help please

[blackout82]

so i just traded my subaru for a 96 tahoe. i finished blacking the whole thing out. took off all the chrome and painted a few things. i would like to raise the truck up a bit so i could fit 33" tires. right now it has avalanche rims on it. i would like to get rid of the 17s and go with 16s so i can run i taller sidewall. any suggestions on lifting and rims? also i have been reading bout "turning the torsion bars" still no clue what that is. goin from a boosted subaru running 11.8s to a truck is new to me. so i thought i would join a forum. all help is appreciated. thanks!

 

[bowtiefreak]

You have a few options to lift the truck up:

1) body lift, either 2-3". This is a low cost option that is straight forward and does not effect the drivetrain.

2) torsion bar crank and a lift block in the rear. Torsion bars act as the front spring, as the truck's suspension cycles the bar twists. They have an adjustment key that when turned can lower or raise the truck a little bit. This is free other than the alignment afterwards but also comes with a downfall. Many people crank too far eliminating suspension travel, shock travel and put the CV joints and the ball joints at horrible angles causing premature wear. Again, that is if too far has been done. 1.5" is a normal and considered safe amount. A lift block in the rear is just what it sounds like, it is a STEEL block (please don't use aluminum, they do fail) placed between the spring pack and the axle. 2" is all you should need
3) best option IF it can be afforded is a nice 6" lift uncranked to sit at 5" or less. This puts all the steering components at good angles and gives you room to grow when you need it and trust me you will want more and more.

 

[blackout82]

thanks! so what would be needed to fit 33s? right now i have the avalanche 17s with a 265/70/17. i wanna sell them and get 16s. is there a market for my rims?

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

theres a good market for the newer GM rims for sure. depending on your rim width and offset you can throw some 33's under there with just a crank and blocks.

 

[Arctic-Rodz]

I had a crank and lift blocks on my 98 on 17x8 eagle 140's and 295/70R17 (33.3")Trail Grapplers

I say keep the 17's its got plenty of side wall for the 33" tires.

Here was my set up

 

[blackout82]

^^^that is sexy as hell!! doin the torsion bars and blocks, is that an easy job? like i said i have plenty of experience working on cars, imports though.

 

[Arctic-Rodz]

i didnt do it myself, when i bought the yukon it was already on.

it was on the OEM 16" wheels though. I removed them IMMEDIATELY cause they were too narrow to run the 305 wide tires the previous owner had on.

It was wearing out the center of the tires.

 

[the big blue bus]

blocks not too bad. i cut my old u bolts off and then its pretty striaght forward. one side at a time. for cranking just raise the front tires off ground and get a 18mm socket and tighten the adjustment bolt till desired height. i got i think 6 turns from mine and like 1.5 inch lift. ive got some rake to it but my torsion bars are worn out. i want to level it one day

 

[bowtiefreak]

yeah, it's really easy to do this

1) locate the torsion bar cross member and spray the keys adjuster bolts with PB blaster or some sort of penetrating oil. Do this a day before just in case.
2)measure the fender heights with the truck on the ground and plan to go no more than 2" above what the front is now.
3) jack the front of the truck up until the tires come off the ground.
4) with an 18mm socket turn the bolts in 4-6 times on each key.
5)sit the truck back on to teh ground and check your heights, if you are happy with it make sure you are level from side to side. Adjust as needed from side to side or just more height on both. keep in mind that 6 turns on the left and 6 turns on the right may yield differnt heights from side to side.
6) now take the truck around teh block to help the suspension cycle a few times, triple check your heights. If all is still good go get it aligned.

As for the blocks, do the front first then see how much you need in the back. I like to have the rear about 1-2" lower than the front to make the truck look level but it's not my truck.

If you choose to raise the back go to summit or some offroad place and order a set of x"blocks and U bolts. NEVER reuse U bolts, even though the stockers would never fit with a block I need to point that out. the rear should speak for itself but if not let us know.

I hope that helps

 

[Arctic-Rodz]

there ya go bud! sounds like its a pretty DIY thing