Lift advice for a novice

[DMITCH]

I just bought a 1999 Z71 K1500 from an older gentleman. One owner truck with all stock parts save for Flowmaster exhaust. I want to put a lift on it to achieve 3 things: 1. better stance, 2. ability to fit a larger tire (but keeping the stock rims), 3. more ground clearance.

With that in mind I do not want to: sacrifice the quality of ride, do anything that will cause more severe wear and tear on the parts, break the bank.

I'm thinking a 1.5" suspension lift with a 3" body lift? Or just a standard leveling kit and throw on the largest tires possible to raise the front end, get a more square stance, and give it more height?

Any advice is much appreciated as this is my first foray in to modifying an older 4x4 truck.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[df2x4]

Whatever you do, don't buy a "leveling kit" for a 4WD GMT400. It's just going to be lift keys, which are pointless on these trucks. You can crank the front end up to the droop stops using the factory torsion keys. Excessive crank on the keys isn't something you want to do anyway, your ride quality will suffer and you'll kill front end parts quickly. You can crank the factory keys up 2" or so to level the truck, but any higher than that is going to cause issues.

If you're looking for around 4" of lift total, I'd look into a full suspension lift kit. Like the Rough Country 4"-6" kit for example.

 

[RichLo]

^ yea, do a full lift or none at all.

I personally was in the same boat as you until I did just two things: 1.5 or 2" Hub-centric Wheel spacers in the rear only, and 305/70R16 tires

I've been meaning to take pics but I'm gonna wait til I get her polished up nice first.

 

[shorepatrol]

RC 4inch suspension lift. I believe 98 was the last gmt400 k1500

 

[Kyle89]

My 92 k1500 I can fit 305/70r16 with no lift or torsion crank

 

[Z71Hobbs]

RC 4inch suspension lift. I believe 98 was the last gmt400 k1500

There are a few that were made in 99...not super common.. but they do exist.

 

[scott hallinan]

Whatever you do, don't buy a "leveling kit" for a 4WD GMT400. It's just going to be lift keys, which are pointless on these trucks. You can crank the front end up to the droop stops using the factory torsion keys. Excessive crank on the keys isn't something you want to do anyway, your ride quality will suffer and you'll kill front end parts quickly. You can crank the factory keys up 2" or so to level the truck, but any higher than that is going to cause issues.

If you're looking for around 4" of lift total, I'd look into a full suspension lift kit. Like the Rough Country 4"-6" kit for example.

I want to raise mine 2.5-3” in the front.Can I do it with aftermarket lift keys?

 

[df2x4]

I want to raise mine 2.5-3” in the front.Can I do it with aftermarket lift keys?

...

Did you read the post you quoted? Thought I explained it pretty well in there.

Like I said, lift keys are a waste of money on these trucks. They don't allow you to crank any higher than the factory keys do, and they don't solve any geometry problems. Lifting your front end more than 2" with keys (ANY keys, factory or aftermarket) is a bad idea.

 

[Z71Hobbs]

...

Did you read the post you quoted? Thought I explained it pretty well in there.

Like I said, lift keys are a waste of money on these trucks. They don't allow you to crank any higher than the factory keys do, and they don't solve any geometry problems. Lifting your front end more than 2" with keys (ANY keys, factory or aftermarket) is a bad idea.

But the eBay listing said the keys would work!!


Doh!

 

[randomguy]

If you want to keep the stock wheels the best suggestion is 1 to 2 inches of crank and you should clear 285’s without much drama. Any higher and you’ll be tearing up front end components.

I’m sitting about 1.5” in the front and I like it. Angles aren’t terrible. I do need to toss an add a leaf in the rear as the truck has a bit of bro rake just due to age and being used as a truck.

I wouldn’t hesitate to do a proper 4” lift. Just realize depending on the brand you may need new wheels and you should budget to have the ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, and pitman arm replaced. Also realize there are other things you may need such as gears to making pushing those big tires easier.

If you can’t do the labor yourself expect to pay for at least 12 to 15 hours of labor on top of parts just for the lift and front end work.