orboater said:http://www.hill4wheel.com/
Someone had posted this link for a kit to level the Avalanche/Suburban in a previous discussion.
Dogmeat - LS1.com 11278 posts ...
Took my "Ford" leveling kit off today...
My *GOD* .... I can't believe how much better it rides, steers, and handles now...
I dunno WTF I ever thought I had to do this "mod" anyways...
For no more ground clearance than I actually got, the wear and tear on the front end is DEFINATLEY not worth it..
I measured the height to the frame at a somewhat "stock" setting, and I barley got 1" of clearance where I needed/wanted it ...
I dunno....
I guess after having tried this both ways I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this, I'd say just save up for a lift and safe yourself a lot of trouble and time... heh
That's not really true.
When you crank up the bars, you're not twisting the bars any more than if you didn't crank them. Twisting is a change in rotation between the front of the bar and the back of the bar. The bars are twisted by the weight of the truck. That and suspension travel is the only force that will twist them. As you crank them up, the truck lifts up but the bars do not have more twist in them. They simply are rotated to another location.
The issue with pre-99 trucks is if you crank them up too much, the control arms get too close to the bump stop. When you hit a bump. the suspension bottoms out on the "down" travel, prematurely, giving you a very harsh ride. They fixed that problem in the 99-up trucks by redesigning the suspension with a much better bump stop. It's soft and relocated so it doesn't hit hard even with the bars cranked up substantially. My HD is cranked five turns.
Response:
That's only partly right, though. With the stock torsion bars/adjuster cams, you DO have to put more preload into the bars to increase the ride height. I know this from experience, because at 4 turns (approx. 1" of height) on my 2500HD 4x4, the ride became very harsh and skittish without actually hitting the bump stops. A kit such as the Hill 4-wheel Drive leveling kit changes the "at rest" position of the torsion bar. To increase height beyond the "at rest" position you have to preload the torsion bar more. The down side to the Hill kit and similar methods of changing the "at rest" position, or ride height, is that it changes the front suspension geometry to a much less than ideal situation. I'm looking at making my own cams to only give me about 1" extra lift at about 1 turn on the torsion bar adjusters over "stock". This, I feel, is an acceptable compromise between height, ride quality, and geometry.
bradyb said:So instead of stiff ride will a leveling kit still give you a rough ride or not ?Yes the ride won't feel exactly the same as stock but is a leveling kit an improvement over 4 and half turns on the torsion bars? ?My tires won't fit under the front fendors unless it's lifted.
nfhjr said:Cranked on my bars last week took a measurement before i cranked on the bolt then jacked up the truck on the drivers side and found the bolt was almost all the way out , turned the bolt almost all the way in then did the same on the pass. side found the bolt screwed in a little more than drivers side ?when all done let truck down and bounced the front end a few times then measured and the truck was one and a half inches higher and almost level ?
irontrain said:I would really like to level my Av.I have read the posts about tightening the torsion bar but those who have done that reported a loss of comfort in the ride.I'm also wooried that with a level truck that when I carry a heavy load that I will sag in the rear.What are some options that I could try?What have some other owners done and what was change in ride and/or overall height of the vehicle?
Great decision - a smooth, trouble free ride ain't all that bad - and better for the gas mileage.zeeya2000 said:I have to agree with the guys on the aggressive look. I too was looking for a way to raise the front end and that is when i posted the Hill link with information to and part numbers to raise the front end.
Every mechanic and tire shop i have talked to has told me the same thing. You are just repositioning the torsion bars and it will shorten the life and it will give you a harsher ride.
I have grown to like the aggressive look with the front end down and the cost of a full lift roughly around 2000.00 i am just going to hang tight with the way it is ..
zeeya.............................02 cents