Fabbing a 1.5" body lift to fit 03 z71 tahoe (is this possible?)

[Lvmywife01]

Ok I'm new to this forum but not new to lifted trucks. I've lifted all 27 chevys that we've owned.
We have an 03 z71 tahoe I've installed the rough country level kit, with 295 70 17s (it's not enough lift for me). This is our main family ride so that's why I'm not throwing a 6" suspension under it....
I would now like to buy the 1.5" pucks from zone and either fab my own bumper brackets or buy some, I'll buy longer body bolts too.

Has anyone on here accomplished this fab job? I've installed the zone 1.5 on Silverados and it's easy.
I think we could make one work for this hoe, but I'm curious if anyone on here has done it???

Let me know please.

 

[01Konvict]

Yeah you can get the truck kit and think you don't use a couple of pucks. Think only the rear bumper doesn't move up with the body but the front is good. There was a guy on here a long time ago that added the BL to his 6-8" 2wd red hoe. Maybe search and see if you can find the thread for before and after pics

 

[Duramax05blk]

I believe zone has a 1.5 inch kit with all required parts including front and I 99% sure rear bumper brackets. It came with my 3 inch body kit

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[hoss08]

You might want to try to remove a few of your body mount bolts before you spend the cash on parts. This might not apply to you, but I live in the rust belt. I put a body lift on my 96 ZR2 back in high school and it was an absolute nightmare. The body hardware was pretty seized up with rust. I broke 2 bolts off in the removal process even after days of applying PB blaster. The broken bolts were a real headache to deal with but the worst was the broken nut. There are nuts spot welded inside the body when its being made. They get covered up after the body is fully assembled. I had one of those nuts break loose from its spot welds. There is absolutely no way to get anything on those nuts if they break off. I ended up having to cut a section out of the cab in order to remove it, then weld a new nut on and weld the cab back together. Body lifts can be a huge pain in the ass. They are a lot of work and usually require a little bit of custom fabrication to "fit" properly and have a good finish. Not trying to scare you out of the idea but they can be a real *****. Its not as easy as throwing a few pucks in and bolting it back down. Things like steering linkage and fuel filler necks ect come into play. At an 1.5" I think you might be ok with the steering linkage but you will have to modify stuff like the filler neck and vents. If at all possible find a kit with bumper brackets. Nothing looks worse than a body lifted truck with big gaps in the bumpers.

 

[Lvmywife01]

You might want to try to remove a few of your body mount bolts before you spend the cash on parts. This might not apply to you, but I live in the rust belt. I put a body lift on my 96 ZR2 back in high school and it was an absolute nightmare. The body hardware was pretty seized up with rust. I broke 2 bolts off in the removal process even after days of applying PB blaster. The broken bolts were a real headache to deal with but the worst was the broken nut. There are nuts spot welded inside the body when its being made. They get covered up after the body is fully assembled. I had one of those nuts break loose from its spot welds. There is absolutely no way to get anything on those nuts if they break off. I ended up having to cut a section out of the cab in order to remove it, then weld a new nut on and weld the cab back together. Body lifts can be a huge pain in the ass. They are a lot of work and usually require a little bit of custom fabrication to "fit" properly and have a good finish. Not trying to scare you out of the idea but they can be a real *****. Its not as easy as throwing a few pucks in and bolting it back down. Things like steering linkage and fuel filler necks ect come into play. At an 1.5" I think you might be ok with the steering linkage but you will have to modify stuff like the filler neck and vents. If at all possible find a kit with bumper brackets. Nothing looks worse than a body lifted truck with big gaps in the bumpers.

I've installed the 1.5s on the same year silverados and had no issue with any linkage or radiator adjustments. And the bolts won't be an issue. No rust on this one. I'm basically looking for someone who has done this and what they had to do with there bumpers...I appreciate your response tho.

 

[Lvmywife01]

I believe zone has a 1.5 inch kit with all required parts including front and I 99% sure rear bumper brackets. It came with my 3 inch body kit

Yes they do for a 3" black kit. Noone makes a 1.5" kit for this model, so I'm going to do it myself using there bl components from an 01 silverado kit basically. I'm trying to find someone that has tried this out. And what they did about adjusting bumpers.

 

[Lvmywife01]

Ok

Yeah you can get the truck kit and think you don't use a couple of pucks. Think only the rear bumper doesn't move up with the body but the front is good. There was a guy on here a long time ago that added the BL to his 6-8" 2wd red hoe. Maybe search and see if you can find the thread for before and after pics

Ok thank you I'll try to find him.

 

[01Konvict]

Found it but not sure pics are working. Its a red hoe with black wheels. Seen it a few times on IG
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/01-hoe-w-20s-37s.18437/#post-226228

 

[Lvmywife01]

Found it but not sure pics are working. Its a red hoe with black wheels. Seen it a few times on IG
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/01-hoe-w-20s-37s.18437/#post-226228

Cool thank you!

So far I've compared the instructions from the 02 silverado 1.5" BL to the BL for my tahoe and and the front frame and bumper brackets match. So I'll be able to use the brackets out of the silverado kit for my front.
Now I'm trying to figure out if the rear bumper relocation brackets are the same fit?

 

[01Konvict]

Yeah think that hoe didn't lift the rear bumper but not sure if kit actually can or not. Would think so since the hoe frame is a variation of regular cab short bed but with different torsion bars and spring cups.