2011 Tahoe Z71 - Suspension Overhaul - Few Questions

[Boosted12]

Hello all! I have a 2011 Tahoe LT Z71 and am doing a notable suspension overhaul including the following:

Front: New OEM Struts, UCAs, Lower BJs, Wheel Bearing Hubs, Swaybar Links, 2.5" CCM Spacer
Rear: New OEM Shocks, Swaybar Links, 1" CCM Spacer

The rear went fine overall. But, when I got to the front I ran into several possible issues and would heavily appreciate any feedback to set me straight.

First concern, when I disassembled and reassembled the strut assemblies with new OEM struts (props to the Shankly Compressors on Amazon), upon completion one of the struts "decompressed" and expanded about 2". As this happened, it made the traditional noise a strut/shock makes when decompressing. But the other assembly did not...so I'm concerned I might have mucked one of the two up somehow. Standing up side by side, one assembly is now ~2" taller than the other. However, when I take one of the old struts and stand it up next to the taller one, they are at the same height from base to spring perch. This makes me think that when the shorter reassembled one is installed, perhaps some road bumps will cause it to also "decompress"?

Second concern - this front 2.5 CCM spacer is driving me nuts. I found that with these spacers, the base of the assemblies need turned to re-align the mounting points - I used a hammer with success. From other posts, I believe this is normal/expected. But, once the strut assembly was installed and snug on lower and upper mounting points, the new UCA (moog) was still like 4-6" from the knuckle. Jacking up the LCA only jacked up the front end of the truck. Following some online posts, I took a ratchet strap and it basically pulled the UCA down as far as it will go, but did allow me to get the UCA connected. The attached pictured result worries me because the angle on the UCA looks extreme and not sure the hub assembly will even install up to the axle like this. Picture attached, any thoughts? I think after this post I'm going to try and loosen the LCA mounting bolts to hopefully allow the UCA to come back up some...

I wouldn't be bum hurt to ditch the CCM leveling kit if needed, but feel that I've messed something up...any feedback or thoughts on anything above would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Boosted12]

Tiny update...loosening up the mounting bolts to both the LCA and UCA did not appear to help. I should have realized that the Strut Assembly appears be locking the LCA in it's current position, thus when it's jacked the truck rises. This leads me to believe that either the strut is supposed to be compressing and is not, or this awful UCA angle is expected with the CCM front spacer. Will keep poking away at it...

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@Boosted12 The height difference in the struts is very concerning. WIth the 2.5 inch lift you will want to go with some lift upper control arms like rough country forged upper control arms. What you do usually is install the bottom of the strut, install the top of the strut, then jack the lower control arm until the upper BJ can reach the knuckle then you bolt it up and take the jack out and thats how you have to do it with a lift spacer.

 

[swathdiver]

That strut assembly is not in there right, it should only fit one way and I don't see the end of the coil spring facing us. You do the tie rods too? Great time to get at them without all the stuff in the way.

 

[Marshall 008]

The struts should look like this when facing out towards the wheel. Notice the white line and notch of the top of the spring.

 

[juicedgsr95]

I cant tell if the sway bar is removed, if not, disconnect it.

I would take the spring off the shock that didnt extend and see if it does on its own. If not you have a blown shock. Definitely dont put the two different length ones on there.

Edit, I see this is from a month ago. What did you figure out?