Aren't shock extenders only used in lifting? Actually I guess they could extend in the opposite direction?
The shock extenders I'm talking about aren't to make the shock longer, as one would use when lifting (actually more of an old school way). What I'm talking about bolts to the factory shock mount on the axle and extends the mounting point of the shock 2" downward so the shock has an extra 2" of travel. If you were to lower your rig 2", the shock would get compressed 2", putting it 2" closer to bottoming out. To regain the lost travel, you'd either get a 2" shorter shock (AKA "drop shocks") or bolt some shock extenders so the stock shocks would have their full, original range of travel. If you had more drop, such as a 4", you could get 2" shorter shocks and the 2" extenders, etc.
So getting into the fix: Looks like I should be able to get new shocks up front and use spacers for a 2 to 3" lift there, then in the rear replace those springs, add spacers, and figure how to get the air lift re-calibrated or raised? I'll check and get a pic to confirm no extenders were used.
You have struts up front, not shocks. You could get stock struts and use spacers to lift it. The spacers don't change the travel (stroke) of the strut, they just make its overall size longer, which raises the vehicle. So stock struts are fine. It's the same principle as spacers for the rear coils. That which the vehicle rests on is just 2"-3" longer, but you're not changing the spring rate, so it'll ride the same (not accounting for different shocks). If you were to replace the rear springs with lift coils or even stock Z71 coils, that'd change the ride a little. I think people report that the Z71 coils ride a hair firmer than stock or it might be the Z71 shocks. Technically, you'd need longer shocks for the 2"-3" lift because that's putting the stock shocks 2"-3" closer to being fully extended. I think they only have about 4" to extend and compress, which means you'd only have 1"-2" of droop before the shock bottoms out at full extension. Yes, the shock gets compressed much more than extended during normal driving. But, IMO, that's still too close for comfort if you were hitting some big dips or humps at speed on the highway. There are shock extenders for rear lifts, but I have no experience with them nor do I know of anyone on here that has used them. This is an example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Shock...a=0&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
What I don't like about them is that the top shock mount eye will have more radial and tangential loading on it than in a stock setup. This may not be so much of a problem with a standard shock, but the ALC shocks are part of the load-bearing part of the suspension, so it has much more weight and forces acting on it than with a standard suspension. Also, the shock would be rotated 90°. Again, not much of a concern with standard shocks, but the ALC shocks have electrical and air line connections on the side of the shock body and this may position them to interfere with other components.
If it were me, I'd copy the lowering shock extender idea, but in reverse, and make my own "lifted extenders". I don't know why this hasn't been done already. Maybe it's because the ALC shocks are load-bearing and there are too many liabilities for a company to produce them?
For the ALC sensor calibration, you just need the sensor to be at the position it would be in if the vehicle were at the height it was when it was stock. If it were me, I'd try one of two things:
1) Put stock springs in it with no spacers, and accurately mark the sensors after the suspension settles
or
2) If the ALC system lifts the rear after startup, mark where this point is since that's where the system is "happy" at.
Once you have your marks, then you just adjust the sensor link length so these marks align after you lift it. With lowering, you have to shorten the links. With lifting, you lengthen them. I made shorter links for my 4" drop with a piece of 10-24 all thread from Lowe's:
