Options for a modest lift / leveling kit. 2WD

[wildfire]

Hello all

Here I am again with a newbie question. I searched the forum and I found a lot of usefull info, but not exactly what I'm looking for so I decided to start a topic, if this specific question is already asked feel free to redirect me there

I'm looking for a modest lift kit for my ride. 1 -1.5inches max.
My first question on that: The inches they give up (1 , 1.5 , 2... ) is that also the actual amount of height that will be added or is there a factor I can use to determine how much the truck will be (visibly) higher on it's wheels?

2nd part of the question: while browsing the net I find a lot of kits. As the truck will be used mostly in the road I was thinking of just adding coil spring spacers in the front and leaf spring blocks in the back. (I see lifted leaf spring shackels too but know if that's a better option? )
I want the truck lifted equally front and back so I was thinking about 1.5 inch spring spacers in the front and 1 inch blocks in the back.
Is that good thinking or should I chose other heights?

(1.5 inch spring spacers are hard to find so if a 1 inch spring spacer is enough to level out that would be even better.)

Here is a pic of my truck in profile view as it is now.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[b454rat]

Why lift it? IMO looks good the way it sits. But a simple spacer n block will work.

 

[351FUN]

Just grab some cheap coil spacers from a parts store and see how it looks. The full circle ones that you set under the spring, not the little metal ones that go between coils. That's what I used on the back of my Taurus when I lifted it, and they're less than $10 a piece IIRC. Blocks in the back will lift exactly how much you add, a 1" block lifts 1". Coil spacers sometimes are different, on the Taurus it worked out where a 1" spacer lifted it 2".

 

[wildfire]

Just grab some cheap coil spacers from a parts store and see how it looks. The full circle ones that you set under the spring, not the little metal ones that go between coils. That's what I used on the back of my Taurus when I lifted it, and they're less than $10 a piece IIRC. Blocks in the back will lift exactly how much you add, a 1" block lifts 1". Coil spacers sometimes are different, on the Taurus it worked out where a 1" spacer lifted it 2".

Ok. thanks for the info!

 

[slow_c1500]

I did a 2” coil spacer level and it hasn’t caused any problems, but after 2 weeks, the truck doesn’t even look lifted anymore cause your eyes get used to it haha

My advice is either get a taller lift that you will actually notice lol (4” RC spindles are great), or leave it stock. Maybe rear drop shackles if you want it to sit level. Way easier than a 2” lift.

 

[Illbedipped]

Rear drop shackles can be easy but if the leaf spring bolts are stuck, it can take a whole darn day.

 

[Truck Guy]

Hello all

Here I am again with a newbie question. I searched the forum and I found a lot of usefull info, but not exactly what I'm looking for so I decided to start a topic, if this specific question is already asked feel free to redirect me there

I'm looking for a modest lift kit for my ride. 1 -1.5inches max.
My first question on that: The inches they give up (1 , 1.5 , 2... ) is that also the actual amount of height that will be added or is there a factor I can use to determine how much the truck will be (visibly) higher on it's wheels?

2nd part of the question: while browsing the net I find a lot of kits. As the truck will be used mostly in the road I was thinking of just adding coil spring spacers in the front and leaf spring blocks in the back. (I see lifted leaf spring shackels too but know if that's a better option? )
I want the truck lifted equally front and back so I was thinking about 1.5 inch spring spacers in the front and 1 inch blocks in the back.
Is that good thinking or should I chose other heights?

(1.5 inch spring spacers are hard to find so if a 1 inch spring spacer is enough to level out that would be even better.)

Here is a pic of my truck in profile view as it is now.

You must be registered for see images attach

Hello wildfire.
I have a 1990 two-wheel drive (C1500 Silverado). All I wanted to do was level the truck by raising the front end 2". I left the rear end at stock height. Therefore, I installed a 1" metal spacer kit on top of the front coils and this raised the truck the 2" that I was hoping for. It now sits level on 31 x 10.50R15 LT tires. Unfortunately, it made the ride more harsh on the front end. Some day I may see if I can find a slight lift spring, possibly with those unevenly spaced coils to give a smoother ride.

But here's the real problem: Raising the front end 2" (1" at the spring) killed the alignment, specifically the caster. It lost almost all positive caster which made the truck wander all over. After many experiments and much expense, I discovered that if I removed the upper ball joints and installed them under the upper control arm instead of on top, I could get about 2 degrees positive caster, while maintaining 0 degrees camber. The truck handled a little better but still not good enough, and the steering wheel wouldn't return to center after turning. (NOTE: Adding a thin spacer between the ball joint and the upper control arm allowed for more caster but it made it impossible to adjust the camber to anything remotely close to acceptable.)

Again, after much testing, I discovered that after punching out the rivets in the upper ball joints and replacing them with 5/16 bolts as you would normally do when replacing upper ball joints, (and mounting the ball joints under the upper control arm as I stated earlier), there was some play in the placement of the upper ball joints. This allowed me to adjust for maximum positive caster (approx. 4.5 degrees) and then, by lifting the front spindle with my knee, I could move the upper ball joint in toward the frame due to the extra play in the ball joint mounting bolts. This brought my camber to about 0 degrees. So, now the truck drives better and the steering wheel returns somewhat to center.

FYI... All the front end parts are new -- At the beginning of this process, I bought a complete Moog kit. And yes, the factory alignment limiting plugs have been removed.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Hello wildfire.
I have a 1990 two-wheel drive (C1500 Silverado). All I wanted to do was level the truck by raising the front end 2". I left the rear end at stock height. Therefore, I installed a 1" metal spacer kit on top of the front coils and this raised the truck the 2" that I was hoping for. It now sits level on 31 x 10.50R15 LT tires. Unfortunately, it made the ride more harsh on the front end. Some day I may see if I can find a slight lift spring, possibly with those unevenly spaced coils to give a smoother ride.

But here's the real problem: Raising the front end 2" (1" at the spring) killed the alignment, specifically the caster. It lost almost all positive caster which made the truck wander all over. After many experiments and much expense, I discovered that if I removed the upper ball joints and installed them under the upper control arm instead of on top, I could get about 2 degrees positive caster, while maintaining 0 degrees camber. The truck handled a little better but still not good enough, and the steering wheel wouldn't return to center after turning. (NOTE: Adding a thin spacer between the ball joint and the upper control arm allowed for more caster but it made it impossible to adjust the camber to anything remotely close to acceptable.)

Again, after much testing, I discovered that after punching out the rivets in the upper ball joints and replacing them with 5/16 bolts as you would normally do when replacing upper ball joints, (and mounting the ball joints under the upper control arm as I stated earlier), there was some play in the placement of the upper ball joints. This allowed me to adjust for maximum positive caster (approx. 4.5 degrees) and then, by lifting the front spindle with my knee, I could move the upper ball joint in toward the frame due to the extra play in the ball joint mounting bolts. This brought my camber to about 0 degrees. So, now the truck drives better and the steering wheel returns somewhat to center.

FYI... All the front end parts are new -- At the beginning of this process, I bought a complete Moog kit. And yes, the factory alignment limiting plugs have been removed.

You must be registered for see images attach

I like what you've done with the wheels! Had to do a double take. Did you have to modify the square body center caps any or is it a drop in? I know you have to bolt the caps onto the wheels.

 

[slow_c1500]

Hello wildfire.
I have a 1990 two-wheel drive (C1500 Silverado). All I wanted to do was level the truck by raising the front end 2". I left the rear end at stock height. Therefore, I installed a 1" metal spacer kit on top of the front coils and this raised the truck the 2" that I was hoping for. It now sits level on 31 x 10.50R15 LT tires. Unfortunately, it made the ride more harsh on the front end. Some day I may see if I can find a slight lift spring, possibly with those unevenly spaced coils to give a smoother ride.

But here's the real problem: Raising the front end 2" (1" at the spring) killed the alignment, specifically the caster. It lost almost all positive caster which made the truck wander all over. After many experiments and much expense, I discovered that if I removed the upper ball joints and installed them under the upper control arm instead of on top, I could get about 2 degrees positive caster, while maintaining 0 degrees camber. The truck handled a little better but still not good enough, and the steering wheel wouldn't return to center after turning. (NOTE: Adding a thin spacer between the ball joint and the upper control arm allowed for more caster but it made it impossible to adjust the camber to anything remotely close to acceptable.)

Again, after much testing, I discovered that after punching out the rivets in the upper ball joints and replacing them with 5/16 bolts as you would normally do when replacing upper ball joints, (and mounting the ball joints under the upper control arm as I stated earlier), there was some play in the placement of the upper ball joints. This allowed me to adjust for maximum positive caster (approx. 4.5 degrees) and then, by lifting the front spindle with my knee, I could move the upper ball joint in toward the frame due to the extra play in the ball joint mounting bolts. This brought my camber to about 0 degrees. So, now the truck drives better and the steering wheel returns somewhat to center.

FYI... All the front end parts are new -- At the beginning of this process, I bought a complete Moog kit. And yes, the factory alignment limiting plugs have been removed.

You must be registered for see images attach

Beautiful truck and clean simple setup! I like the c10 center caps on the c1500 wheels. Any rubbing with the 31s?

 

[Illbedipped]

I was thinking of going back to stock rear shackles and putting front coil spacers in to level the front end. This photo is stock height before I did the 2 inch rear drop shackles.