ride height

what's up all, I got a 97' 4dr Tahoe 4x4 with 240,400 miles on it. My question is what is the correct ride height for the front of the truck? I've notice that the pass. side sags compared to the driver side. Also I've put moderately oversized tires on it (275/70r16). I've never shied away from taking it off-road so its seen its share of rough terrain, to the point of the torsion bar crossmember getting banged up. I've heard of cranking the torsion bar up but the crossmember is dented up in a way that it's right up against what I'm assuming is the adjustor bolt. Is it something a susp. shop has to do or can I just "eyeball" it?

what's up all, I got a 97' 4dr Tahoe 4x4 with 240,400 miles on it. My question is what is the correct ride height for the front of the truck? I've notice that the pass. side sags compared to the driver side. Also I've put moderately oversized tires on it (275/70r16). I've never shied away from taking it off-road so its seen its share of rough terrain, to the point of the torsion bar crossmember getting banged up. I've heard of cranking the torsion bar up but the crossmember is dented up in a way that it's right up against what I'm assuming is the adjustor bolt. Is it something a susp. shop has to do or can I just "eyeball" it?


first I would remove the front shocks . they should have good pressure in them . then with new shocks [bilsteins ] or the on board shocks being good you would adjust the pass side torsion bar to increase height so that the pass side is same as driver side. then check that the vehicle sits with the rear slightly higher than the front.

I would have a shop check out the frame if you think it is damaged.

when adjusting these bars lift up the vehicle adj. then drop down and get the suspension to bounce a few times then measure the height middle of the wheel well to the ground both sides.

if the vehicle is too low or too high the 4wd CV joints will not be straight. you want them to be straight.

Thanks for the reply. The front bilsteins are in fairly good condition which brings me to my next couple q's. So does the front shocks have to be disconnected before any adjust. or could they be connected? Also, I'm having to replace the pass. outer tie rod, do they need to be replaced in pairs (both outer tie rods) or just one side; or the pass. inner and outer tie rods? and, how often does the center link need to be replaced??

Thanks for the reply. The front bilsteins are in fairly good condition which brings me to my next couple q's. So does the front shocks have to be disconnected before any adjust. or could they be connected? Also, I'm having to replace the pass. outer tie rod, do they need to be replaced in pairs (both outer tie rods) or just one side; or the pass. inner and outer tie rods? and, how often does the center link need to be replaced??

before adj the height , ,,, you disconnect the shocks only then can you be sure they are good. normal right side shock fails first. then reconnect the shocks and adjust.

the right side tie rods idler arms ball joints all wear more than the driver side.

I would make sure the idler arms are not worn out ...lube all these front end parts ,,with a lithium based grease every 6 months. only replace what is worn .

center link and or the other parts wear out as time passes depending on your servicing operation greasing etc..

after you fix the front end parts , then you will need an alignment.
I would use fishing line to run from the rear wheels to the front wheels adjust the tie rod so the front forward edge of the tire shoulder is parallel with the line as the steering wheel is centered... this will get you very close to being correct ..then adjust the height then bring to a shop for a more accurate alignment [not some tire shop]............

Great info thanks a bunch. I should've mentioned before but this is a month long work in progress as I have had school/work to deal with. I've already had to replace the power steering lines (pressure and return), pitman and idler arm, and a full tune-up. Trucks' been neglected (my own damn fault) a couple years but its getting much needed tlc.
Also I've noticed another problem, on 2 occasions while driving in the city the truck wanted to choke out on me. Never did die on me but just hesitated for 3 seconds before returning to normal. Crazy thing is the 1st time it happened on me was when I took a random turn, the 2nd time was when I shifted into drive after starting it and let it idle for 5 min. Both times everything electrical blanked out for a second then came back on. It idles good, no engine light, stock fuel pump was replaced <1000 miles ago and the alt. was replaced a couple days ago (bearing inside was going out).

Great info thanks a bunch. I should've mentioned before but this is a month long work in progress as I have had school/work to deal with. I've already had to replace the power steering lines (pressure and return), pitman and idler arm, and a full tune-up. Trucks' been neglected (my own damn fault) a couple years but its getting much needed tlc.
Also I've noticed another problem, on 2 occasions while driving in the city the truck wanted to choke out on me. Never did die on me but just hesitated for 3 seconds before returning to normal. Crazy thing is the 1st time it happened on me was when I took a random turn, the 2nd time was when I shifted into drive after starting it and let it idle for 5 min. Both times everything electrical blanked out for a second then came back on. It idles good, no engine light, stock fuel pump was replaced <1000 miles ago and the alt. was replaced a couple days ago (bearing inside was going out).

replace the ignition switch. these now are failing with you type vehicle. sometimes it will only effect the transmission but the contacts do not last forever. best replace it before you get stuck or it damages the electrical components like the fuel pump with an erratic supply voltage.

Thanks for all the help j cAt, after the 2 electrical malfunctions I checked all wires running from the batt to the fuse relay to the starter and found the wire from the batt to the fuse relay to be lose and corroded. The wire to the solenoid was lose plus the cap on the solenoid was corroded (what would you say caused that?). Also the batt terminal bolt was lose and stripped so upon replacing the bolt and cleaning all contact points, the truck has yet to shutoff on me.
However, this ignition switch you mentioned; can you tell me more about this? If it can screw up the elec. sys. or leave me stranded (especially in the sticks) I'd like to know what to look for and know more about it.

well with all that electrical crap you found see how it goes.

I would have thought you looked those items over before asking here..

seems like your vehicle is in bad shape electrically..

corroded electrical may mean a rust belt vehicle. we deal with that every day up here.

Just an update...since the last time I posted, I have yet to have any more problems with it shutting off. My concerns with the ride height and adjusting the torsion bar keys worked itself out after a few adjustments here and there. Other then a tune-up for a long trip to AZ at the end of this month and possibly new calipers she's running good. Thanks again for the help.

Just an update...since the last time I posted, I have yet to have any more problems with it shutting off. My concerns with the ride height and adjusting the torsion bar keys worked itself out after a few adjustments here and there. Other then a tune-up for a long trip to AZ at the end of this month and possibly new calipers she's running good. Thanks again for the help.

with a tune up replace the spark plugs and when doing this measure the plug wire resistance . if any too high over the average replace . should be around 5,ooo OHMS.

if you get new wires measure resistance first then put the dielectric grease in the wire boot ends. replace the PCV and inspect all vac lines for defects cracks etc..