1993 k1500 3" lift

[cdoogles]

Hey everyone,
In conjunction with some other projects (engine, tranny, and interior swaps) I'm installing a skyjacker 2.5" lift on my 1993 chevy k1500. Has anyone done this lift before? It looks realtively simple, a few things to drill out and file down, but now welding. The rear lift portion is just an add-a-leaf so that should only be about a half day to put those in and the new shocks. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks-

[haleybarb]

hi! i have a 96 k1500, and instead of puttnig in the skyjacker - i put in 3" blocks in the rear and cranked the torsion bars up as far as they cood go. then i went from the 31" (265's) tire to a 33" (285's) tires....and now its badass! the only prob is that the alignment isn't exactly perfect, to spec's, but my mechanic (alignment specialist) assures me that it is within reason and that with regular tire rotation, tire wear won't be an issue. next i have to replace the shocks with longer ones (due for it anyway)

[cdoogles]

I was considering just going with blocks and a torsion bar crank, but I do quite a bit of towing and hauling and was thinking the added suspension in the rear might be nice to have. Also, I was kind of worried about the wear and tear on the front end from just cranking it up. I'm planning on running new shocks also, and have been looking around at some different options. I think I found some decent ones meant for a 2-4" lift for around $30 each. We'll see how they work when I get it all on. Hopefully I'll be doing this 3 weeks from now, I'm doing an engine swap in 2 weeks.

[YBNRML]

I have heard from some experienced sources that cranking up your torsion bars will put severe stress on you entire IFS. Everything will ware out at an excellerated pace.

[Sivart]

If the torsion bars are cranked to the max it will cause added stress to the ball joints and cv joints. The ride will also suffer and there will be no down travel in the suspension. You can get by with around 3/4 of an inch without much change but if you need more than that I would suggest a suspension lift. The add-a-leafs are the way to go if you haul a 4wheeler or anything around 4 to 500 lbs often.