After a lot of looking and consideration, I ended up ordering a Rough Country 2" leveling kit for my 2007 GMC Yukon 4x4. The directions are generally pretty good, but there are a lot of divergent opinions posted online about what you do or do not need to do in order to install. Here are my general tips, after undertaking the install.
I was able to complete the install in my garage, with a floor jack, 2 jack stands, and basic hand tools. (I used air tools, but they're not required). Level of difficulty was very low, and this is an easy 1 person project. I tried to undertake this in the fashion that reduced the amount of work as much as possible. Here's my suggested workflow:
1) Hit the following bolts with penetrating lube the day before you work: sway bar end links, upper ball joint, and the 2 bolts holding the bottom of the strut in place.
2) Jack up front end. Place jack stands under frame rails, immediately aft of front suspension, in a secure location (and set parking brake / block rear wheels, etc.).
3) Remove front wheels.
4) Loosen Sway Bar end links and remove nut and topmost rubber bushing (the one atop the swaybar). Do this on both sides at the same time.
5) Starting on one side, remove 2 bolts that hold the bottom of the strut to the lower control arm. (The strut should be fully extended, so there should not be any real pressure/tension on them).
6) Loosen the nut holding the upper ball joint, and unscrew it until it is barely on.
7) Rap the front edge of the steering knuckle with a hammer as shown in the instructions, to free the upper ball joint. Once free, it will drop to where the upper ball joint nut is still supporting it.
8) Be prepared with all other parts at this point. Have the 2 bolts for the spacer ready to go, with a washer on each. Support the brake rotor and knuckle, and rotate in the direction of the side of the vehicle you're on (i.e. rotate the driver's side left, passenger side right). Unscrew the last few turns on the upper ball joint nut, and the spindle will be free. You need to be supporting it, so it doesn't hang by the brake line.
9) Insert spacer under strut, and insert bolts (from top down). Start nuts on bottom.
10) Reinsert knuckle into upper ball joint and reattach ball joint nut.
11) Tighten ball joint nut to spec.
12) Tighten bolts holding spacer under strut.
13) Repeat steps 5-12 on other side.
14) Reattach both swaybar end links.
15) Attach wheels, lower vehicle, torque to spec.
16) Have an alignment done.
The instructions indicate that you have to undo the tie rod ends. I did not have to do this. Turning the spindle accomplished the same result (i.e. step #8).
I've seen some people indicate that they don't undo the upper ball joint. Candidly, I could not figure out a way to do the install without completely detaching the upper ball joint. The CV shaft was in the way and prevented inserting the rear bolt on the lower strut mount, until I disconnected the upper ball joint.
Some have indicated that they installed the spacer bolts from the bottom up. If you do this, the bolts will hit the cv shaft when everything is reassembled. DO NOT DO THIS.
I tried for an hour on the one side to complete the install without dropping the upper ball joint, to no avail. Once I dropped it, it took 5 minutes to finish that side. The other side was completed in 20 minutes.
I was able to complete the install in my garage, with a floor jack, 2 jack stands, and basic hand tools. (I used air tools, but they're not required). Level of difficulty was very low, and this is an easy 1 person project. I tried to undertake this in the fashion that reduced the amount of work as much as possible. Here's my suggested workflow:
1) Hit the following bolts with penetrating lube the day before you work: sway bar end links, upper ball joint, and the 2 bolts holding the bottom of the strut in place.
2) Jack up front end. Place jack stands under frame rails, immediately aft of front suspension, in a secure location (and set parking brake / block rear wheels, etc.).
3) Remove front wheels.
4) Loosen Sway Bar end links and remove nut and topmost rubber bushing (the one atop the swaybar). Do this on both sides at the same time.
5) Starting on one side, remove 2 bolts that hold the bottom of the strut to the lower control arm. (The strut should be fully extended, so there should not be any real pressure/tension on them).
6) Loosen the nut holding the upper ball joint, and unscrew it until it is barely on.
7) Rap the front edge of the steering knuckle with a hammer as shown in the instructions, to free the upper ball joint. Once free, it will drop to where the upper ball joint nut is still supporting it.
8) Be prepared with all other parts at this point. Have the 2 bolts for the spacer ready to go, with a washer on each. Support the brake rotor and knuckle, and rotate in the direction of the side of the vehicle you're on (i.e. rotate the driver's side left, passenger side right). Unscrew the last few turns on the upper ball joint nut, and the spindle will be free. You need to be supporting it, so it doesn't hang by the brake line.
9) Insert spacer under strut, and insert bolts (from top down). Start nuts on bottom.
10) Reinsert knuckle into upper ball joint and reattach ball joint nut.
11) Tighten ball joint nut to spec.
12) Tighten bolts holding spacer under strut.
13) Repeat steps 5-12 on other side.
14) Reattach both swaybar end links.
15) Attach wheels, lower vehicle, torque to spec.
16) Have an alignment done.
The instructions indicate that you have to undo the tie rod ends. I did not have to do this. Turning the spindle accomplished the same result (i.e. step #8).
I've seen some people indicate that they don't undo the upper ball joint. Candidly, I could not figure out a way to do the install without completely detaching the upper ball joint. The CV shaft was in the way and prevented inserting the rear bolt on the lower strut mount, until I disconnected the upper ball joint.
Some have indicated that they installed the spacer bolts from the bottom up. If you do this, the bolts will hit the cv shaft when everything is reassembled. DO NOT DO THIS.
I tried for an hour on the one side to complete the install without dropping the upper ball joint, to no avail. Once I dropped it, it took 5 minutes to finish that side. The other side was completed in 20 minutes.
