I want to lift my 2002 GMC Sonoma, Don't know anything about lifts. PLEASE HELP!?

[Elise D]

So i just bought a 2002 4x4 GMC sonoma, and unfortunately, its lowered. I want a 4-6" lift, or at least stock

I went to Baxter auto parts and they told me to buy a lift kit for this specific car would cost 2-4 thousand dollars. But i went online and see lift kits for like 300.

I have never lifted a truck, and dont know anything about the subject.

Could somebody please enlighten me?

Why am i being told i need to spend 2-4000 to lift my truck when i see kits online for only 300?
What do i need to know about lift kits?

 

[REV B]

They quoted you $2k-4k because that included the parts and labor. It is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. My friend lifts trucks and uses Skyjacker. You will want to add some wheels and tires, so add that to the price.

 

[Molson02536]

So i just bought a 2002 4x4 GMC sonoma, and unfortunately, its lowered. I want a 4-6" lift, or at least stock

I went to Baxter auto parts and they told me to buy a lift kit for this specific car would cost 2-4 thousand dollars. But i went online and see lift kits for like 300.

I have never lifted a truck, and dont know anything about the subject.

Could somebody please enlighten me?

Why am i being told i need to spend 2-4000 to lift my truck when i see kits online for only 300?
What do i need to know about lift kits?

First, have a look to see if the person used lowering blocks on your rear leaf springs to lower the rear of the Sonoma. If they did, then that's good new cause they would have lowered the Sonoma the most inexpensive way.

To bring the rear back to stock hight if they did use the lowering block, all your going to have to do is to have them removed. The lowering blocks will be sandwich between the axle and leaf springs and be visible.

There is going to be a good chance that the front end was lowered by just turning the torsion bar keys down to lower the Sonoma, all that needs to be done is to turn the torsion bar keys back up to get to your desired ride hight. Once you have done that, your going to have to replace the bump stop that would have been cut or removed to achieve the lowered stance. Also a four wheel alignment is going to be needed to ensure your Sonoma will still be going in a straight line.

To raise the Sonoma, you can get way with turning up the torsion bar keys to it's max to get you your maximum ride hight in the front, get a 18mm socket [1/2"drive] and a breaker bar or big ratchet. Locate the torsion bars and follow them to where they attach [~3' back of front suspension]. There you will see a bolt that is 18mm, it is right at the end of the torsion bars. Give each side a turn [tighten them] and then drive the truck a bit to cycle the suspension. keep doing this until you have the height back to where you want it. If one side is more than the other, then loosen or tighten one side [depending on if it's lower or higher] by 1/4 to 1/2 turn and repeat the suspension cycling. When you get it where you want it, you’re done and for the rear only. You can do add-a-leaf or extended shackles but only one or the other unless you want the rear to be considerably higher than the front.

Do whichever one and then tweak t-bars to bring the front up nearer level..

This will not got you your 4-6" lift, but will get you 2-2.5" lift the most with out braking the bank. At least you can fit the 31X10.5 / 15 on your stock aluminum wheels to give it the off road look your looking for.

Oh and don't for get to replace the shocks and sway bar bushings to make sure you keep all four wheels on the ground.

 

[lphernan]

If you have never lifted a truck, especially one with independent front suspension, Don't do it. For 1, it is dangerous if you are replacing parts. 2, if you lift it by adjusting the torsion bars, you will have to replace your front CV shafts. That's a definite. the 2-4K is for a lift that maintains the front CVshaft angles to your transaxle. $300 is just new keys for the front and a block for the rear. Not worth it. I would expect to pay around $2k for the parts and another $500 for the install. No more.

 

[threecar]

I had an alignment guy crank up the torsion bars some on my 94 about 10 years ago. I also installed an add-a-leaf in the rear. It gave the truck about a 2" lift all around. Never had a problem but did just have lower ball joints replaced. Now, did I need these replaced because of the lift?...I doubt it....they probably would have had to get done at some point anyway being that the truck is 16 years old. No problems with CV shafts at this time. With new springs in rear and new ball joints truck rides great. I would have loved to put a full suspension lift on it back then but cost was way too much. $3000-$4000 installed. Did not have the funds for that so this PML (poor mans lift) worked for me.

 

[lphernan]

lifts

I have researched lifts for an 02 sonoma crew cab 4x4. Only ones I found for a 6 inch lift are around $2k for parts alone. There is also a 2-3 inch body lift and of course what was discussed before, the adjustment to the torsion bars.

I don't like the torsion bar adjustment cuz it adds excess (IMO) angle to the CV shafts. I had a 96 Sierra with a 2.5 inch lift using the torsion bars and I went through 3 sets for driver side shafts. the 3rd set, I lowered it to have only a 1 inch lift and the shafts lasted well over 50k miles before I sold the truck.

Body lift will give you the clearance to fit larger tires but will not buy you any ground clearance except for what you gain from the larger tires.

The 6 inch lift, although pricey, the best way to go IMO.

Good luck