Making my Yukon XL into an Urban Assault Vehicle

[yates ™]

Diff drop MIGHT work buy nothing else will, even so you would be over extending everything else. In this year you may have to go to a six inch and see if you can run it at five.

 

[Marv02]

I have ran 4 inch and larger lifts on other 4X4 a lot of times you start running into other drive line issues like drive shaft angles being to steep then you have to get custom drive shaft made.

The OEM might need to be lengthen might need a CV U Joint.

like I said if you don't go crank the Key type lift you should be fine If you want higher there a body lift I personally never do another one that's just me.

I did not like Relocating the bumper brackets, Relocating the Radiator down, sometimes relocating the brake lines and fuel tank fill tube, sometime you have relocate the steering shaft also.

 

[hotdog.]

Ok, I'm not gonna lie I'm starting to get a little frusterated here.

No one is problem solving, they're just telling me problems.

I want a solid 3-4 inch lift. This will likely be achieved by keys since smaller lifts are unavailable for my vehicle.

I want to avoid as many problems down the road as I can, so I am prepared to do a key lift "right" if you will. So please, will someone educate me on potential issues I might see down the road, and how to avoid those problems as much as possible BEFORE HAND. Meaning, WHAT DO I NEED TO INSTALL/REPLACE TO HAVE THIS THING RUN FOR MORE THAN 30 FEET.

I'm not getting a 6 inch lift. Its just absolutely overkill for what I need. Quit saying "f it man just buy the 6 inch" because I'm not going to.

---------- Post added at 11:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------

like I said if you don't go crank the Key type lift you should be fine If you want higher there a body lift I personally never do another one that's just me.

If I do go crank I'll be fine? or if I dont? You said differently in previous posts so I'm pretty confused.

 

[yates ™]

So you're frustrated that a 3-4" lift is not offered for your truck because of the problems outlined in this thread already? The reason a 3-4" lift is not offered, or at least easy to find, is that in order to not over crank the torsion bars they would need to be dropped as well as the differential and other components, this takes a lot of engineering for such a small lift when there is tons of 6" lifts available. The lift you linked to can be achieved easier because on the newer style trucks/SUVs they have coil fronts which are completely different, also why you cannot just adapt it to what you have.

I am not sure what you want us to tell you other than you can crank for a level stance, crank higher and deal with the problems, or purchase a 6" lift kit and have something that will ride nice and be durable.

 

[hotdog.]

Thats pretty much all I needed, but I got a lot of people telling me I was dumb on all fronts, so yea, frusterated.

I'm going with a key crank.

Can I drop the differential to solve these problems as kits exist for doing that to my truck? You never answered that question. I'm not trying to sound like an ahole but come on man, I'm not going with a 6 inch and you just keep telling me I'll want to kill myself unless I get a 6 inch.

As I've said multiple times now, I'm going with a key lift, and want to know how to make it more durable down the line. Thats it, period, end. I get it, I'll have some wonky angles and it wont be as great as a 6 inch suspension, but thats out of my price and functionality range.

What problems will I face (CV Joints is one obviously, and ball joints) but what else? and how can I "problem-proof" this lift. Obviously everything wont be avoidable but I want to do as much as I can to prevent parts from wearing out.

 

[YukonXL04]

4 inch lift
http://www.gorancho.com/products/su...gmc-yukon-4-in-suspension-system-rs6547b.html

3 inch lift
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...tl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_pDetail_productSpecs

He told you how to avoid the problems with a key lift, dont crank the hell out of the keys... there no magic number to how much you can or cant crank the keys... it varies by truck and mileage...

If you go with keys, crank the keys some and drive it and see where it settles and what your CV joints look like. If they are not angled too much then crank a little more.

 

[yates ™]

Thats pretty much all I needed, but I got a lot of people telling me I was dumb on all fronts, so yea, frusterated. If I came across that way I apologize.

I'm going with a key crank. You will not be able to safely achieve a 3-4" lift. The suspension geometry will be completely off causing parts to prematurely wear out as well as be so far stretched that you could experience erratic steering, critical parts breaking driving, as well as many other issues.

Can I drop the differential to solve these problems as kits exist for doing that to my truck? You never answered that question. I'm not trying to sound like an ahole but come on man, I'm not going with a 6 inch and you just keep telling me I'll want to kill myself unless I get a 6 inch. Dropping the differential will help with CV angles but you will still be limiting the travel of the upper control as well as putting the ball joint in a bind. I never said you will want to kill yourself but simply pointing out there are no kits between a simple crank for a level stance and 6" (that I am aware of anyways). Have people used keys and cranking to acheive bigger lifts? Yes, but I have shown you pictures of why it is not a good idea and I am sure I could find more but you seem set that this is what you want to do. You're free to lift your truck as decide but I am trying to tell you the problems you will encounter.

As I've said multiple times now, I'm going with a key lift, and want to know how to make it more durable down the line. Thats it, period, end. I get it, I'll have some wonky angles and it wont be as great as a 6 inch suspension, but thats out of my price and functionality range. It is not possible so I cannot give you an answer you will like. You will have CV angle problems, you will have ball joint problems, and host of other problems. There is a reason that lifts are made the way that they are with countless hours of engineering (quality lifts anyways).

What problems will I face (CV Joints is one obviously, and ball joints) but what else? and how can I "problem-proof" this lift. Obviously everything wont be avoidable but I want to do as much as I can to prevent parts from wearing out.As I stated before you cannot.

Answers in red. I was just trying to help with facts and pictures but you seem set on doing it with cranking so I will see my way of the discussion and leave you to it.

---------- Post added at 11:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 AM ----------

4 inch lift
http://www.gorancho.com/products/su...gmc-yukon-4-in-suspension-system-rs6547b.html

3 inch lift
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...tl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_pDetail_productSpecs

He told you how to avoid the problems with a key lift, dont crank the hell out of the keys... there no magic number to how much you can or cant crank the keys... it varies by truck and mileage...

If you go with keys, crank the keys some and drive it and see where it settles and what your CV joints look like. If they are not angled too much then crank a little more.

Those kits both appear to have the necessary components (much like the 6" kits) and would safely lift the truck with little repercussions although I did nothing but a quick look at the pictures so I would still research before purchasing.

 

[southboundchicken]

I have a 2wd hoe thats my street truck and a z71 pickup thats my work truck and on the pickup being its 4x4 i wanted a little bit tougher than stock look with 33" tires...i've had the big 6" lifted trucks before and wanted to stay stock with my driveline angle and more conservative with the lift so thats why i did a 3" body lift... I know some guys dont like them but set up properly with bumpers relocated and fender well fillers these trucks wear a body lift pretty well and certainly better than previous year trucks for instance the Classic 88-98 models show a lot of frame from the side and to me that looks tacky but on these trucks u dont see near as much of the frame plus if your keeping your running boards they hide the frame even more, on my truck i have chrome nerf bars but i repositioned them up closer to the body to hide the frame and they just look better that way...... Its your choice and you have many options but 3" body lift is going to give you plenty of lift for 33" tires and not mess up your alignment specs and if u just have to have another inch or two you can crank the keys and add a spacer to the rear. Personally, i wouldnt max out the torsion bars with a key lift

 

[hotdog.]

I have a 2wd hoe thats my street truck and a z71 pickup thats my work truck and on the pickup being its 4x4 i wanted a little bit tougher than stock look with 33" tires...i've had the big 6" lifted trucks before and wanted to stay stock with my driveline angle and more conservative with the lift so thats why i did a 3" body lift... I know some guys dont like them but set up properly with bumpers relocated and fender well fillers these trucks wear a body lift pretty well and certainly better than previous year trucks for instance the Classic 88-98 models show a lot of frame from the side and to me that looks tacky but on these trucks u dont see near as much of the frame plus if your keeping your running boards they hide the frame even more, on my truck i have chrome nerf bars but i repositioned them up closer to the body to hide the frame and they just look better that way...... Its your choice and you have many options but 3" body lift is going to give you plenty of lift for 33" tires and not mess up your alignment specs and if u just have to have another inch or two you can crank the keys and add a spacer to the rear. Personally, i wouldnt max out the torsion bars with a key lift

Holy cow! an answer that gives me advice to solve the issues and get the result I was hoping for! and he didn't even have to talk down to me like I was a 5 year old!

Thank you man, that sounds like the best option so far. A small key lift, and a small body lift, together for the medium lift I'm looking for. Appreciate the helpful post! Hopefully I'll get the tire fund completed in the next month or so and get moving on these mods.

Also thank you yukonxl04 for finding those lifts, I might have to invest further down the road if this beast is still running.

To everyone else in this thread, thank you, despite our differences its been quite enlightening.

 

[03_GMC]

Hey Hotdog I'm new to this forum but not new to other GM forums or the 800 series SUVs. All these guys were doing was really giving you every type of advice they could for what you wanted. None of us "know you" so we can't really be able to gauge how knowledgeable you are in what you are trying to accomplish. Also most of us don't have a ton of time to sit around and research it all for you. I truly believe they gave you the answers you needed but it is a lot to take in. They said multiple times that going over 2" on a key lift was bad, you kept saying you wanted 3-4" of lift and asked if you could use torsion keys to do it. Obviously you know now that you can't do that. So please don't come down on these guys for helping you out. Also it's been a couple months, have you upgraded anything yet? With the ZW7 suspension you need to change the rear coils out if you do new shocks in the rear.