Big mistake

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AppocAlexx

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So someone messed up yesterday but i know it could be a lot worse. This dumb shit somehow lifted the front end at least 3inches on the front end with my leveling spacer and the bilstein adjustable shocks.

So let me explain, I had parts together to replace upper control arm, shocks, lower ball joint, sway bar end link, and D side cv shaft for now. All this doing it for my first time on a Tahoe of this year so I knew it would take a bit more time than the ball joints and other suspension work i have done in the past mainly due to the cutting involved and also I hate swapping out the struts assemblies when it comes to dissembling the spring from the shock, always scary. Driver side I was done with everything within about 4-5 hours. Got started on the other side and had a few issues but nothing that the D side did not have and was done about 3 - 4 hours.

The big issue: front end sits pretty high and the upper control arm is on the bump stop pass side and very close to bump stop D side and the alignment of the tires are as close to the same and strait as I could get them by eye. I will be getting an alignment done within the next week. Now I'm going back up there today to do a test drive and see if this settles out some and maybe I'm overreacting or I will be removing the struts again today and either removing the spacer or dissembling the struts and going down to the notch below on the adjustment of the struts it self, which is what I told myself I was going to do in the first. That's what I get for second guessing myself. Decisions, decisions?

And before u say why did I keep going after I saw this on the driver side, well after I was done with the D side I put the wheels back on and put it on the ground moving around some and the D side upper control arm was just as close to the bump stop as the pass side at that time and so that's why I kept moving forward and did the same to the pass side only to find that it was now hitting the bump stop after completed on the pass side.

In all I'm pretty pissed bc I had plans for today and did not envolve working on the truck again. Regardless the struts should only take me about 4 hours tops to get done and that's based off the time I did the leveling kit the first time a few months ago. Wish me luck and open for thoughts and questions, or criticism of w/e kind. I know I f#^ked up.

:).
 

01Konvict

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No big deal its all reversible. First what setting are the shocks? How big of spacer are you running? Get some new UCAs made for lifts the relieve the stress on balljoints.
 
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AppocAlexx

AppocAlexx

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New uppers are out for now at least for the next year. So the install sheet said I put the ring at 1.18" and my spacer is about 1" maybe 1.25 it's a pretty basic leveling kit. The next setting for the shocks will be at .78 or something like that. But that 1.18" is where I was like uhm I guess I'll do that one since adding no more than the 1.25" - 1.5" would ad up to around 2.5ish". All made since in my head right but when installed looks way too tall. I'll snap a pic of before I take it all apart again.
 
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AppocAlexx

AppocAlexx

Darth Appocalexx
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Driver side
84DFACD6-CE80-4346-9F29-9F69936056CE_zpsrbidpgz8.jpg

Pass side
349794B7-D754-4168-B595-98663D706B6B_zpsj4eyauol.jpg



DFF33947-BCB1-47A8-AB65-57C82C08623F_zpswnrd1dw8.jpg
22E6A45E-3339-4ACD-955B-29400C621A81_zps19ogqch7.jpg


Looks good and still have to do the rear today as well. What y'all think about those angles haha I'm even debating about knocking down or cuttin out the bump stops some but idk. It drove ok and I think the pass side cv shaft is going bad it was popping some and when I had everything apart yesterday it was pretty stiff and not the new type stiff it was hard to move at all even when I was trying to manipulate it the spindle in place.
 

01Konvict

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Angles aren't bad. I would drive it at those angles. I think your ok on the lift just the uppers can be replaced to correct ball joint angle. Add a coil spacer to the rear for leveling.
 
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AppocAlexx

AppocAlexx

Darth Appocalexx
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I went ahead and went down on one notch on the shocks. Now I have about a half inch between the UCA and the bump stop. Much more comfortable with running that till I can get full suspension kit.

476B3E01-C89C-45EC-A810-4C043231BB12_zps4qxonmik.jpg

Final product but still was unable to get the rear done. Pretty sure that's a good 30 min job and I had to leave the shop for the day. Next time.
 

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