So there's not much out there for lifting Denali's so I figured I'd throw a How-To out there to help out all my AWD Autoride buddies.
First off this kit was from Summit Machining on eBay. It was on sale for $90 for 2.5'' front and 1.5'' rear. The front offers an upper and lower spacer, instead of one giant spacer up top. I like how it adds a little on both sides, in a way that keeps the strut centered.
My truck does not have any weird vibrations, my autoride still functions perfectly normal, and the truck rides just like stock. So if any of these are deterring you from lifting your vehicle, have no fear she'll be fine. The one thing you will have to deal with is the occasional "Service Suspension System" light. I'm still not sure what causes this, but I am looking into a fix for that.
So let's get down to business! First, lets talk front end disassembly.
1. Jack up truck, put jack stands on front subframe.
2. Remove wheels.
3. Take a socket and wrench and remove the swaybar end links.
4. Take a 10mm socket and remove the brake line/wheel sensor bracket off the upper control arm.
5. Pull the plastic clips out of their slots for the wheel sensor to give it some slack when raising and lowering the spindle assembly.
6. Take a wrench and pull off the tie rod.
7. Take an 18mm wrench and loosen the upper ball joint, but do not remove the nut so the whole assembly does not fall.
8. Smack the upper ball joint with a BFH lol
9. with the lower control arm supported, remove the ball joint nut.
10. Pull the three upper nuts and two bottom bolts off the strut.
11. Remove strut and prep for spacer install.
So now that the strut is out take the 3 ( nuts and use them as a guide to trim the studs on the strut, so they do not protrude from the recesses on the new upper spacer. A grinder works great here. Also, be sure to get the orientation of the upper spacer to the body correct and mark it with a sharpie. This will keep you from having to guess which way the strut goes in.
Reassembly is the same just backwards. One word of caution, place the lower spacer on the lower control arm before the strut goes in, it is easier then trying to wedge it in between the strut and its bottom mount.
Also, when raising and lowering the control arms make sure you don't lower it too much, you don't wanna be pulling or ripping out your brake lines (See step 4
)
This is a pretty straight forward install. The new nuts will go on the top mount under the hood, and the old nuts will be used to attach the spacer to the strut in the machined recess.
Back end:
1. Jack up truck on pumpkin
2. Place jack stands under the frame.
3. Pull of wheels.
4. Unbolt the lower shock mount.
5. Unbolt sway bar.
6. Pull the electrical line clips out of the frame for slack.
7. Disconnect the brake line brackets near the shocks and near the pumpkin. These are some solid lines and you don't wanna pull on these.
8. Now that everything is disconnected lower the jack slowly until there is no pressure on the springs. Watch your brake lines.
9. When there is no pressure on the springs pull them out. Put the spacer in the bottom of the spring, and on top of the rubber on the lower mount. Have your buddy stand on the axle/rotor so you can get the taller spring assembly back in there. Repeat on other side, and reassemble.
All in all this took about 2-2.5 hours and was super easy. The lift may sound small but it made a huge difference and I love the way it sits. Not too big but noticeably "stout" compared to stock. Stock size tires look ok, but going up a size or two will make the truck even bigger.
Additionally, I pulled off my front valance to make it look taller, but there is a bunch of holes where it clips in and it looks unfinished so I will be re-installing that piece.
If anyone has any questions feel free to hit me up. I am looking forward to seeing more lifted AWD trucks, and it really rides and performs like stock, so don't hesitate.
Before:
Finished product:
First off this kit was from Summit Machining on eBay. It was on sale for $90 for 2.5'' front and 1.5'' rear. The front offers an upper and lower spacer, instead of one giant spacer up top. I like how it adds a little on both sides, in a way that keeps the strut centered.
My truck does not have any weird vibrations, my autoride still functions perfectly normal, and the truck rides just like stock. So if any of these are deterring you from lifting your vehicle, have no fear she'll be fine. The one thing you will have to deal with is the occasional "Service Suspension System" light. I'm still not sure what causes this, but I am looking into a fix for that.
So let's get down to business! First, lets talk front end disassembly.
1. Jack up truck, put jack stands on front subframe.
2. Remove wheels.
3. Take a socket and wrench and remove the swaybar end links.
4. Take a 10mm socket and remove the brake line/wheel sensor bracket off the upper control arm.
5. Pull the plastic clips out of their slots for the wheel sensor to give it some slack when raising and lowering the spindle assembly.
6. Take a wrench and pull off the tie rod.
7. Take an 18mm wrench and loosen the upper ball joint, but do not remove the nut so the whole assembly does not fall.
8. Smack the upper ball joint with a BFH lol
9. with the lower control arm supported, remove the ball joint nut.
10. Pull the three upper nuts and two bottom bolts off the strut.
11. Remove strut and prep for spacer install.
So now that the strut is out take the 3 ( nuts and use them as a guide to trim the studs on the strut, so they do not protrude from the recesses on the new upper spacer. A grinder works great here. Also, be sure to get the orientation of the upper spacer to the body correct and mark it with a sharpie. This will keep you from having to guess which way the strut goes in.
Reassembly is the same just backwards. One word of caution, place the lower spacer on the lower control arm before the strut goes in, it is easier then trying to wedge it in between the strut and its bottom mount.
Also, when raising and lowering the control arms make sure you don't lower it too much, you don't wanna be pulling or ripping out your brake lines (See step 4
)This is a pretty straight forward install. The new nuts will go on the top mount under the hood, and the old nuts will be used to attach the spacer to the strut in the machined recess.
Back end:
1. Jack up truck on pumpkin
2. Place jack stands under the frame.
3. Pull of wheels.
4. Unbolt the lower shock mount.
5. Unbolt sway bar.
6. Pull the electrical line clips out of the frame for slack.
7. Disconnect the brake line brackets near the shocks and near the pumpkin. These are some solid lines and you don't wanna pull on these.
8. Now that everything is disconnected lower the jack slowly until there is no pressure on the springs. Watch your brake lines.
9. When there is no pressure on the springs pull them out. Put the spacer in the bottom of the spring, and on top of the rubber on the lower mount. Have your buddy stand on the axle/rotor so you can get the taller spring assembly back in there. Repeat on other side, and reassemble.
All in all this took about 2-2.5 hours and was super easy. The lift may sound small but it made a huge difference and I love the way it sits. Not too big but noticeably "stout" compared to stock. Stock size tires look ok, but going up a size or two will make the truck even bigger.
Additionally, I pulled off my front valance to make it look taller, but there is a bunch of holes where it clips in and it looks unfinished so I will be re-installing that piece.
If anyone has any questions feel free to hit me up. I am looking forward to seeing more lifted AWD trucks, and it really rides and performs like stock, so don't hesitate.
Before:
Finished product:
