto's for a 2wd pickup.
 
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matad311

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Thanks Man!

That would be great if you posted pictures and made a thread about it. It wasn't that hard but your right, there is no information on there on lifting are style 2wd only new trucks. But that will be a good little project for a couple days. No need to rush in a single day like i did since its my DD. and BTW when you do the front shocks which is highly recommended if there rusted in sio bad were you cant get them out, I have a trick i just figured out that may help lol
 

blmiller8

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I managed to get the shocks out no problem with an electric impact. The only issue I am running into now is installing the front coil spring. The difference between the old and new is like 2" and they don't appear to be cut. The new ones are seriously a pain to try and put in I battled for like 2 hours last night and gave up. The coil compressors they rent at the local auto stores are too small so I am getting a very big pry bar on there tonight and just going to force the spring into the pockets. Hopefully have some pics posted tomorrow. I did end up replacing all the ball joints and tie rods as I pulled them they just kind of fell apart.
 

matad311

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Ok nice, yea i had to cut my top of the shock studs off with a sawzal becasue the Michigan rust got to mine lol Took longer to install my shock then it did to remove. But are you doing the lift with coil springs up front, the 2" from RC or the 4" spindle lift. But I dont know if your whiling to buy one but when i lifted my buddies 2wd and we installed 3" block up front on the coil springs. We found out the rental coil spring compressors are junk and bent them pretty bad and gave up. We ended up borrowing one through a friend that was a Matco Tool spring compressor and this worked perfect and didn't take long at all. If i were you this is a great tool to buy and keep instead of renting one. This is the tool we used in the attached picture. But good thing the ball joints fell apart now and not on the road lol.

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Steve's Chevy

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I managed to get the shocks out no problem with an electric impact. The only issue I am running into now is installing the front coil spring. The difference between the old and new is like 2" and they don't appear to be cut. The new ones are seriously a pain to try and put in I battled for like 2 hours last night and gave up. The coil compressors they rent at the local auto stores are too small so I am getting a very big pry bar on there tonight and just going to force the spring into the pockets. Hopefully have some pics posted tomorrow. I did end up replacing all the ball joints and tie rods as I pulled them they just kind of fell apart.

Be careful, that spring could pop out and ruin your night!
 

blmiller8

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I am probably going to have to order a heavy duty one the pry bar idea probably wont work out well. The one I rented is just so flimsy it may work on a small car but these trucks have some serious coils in them.
 
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