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Leveling Kit Question

Deranged

Deranged

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My 1996 Chevy 1500 is starting to look her age in the front and sagging to her knees. I want to put on about a 2 inch leveling kit to bring her back to life on the straight and narrow. I don't know much about lifts or leveling kits, so if yall could kid glove me in the right direction I would be appreciative.

The leveling kits I have found are just Torsion Key leveling kits. Looks like something you put on the torsion bolt and while using a cheater bar can then crank down on it and in the process level out the front end. Then ya get the added benefit of a new alignment plus anything else that comes with that as well. If this is true than can't this just be done with the right size socket and a big enough ratchet and cheater bar as well? Is this correct or are the Torsion Keys something entirely different?

I think that doing a 2 inch block on the frame with a tap weld would probably be sturdier and maybe cheaper in the long run, not sure though. Any pros/cons to this type of leveling?

Any other way to raise my girls sagging up a couple inches without breaking anything in the process? Most I want to get out of the leveling of the front end is a cleaner look and the ability to put a little big larger tire on. Nothing crazy, but maybe 31s or smaller? Think Mickey Thompson makes a super swamper in the 20s range that would work too.

Thanks,

Deranged
 
Many of the leveling kits have replacement A-Arms that provide better steering geometry and will give you a better ride. They are probably a better approach than the torsion keys, but the torsion keys work pretty well also. Many members here have used the green keys. Many just crank them up a little to get the desired height. I would personally stay away from any "home fixes" such as welding blocks to the frame as you mentioned above. There are better options out there to get your desired outcome.

If y'all are fixin to go with the new A-Arms, then you could probably get new rear springs at the same time and you will be good to go for a long while! ;)
 
RI Chevy Silveradoman said:
Many of the leveling kits have replacement A-Arms that provide better steering geometry and will give you a better ride. They are probably a better approach than the torsion keys, but the torsion keys work pretty well also. Many members here have used the green keys. Many just crank them up a little to get the desired height. I would personally stay away from any "home fixes" such as welding blocks to the frame as you mentioned above. There are better options out there to get your desired outcome.

If y'all are fixin to go with the new A-Arms, then you could probably get new rear springs at the same time and you will be good to go for a long while! ;)
Click to expand...

ha ha... well if yous all wanna come down and repair this doomahickie for us that'd be fine too.

I will look that up RI, didn't even consider having to replace the rear springs, but now that I am thinking about it, it definitely can't hurt considering it's 18 this year and most parts on it are still OEM.

Is this something I can do with a few jacks and some time or will I need to sub this out ya think? Not afraid of turning a wrench, just takes me a bit longer these days. I retired not due to age, but due to destruction lol

Deranged
 
Get the Torsion Key Removal Tool!! A good one too, not one from the China Man.

DO NOT use a C-Clamp.

The Torsion Bars are under High Tension and you don't want a C-Clamp or cheap Key Tool letting go.
 
I don't get what exactly the torsion key does tho. It looks like it is a tool that you use to turn a bolt, does the key itself actually install? Are the varying leveled blocks what sits on the frame? Gonna look some up. Ways off from this project, but I like to do my research months out if I am new to something.

Guess I am gonna have to watch a video on how these things get installed. I don't even know enough to know what I don't know...

any brands or sites stick out as being best?


speaking of videos, yall see the one with the redneck kid that used a cheater bar and a caveman sized ratchet to add 2 inches of front lift to his old truck? The Tube has it.
 
Starting to make sense now. Found a video that was what I needed to grip this.

So, by using the torsion key remover tool NOT THE C CLAMP version lol, I can remove the torsion bar from the torsion key and drop it out, replace with new torsion key and reverse the process. Is it really all that simple or am I missing something else? RI ya mentioned getting the kit with new a bars, is there anything else that I should go ahead and replace while under there? This isn't an off roader, just my daily driver that needs to be leveled with the added benefit being I can put a little larger tire on it as well. So, I don't need any performance parts for hitting deep mud or huge rocks, etc. Will this in turn screw up anything to do with the front end, like the idler arms and other stuff in that general area?

Thanks again guys, great info, keep it coming!

Deranged
 
You can get 2-3" of lift with your stock torsion keys, the aftermarket keys just give you the option to crank until the control arms bottom out. To get lift with the stock keys just jack up the truck by the frame until the front tires are off the ground. Once it is up just tighten the adjustment bolts.......... Turning the torsion bars or adding different indexed keys will require a front end alignment and could cause more frequent ball joint, tie rod, and idler/pitman replacement.......... If you can get some upper control arms (upper A arms) from cognito or something similar it will help with upper ball joint angle and give you a better ride at the same time.......... If you decide to go with keys I suggest Cognito upper A's for sure........ If you have the T-Bars loose to replace the keys then remove the lower control arms and replace the bushings, you might be able to order lower arms from MOOG with ball joints and bushings already installed (I suggest having a professional press bushings out and it is a lot of work to do in the driveway)...... Sorry my enter key is broken so I use periods to separate my scatter brained thoughts
 
Check all bushings, tie rod ends, pitman & idler arms, ball joints before ordering parts to save $on shipping and down time. If it is saggin, everything else will be worn too.
 
Nice, thanks again for the great information. These are all things that don't cross my mind when I think lift. Glad you guys are here to help me have my head wrapped around it completely.

I had a feeling, that if I wanna do it right, it's gonna be a bit more of an investment than my initial rough mental math. I am fine with this, but will have to order a part here and there till I have it all together and then sub out the labor. I may can even get the labor for free thru the family, I'll have to ask when it gets closer to install time.

I don't think I want to redneck any of this, my words, not yalls. So, replacing the keys with new ones designed for the job at hand is best. Ordering new a arms and anything else that appears worn enough that it would be futile to ignore as well. Thinking, somewhere around the $500 range +/- $100 or so should get my leveled out. Being that my baby is turning 18 this year it can't hurt to go ahead and consider replacing struts, shocks, idler arms, tie rods, etc since the works already being done anyhow and it may stop from damaging other parts by doing it right the first time. Not to mention, I ride with 150Lbs of dog(s) daily and the thought of losing control because I wanted to be cheap and hurting my kids kills me, so I will put a lot of time and effort into doing it right.

Thanks a ton guys. This truck is shaping up to run like a scalded ape. Got the tune-up complete last night, old neighbor of mine is a Chevrolet genius and showed me some tweaks to get the carb working better. By time it was done, without my exhaust or intake installed the lil 305 is able to do 0 - 70 in just under 10 seconds. Not bad for her age and mostly being still stock. After the aforementioned upgrades I think I can get her to 9 seconds and when the new rubs off will even save some MPG.

Deranged
 
pics of the truck so we can peer pressure you into keeping it as is? :) I am a big hater on leveling. rougher ride, trash front end parts much sooner, etc. not much to get excited about IMO.
 
I meant to take pics earlier, it's in the rough stages paint wise, and the only reason I have considered the leveling kit is because of the drastic front to rear slope that it has. Once I start looking further into it, I may just find that the struts or shocks are going out and by replacing them it goes back to normal road height. It's 2wd and I am not trying to make it look like or drive like a 4wd. The only benefit I have found is I can do a little bigger tire on the front end than I can by not leveling it.

The ride on it now is perfect. It's as smooth as butter even. No pulling anywhere, perfect braking line even under hard braking conditions, etc. There is nothing indicating that there is a problem other than the awkward, approximately 35 to 40 degree slope from rear to front. What do you think could cause such a dramatic drop in the front end without affecting handling whatsoever?

Deranged
 
well this info changes everything, most of the above advice is not applicable. the 2wds in this body style have coil springs, not torsion bars.

all you can hope for are spacer pucks to space out the coil springs.


also, where did your neighbor find a carburator on a vortec?
 
intake, sound better? give a sick boy a break lol... thought the C in the 1500 meant it wasn't 4wd, just thought I'd reiterate it though. What the hell does the C stand for? Deep thoughts...

Well damn, I just wanted to be able to sit in my truck and not start rolling down hill when I lean over. Seriously tho, the lean does seem extreme, more so on most trucks I see or have owned. So, is this idea dead in the water now?

And ya thought I was joking when I mentioned knowing next to nothing on leveling a truck eh?

Deranged
 
Ok, being a 2wd you have 2 options, maybe 3. Coil spacers or lift spindles, the 3rd option is custom made longer coils $$$$. There are Prerunner kits for off road racing type 2wds, a lot of custom work needed. If you can find lift spindles then that would be your best bet.
 
I appreciate the info. Will do some research in to that as well. Gonna have to put this on a longer hold than previously considered. Or, maybe I can hire a pair of midgets to ride in the engine compartment and "lift" certain areas to make it look normal lol

Deranged
(Ya, it's not just a name... )
 
check the rear end, did someone add some add-a-leafs? if so, that would raise it way up.

I wont dog you too much, the C1500s seem to have noticeable rake sitting in the seat compared to a 2500 or 3500 2wd, so I can see why you may want to bring it up a little.

they do make a 265/75R15, IDK if it will clear though.

they also make air bags to go in the spring, IDK if they offer it for the C1500 specifically.
 
Thanks man, ya it's definitely not a vanity project I had in mind. Well, not just a vanity project lol. Unless I have half a ton of crap in the back I don't think it should sag, nor should the front unless there's a problem. I did find a few worn out bushings when I was under it today doing the oil change. Think im gonna start cheap and work my way up with baby replacement/repairs until I run in to something I cant do or just shouldn't do.

Have to check on those tires, I know BFGoodrich makes a tire that looks beautiful on a 2wd or a 4wd; the Wrangler. At almost $140 each before tax, mount, balance, etc that's a bit pricey for me. It's a natural fit on mine without a leveling adjustment though. So, that is the basic tread pattern I would like to have on my tires. Great for otr daily driving and there for those days it floods at the ranch so I don't get stuck sitting on just street treads.

Deranged
 
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