lift kit questions

[kbaird83]

i got a 02 silverado 1500 2wd. i want to get a little more lift on it as i use it alot in the woods and fields. from what i have been told if you go two inches you can do it cheap if you go to 3 to 4 inches you have to swap out the front shocks and a bunch of other stuff. i wanted to do lift springs in the front can i go 3 inches with all the stock parts and shocks?? also wanted to match it in the rear using add-a-leafs. i have heard alot of bad stuff about lift blocks. in specific them wanting to roll forward and backwards out of possition. has anyone else lifted their 2wd? what did you do? i thought about spindles in the front but they are so expensive and i want to do it myself. also my drivers side spring is shot so i figured i would get lift springs rather than spacers and kill two birds with one stone. any ideas? right now i'm looking at about 250 bucks or so to lift it using spring tech lift spring and rough country add-a-leafs. thanks

[kbaird83]

another question i had but didnt want to start a new post for is what is the stock alternator in a 02 1500 105a or 130a?

[MagicRat]

First of all, Spring Tech's spring lift is limited to 2 inches. I suspect that any more spring lift than this is not permissable given the limitations of the front end geometry.

But you would need to stick with the stock length shocks for this lift. Longer shocks may mean the front end would be over-extended and may damage the ball joints in the long run.

So, if you want more than 2 inches lift, you would need to get stock-length springs and lift spindles, which would be a lot more money.

Note, installing new front springs is still a big job for a beginner. You will need a floor jack and a spring compressor, and a ball joint separator. Note, this job can be DANGEROUS, because the old springs might fly out and take your head off when you separate the ball joint, unless you compress them properly.

As for the rear..... chances are, the rear of your truck is already higher than the front. You may be able to get away with a one-inch lift.
Imo, an add-a-leaf is fine but will make the rear end stiffer. Lift blocks will not do this.
Also, if you lift the rear too much using just springs, your handling and cornering will go to hell. Leaf springs with too much arch tend to wobble all over the place.

Lift blocks are fine if the total lift is kept reasonable. A 2-inch lift block is about the max safe lift for the back, imo.

Finally, your alternator amperage may be stamped on the housing.

[kbaird83]

spring tech does offer a 3 inch lift spring. it is available on ebay for 129.99. 3 is as high as they go though. i have remove and replaced springs and struts quite a few times. i would like to do a lift of equal height front and back and keep the rake. i also am looking for a stiffer rear end i do alot of towing with this truck and even with the tow package the rears still a little soft.