Need recommendations to RAISE the the front 2"

[PortHeadlight]

Have a c20 Suburban with 350 and big wheels/tires. Need to RAISE the front two inches to prevent rubbing and level it off to get rid of the rake. Prefer not to use spacers that jam into the coils. And don't want to lower the rear. Seems that replacing with longer coils up front would be the way to go, but haven't found somebody (or a vendor) that can help. Any ideas welcomed! Thanks

[formula_raider]

That it totally weird.....I just got onto this site to ask the same question. I used to be on hear all the time but finished restoring my 72 1/2 ton long bed a few years back so I havent been on here till today.
I had looked and looked while I was restoring my truck to find lift springs that would raise it up 2-3" with no luck, and like you I dont want to put those coil spacers inbetween the springs. I first tried putting in 3/4" springs thinking that they wouldnt compress as much and give me the right height....WRONG...it probably raised it up 3/4" an inch but it rode extremely rough. I ending up putting in urethane coil spring spacers in the bottom of the lower control arm where the bottom of the spring sits on stock 1/2 ton springs. It raised it about 3/4" but still needs another 2" in my opinion to take the rake of the stance of the truck. I just e-mailed Jeff from CPP, who builds alot of suspension products for our trucks, I asked him the same question as you. I will let you know if he returns any info.

[68GMCCustom]

aren't there something like spring pocket cups you can install below the spring to raise it?

[formula_raider]

Thats what I put into mine but it only raised it by like 3/4". They are urethane and made by Mr. Gasket part number 1285. They fit ok...but I wouldnt go any higher with this set up. A longer spring would be the ideal setup.

[N2TRUX]

Have you considered using lift spindles? I don't think they make an application for your year truck, but you can convert it to run 88-98 spindles. They make a 6 lug set up for them, and Google search indicates they also make them for the 2500 trucks too.

Read this to see how it can be done "73-87 2wd lift with 33x10.5x 18 Nittos"

[LONGHAIR]

The design of the control-arm style suspension will not allow you to increase the ride height much. It doesn't take much to hit the "droop" bumpstops, which are the limit of travel.

It's as simple as this...
Take a floor jack to the frame and raise it to the point where you gain the 2" between the top of the tire and the fender lip. You will probably not get much more travel than that anyway...but at least yo will be ale to see how close the upper A-arm is to hitting the bumpstop. The ride would be very harsh w/o this suspension travel, even if the springs didn't have to be stiff to get it up there.

As N2TRUX suggested, lift spindles would be a much better way to go.

[PortHeadlight]

Thanks for all the quick posts and PRACTICAL ideas. Will also see if we hear from CPP. Thanks!

[7T2]

What's rubbing, the tires? From the picture they seem pretty big for that vehicle. Some things just won't work.

[pooz911]

you can install big block springs to level it out. either flip the upper ball joint or install a ball joint spacer and remove the stock upper bump stop and install a shorter one. I added a set of limiting straps for insurance purposes so I don't stress the ball joints if the front suspension gets topped out.

[LONGHAIR]

I am not a fan of ball-joint spacers. They increase the leverage on the fasteners and big tires make this even worse. Having a failure in parts like this can be really ugly...

[pooz911]

The truck has been lifted for 20 years....with no parts failures.

[texastrendz]

Are the springs original factory? Maybe just a new factory spring may help. The factory springs after 30 years of service has had to of sagged some.

[oldblue1968chevy]

1 ton of BB springs is my guess??

[tallic68]

When I rebuilt my front suspension I replaced all the springs thinking it had some droop in it. After putting the new springs in I figured out there must have been some kind of leveling springs in her because it now has a good sized racke to her. She was level before and now she is not. Unfortunately I nolonger have the springs that were previously installed. I've been searching for another set of springs to level her out with no luck. I have been thinking about 3/4 or 1 ton BB springs, but don't have the money to just throw away if they don't work. I'll be watching this thread to see what comes about.
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[pooz911]

if you have a small block, installing big block springs will level it out. It will raise the front end to where the stock upper bump stops will sit against the crossmember.

[formula_raider]

Everyone....I got word back from Jeff Norton from CPP about taller springs and I quote "To answer your question , no we don’t make those but I have seen on ebay this guy who sells aluminum coil spring buckets that raise the vehicle. Check him out as it n=might be what you are looking for. Thanks"

[formula_raider]

pooz911....where did you get your ball joint spacers. I cant seem to find them anywhere for our model year trucks? Do the rancho springs you put on your truck contribute to your lift or are they just stiffer stock length springs?

[pooz911]

A buddy of mine who had a shop in Burbank, Ca was making them. He shut down the shop and went back to working for the movie studio's a few years ago. I have seen spacers on the web from Truckn suspension and others. The Rancho springs and spacers are in the catalog for a 73-87 truck. My '71 3/4 ton is the same. Using big block springs and running a small block will give some l ift but will ride a bit harder because the springs have a higher weight rate. I actually like how my truck rides....it rides like a truck!!!!

[formula_raider]

Ok....thanks for the info....pooz911 I love the way you truck sits...and the body lift makes it look just like a 4x4. Just want to ask you one thing....the ball joint spacer doesnt do anything for the "lift" right? It is just to releave some of the pressure off the ball joint because of the lift springs?

I actually did put the 3/4 ton springs on my C10 truck with a SBC in it trying to get the height I wanted. I believe the 3/4 ton spring and 1/2 ton spring with a big block chevy option is the same TRW spring part number....but it really rode hard for me! So I put the stock 1/2 tons back on.

Everyone...FYI I found 1"-3" steel coil lift spacers for 63-85 C10/C20/C30 trucks on ebay from a company called McBay-Performance (mcbay-llc) for 49.99. This could be an option for people that want to keep their 1/2 ton springs and lift it up some.

[PortHeadlight]

THanks again for follow-up with ideas and helpful suggestions... including what DOESN'T work...

[pooz911]

Correct, the upper ball joint spacers do not give any lift. They do improve the ball joint angle and also allows the front end to be aligned easier. Before I had mine installed, I had to have about 1/2 inch of shims to set the caster/camber for alignment. Every time the front end got off of the ground, the shims would go flying. Thank God I worked at a garage that had an alignment rack. after a few times I knew how many shims were needed and could reinstall right there on the spot. I can't remember if I said this in a prior message, but I also installed limiting straps. I may have lost a little in travel but eliminated all of the stress on the ball joints.