Denali Help?

[Zach477]

Zach man thanks for the info. This makes things a lot easier for me. I was tempted to just drop the $680 on the Arnott kit but now I feel more confident in buying the parts seperatly.

Chip18
That is Smoke. He's a blue merle smooth coat collie. I received him from Brigadoon Service Dogs about two years ago. I served in the army from 1999-2009 and did tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Smoke helps me manage ptsd and the brain injury. Your boxer (I think) looks pretty awesome.

No problem, thank you for your service. For the keys, Bilsteins, Z71 springs, spacers and looks like bypass modules are $40 I will have about $440 into it vs the $680 Arnott kit, and the Bilsteins I imagine are MUCH better shocks that what the Arnott kit will come with.

 

[Joshuasvt]

Got the lift done and new tires on, truck looks great and rides better than ever. Pulled a 6,000 lb trailer with it yesterday and am very happy with the ride even without the air leveling. I am getting the service stabilitrak warning and I am going to get the bypass modules soon to address that. Not sure if I will need to do anything with the ride height links or not, going to put the bypass modules in first and then worry about those if need be.

So a few things:

1. I was shipped 1" spacers instead of 1.5". The ebay seller offered to send me 1.5" no charge but with the Z71 springs and 1" spacer I got 2" of lift in the back....which is perfect so I told them not to worry about it. My Denali is an XL so I would imagine a short version may get a little more than 2" due to less weight.

2. (Rear) Make sure to disconnect the wheel speed sensor wires from the frame mounting clip so you don't damage them, you will need to disconnect the stabilizer bar in order to get the axle to drop down enough. I also had to use a ratchet strap to suck down the spring a few inches so I could get it into place. Took me about 1.5 hours to remove old shocks and springs, and replace with new shocks, springs and spacers. Minus the lug nuts, its 6 total bolts to do the whole swamp.....much easier than I anticipated.

3. Have a small bottle jack available to manipulate the axle and spindle height to make it easier to install shocks.

4. If your truck has 225,000 miles of rust and corrosion expect the top bolt of the drivers side front shock to be a pain in the ass, I had to cut it off with a angle grinder after swearing at it for 10 minutes. The drivers side is really the only side that's a pain due to some steel brake lines routed above the bolt that doesn't allow you get to it from the top and you have to get to it from the side. The pass side I was able to get my impact on from the top and zip it right off.

5. THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP....Go to O'Reilly's and rent the GM torsion key removal tool. You buy it for full price ($90) but you get every penny back when you return it, you basically put a deposit on it. The receipt says you have 48 hours but the guy at our store told me they would only make a big deal out of it if it was out for 4-5 days. This tool makes taking the keys out a piece of cake. Total time to add new shocks and keys was around an hour. I cranked my bolts down all the way and then backed off 3 turns to get 2.45" of lift up front.

6. The 285/70/17 tire looks good and has no rubbing issues, the 2" in back and 2.5" in front complement the wheel size perfectly IMO.

All in all, its a easy job and shouldn't take you more than 3-4 hours to do. Getting the torsion key tool makes the job a whole lot easier and more safe but I have seen a 2 claw puller will work. If you can rent the tool for free, however, why not?

I'll follow up when I get the bypass module in and let you know if that took care of the warning lights.

Can you post a couple pics now that you have everything installed? I just ordered the Bilsteins and Moog springs. I'm debating on getting the spacer and keys...I think a small lift would be ok.

 

[pnwdan]

to bypass the auto ride just disconnect the battery, remove the fuse and reconnect the battery. Thats all

 

[Joshuasvt]

Got the springs and Bilstien 5100s on today. The rear came up 2" and the front came up an inch. Thanks for the help help guys. Here's a before and after...