I need an cheap way to lift my 03 gmc sierra 1500 z71 without spending $1000 on a suspension lift and without using those torsion keys. I was looking at the torsion keys but i was told by a couple people that it will ware down a few thing quicker then they should( ball joints and tires )
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Need a cheaper way to lift my 03 GMC Sierra 1500 z71 - PLEASE HELP?
- Thread starter gary g
- Start date
Molson02536
New member
You can readjust your stock torsion bars keys to give you an extra 1.2inch of ride height, just make sure you service your ball joints more often and use marine bearing grease. The marine bearing grease cost a little more but last longer and resist water and all the bad things that winter months bring out on the road. Replace the sway bar link ends with the urethane bushings, and for the rear you can buy a lift block from 0.5 inch to 2 inch on height, would not go any higher then 1.5 inch since the back is higher already then the front of the truck. This would give you a simple 3 inch lift on your suspension without major modifications and stress on your drive train. Here is a link to a supper lift to give you a better idea on what work you need to do a safe and correct way to lift your sierra. http://www.superlift.com/instructions/3280.pdf Good luck friend.
Find a nice flat concrete floor or whatever... so long as it's nice and flat.
Before you start, take measurements at all four corners from the frame down to the floor. Draw a diagram and write the measurements down.
If you crank up the driver side front, the passenger rear will drop some.
Don't use an air impact gun. You can't count the turns.
Mark the two bolts to make it easier to count.
I use a breaker bar and a socket. Most of us that go full lift get about five turns. Do both bolts the same amount. They are very tight fitting threads so they don't turn during normal operation so a little grease is advisable.
If the truck doesn't sit level to start with, you can level it by not cranking one side as much as the other.
After making the adjustments, the truck really needs to be driven and then rechecked. It settles in after driving it a little. Alternatively you can get on the front bumper and jump up and down. This helps the front settle in to the new height. Recheck and record what you've done.
Some problems you can run into...
One or both bolts may already be close to fully engaged, from the factory. This is due to torsion bar and component tolerances. Sometimes the factory needs to use all the threads to set the stock height. If that happens, you may need to swap to the different "keys" the other guys are using. The key is the forged steel dog that torsion bar anchors into and gets rotated by the bolt. I haven't heard too many people complaining about no thread travel available but some have.
If you do get it aligned afterward.. be sure the shop knows what they are doing. When I had mine aligned, they didn't know how to look up the new HD models and loaded in the specs for the older C/K body. If I wasn't there, they would have set the specs wrong.
Also, the older C/K trucks had a steel crescent plug that had to be knocked out by removing the upper control arm, to facilitate alignment. The 99-UP trucks do not need to have this done but some alignment shops try to charge you $100-$200 to do it before alignment. It's thievery.
Your truck 99-UP only have a plastic insert where the upper control arms attach to the frame that can be popped out with a screwdriver. If they don't know about it, they may try and make adjustments with this crescent plug still in place. Some shop forget and will break the "guide pins" off in the process.
One misconception is "Raising the truck by adjusting the torsion bars "twists" and loads the bars to create a rough ride." When you "tighten" The ride is still the same, not any rougher ride then stock.
Find a nice flat concrete floor or whatever... so long as it's nice and flat.
Before you start, take measurements at all four corners from the frame down to the floor. Draw a diagram and write the measurements down.
If you crank up the driver side front, the passenger rear will drop some.
Don't use an air impact gun. You can't count the turns.
Mark the two bolts to make it easier to count.
I use a breaker bar and a socket. Most of us that go full lift get about five turns. Do both bolts the same amount. They are very tight fitting threads so they don't turn during normal operation so a little grease is advisable.
If the truck doesn't sit level to start with, you can level it by not cranking one side as much as the other.
After making the adjustments, the truck really needs to be driven and then rechecked. It settles in after driving it a little. Alternatively you can get on the front bumper and jump up and down. This helps the front settle in to the new height. Recheck and record what you've done.
Some problems you can run into...
One or both bolts may already be close to fully engaged, from the factory. This is due to torsion bar and component tolerances. Sometimes the factory needs to use all the threads to set the stock height. If that happens, you may need to swap to the different "keys" the other guys are using. The key is the forged steel dog that torsion bar anchors into and gets rotated by the bolt. I haven't heard too many people complaining about no thread travel available but some have.
If you do get it aligned afterward.. be sure the shop knows what they are doing. When I had mine aligned, they didn't know how to look up the new HD models and loaded in the specs for the older C/K body. If I wasn't there, they would have set the specs wrong.
Also, the older C/K trucks had a steel crescent plug that had to be knocked out by removing the upper control arm, to facilitate alignment. The 99-UP trucks do not need to have this done but some alignment shops try to charge you $100-$200 to do it before alignment. It's thievery.
Your truck 99-UP only have a plastic insert where the upper control arms attach to the frame that can be popped out with a screwdriver. If they don't know about it, they may try and make adjustments with this crescent plug still in place. Some shop forget and will break the "guide pins" off in the process.
One misconception is "Raising the truck by adjusting the torsion bars "twists" and loads the bars to create a rough ride." When you "tighten" The ride is still the same, not any rougher ride then stock.