2008 GMC Sierra 1500- 2” Leveling Kit Install Question

[Dantheman-2003]

Well, looking for some friendly advice here. My son and I installed a 2” RC leveling kit on a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. Just 2” spacers in the front, and also went ahead and replace both front shock strut assemblies and 2 upper control arms while we were at it. The install took longer than i anticipated, about 7-8 hours total with a few trips back and forth to Autozone. In addition we installed 2” wheel spacers to give the truck a better stance. Overall happy with the result, but now here comes the issue and questions.

After taking it for a short test drive, I noticed a squeak/squeal when turning left during acceleration. The noise is intermittent, and only coming from the left side. Sounds like something metal rubbing. I took another look today and noticed the front struts didn’t sit the same. On the driver side where the noise is, the coil spring does not look like it is sitting properly, while the passenger is sitting flush. Pictures attached.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

 

[Dustin Jackson]

I don't see anything wrong with the pictures. Did you grease any of the new joints?

 

[Dantheman-2003]

I don't see anything wrong with the pictures. Did you grease any of the new joints?I did not grease anything really. The issue I see on driver side is the coil doesn’t look properly seated on the pad. Also the wheel looks like it’s leaning slightly at an angle

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Did you get it aligned after you made these changes? It may not account for the noise, but you took off enough pieces, including the camber adjusters, that an alignment is required.

Take a look at the back splash shield on your brake rotor to ensure that it was not bent while you were working on that strut assembly.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@Dantheman-2005 I think that is because you are looking at the backside of the spring, there is always going to be a gap like that where the spring coil ends

 

[iamdub]

Well, looking for some friendly advice here. My son and I installed a 2” RC leveling kit on a 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. Just 2” spacers in the front, and also went ahead and replace both front shock strut assemblies and 2 upper control arms while we were at it. The install took longer than i anticipated, about 7-8 hours total with a few trips back and forth to Autozone. In addition we installed 2” wheel spacers to give the truck a better stance. Overall happy with the result, but now here comes the issue and questions.

After taking it for a short test drive, I noticed a squeak/squeal when turning left during acceleration. The noise is intermittent, and only coming from the left side. Sounds like something metal rubbing. I took another look today and noticed the front struts didn’t sit the same. On the driver side where the noise is, the coil spring does not look like it is sitting properly, while the passenger is sitting flush. Pictures attached.

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

Tire rubbing something? Spacers will do that.

 

[Dantheman-2003]

Did you get it aligned after you made these changes? It may not account for the noise, but you took off enough pieces, including the camber adjusters, that an alignment is required.

Take a look at the back splash shield on your brake rotor to ensure that it was not bent while you were working on that strut assembly.

Alignment is next. Just want to get initial feedback here before it goes in.

 

[Dantheman-2003]

So I found out what this issue was. Should have turned the shock bolts around the other way. They were rubbing on the axle. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Charlie207]

I think I trimmed the RC hardware when I installed the 2" leveling kit. Or, I may have installed them facing down to avoid the axle racing stripes. It was a while ago.

 

[Trey Hardy]

So I found out what this issue was. Should have turned the shock bolts around the other way. They were rubbing on the axle. Thanks for the feedback!

I flipped the bolts on the axle side when I done mine on the Silverado
I pulled the cv axles out the Tahoe so no issue rubbing on it
The upper leveling kit helps prevent that issue but it’s a lot harder to install vs the lower which takes 30 minutes