How mechanically sound is lifting a Silverado by cranking the torsion keys?

[TexMax]

^ texmax
Ya i figured id need an alignment, i just dont have the money for it :/

Have fun

http://www.allpar.com/fix/alignment.html

[LonestarRebel]

Yes you need to get it realigned. 4 wheel auto did my old truck 2003 1500 hd. It was very stiff and i wound up letting it back down a tad. Did that part myself. Do each side evenly.

Ya, doing its extremely easy. Was the ride unbearable after you had it done?

[Javelin]

get a set of ford keys, they are about an inch taller than the chevy keys. Then adjust the torsion bars a bit, you should be able to get 2 inches in the front. Maybe even enough to put a 1 inch spacer in the rear

[buckwild17]

I did it on an 2002 HD 1500 & had no problem & needed no alingnment. Took 10 minutes tops !!!!

Use floor jack to lift front of the truck completely off the ground, make sure that if you turn the right side 4 revolutions you do the exact same to the other side.

One thing that I noticed was the the bolts were not the same lenght on each side, you must leave them that way , DO NOT level them out then make the adjustment !!!!!

[Swampa]

It wasnt unbearable but i was living down a long county road at the rime that didnt get mainatined very often. Pretty sure my front end left the ground seval times on that road. I just got tired of it and let it down about 1" or so from level. It definately softened it up.

[chancito1]

Have had a bunch of chevy 4x4s. Have done it on every one Ive owned and never had problems. Usually traded them in or sold them around 150k with no problems in front end. My 04 has almost 300k on it and I have recently replaced ball joints but not due to torsion bars being lifted just normal wear and tear. It wont hurt nothing just dont over do it. Ive never had one of those truck aligned either but I only went high enough to level it out so I could put bigger tires.

[mfarmer]

pm sent

[hellbndr23]

There is a measurement called " 'Z' Trim Height"

This image shows how to measure it.
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl...1t:429,r:0,s:0

I dont remember what it was for my 2004. Call a dealership and they can tell you the magic range.

Of 4 trucks I have done they were all below the range from the factory. No service tech anywhere could tell my why. As long as you are inside this range you will be fine and they cant tell you that you voided your warranty because u are in the range. I was able to get 2 inches from all the trucks and still be in range. I usually keep my around 1" for looks.

[Death Whisper]

I did that on my '02 Avalanche and I've put a lot of miles on it since then; it's at 235K now and I bought it somewhere around 100K.

I marked each one with a paint marker and made sure I turned them an equal number of rotations. Took about 15 minutes because I do everything slow...

[Little Long]

cut out all the IFS and put a good ol solid axle!!

honestly ive seen a lot of torsion keys turned all the way up, yes the ride gets stiff but it gives you the leveled look your lookin for. I did it to my Ranger and beat the doo deww outta it!! Chevy is better built so if you havent done it you should!!!!

[nanny_slammer]

I turned mine up when I bought it new in 06 and ice got 214k on her bow and she still truckin....ice done it to all my Chevys and never had a problem one but I would do a realignment for sure and you shouldn't have any issues later

[a3dhunter]

I used the replacement torsion keys to lift the front of mine. I had problems with my 2000 model bottoming out when hitting bumps, the front end was way too soft.
Once I put the new keys on and lifted it about 2" it actually rode like a truck instead of a car. I had it realigned and have put about 20k miles on it without a problem.

[LonestarRebel]

Thank you guys so much!!
I have one more question. My friend has a 05 2500hd Duramax and he had put a pro comp torsion key lift on his truck but now he has changed it out with a different lift. Do yall think the keys will fit my truck and would it work?

[LonestarRebel]

ttt

[TexMax]

No, that won't help you're cause. It actually works just the opposite. Not to mention, pulling keys requires special tools and is exponentially harder than just cranking your stock ones which, more than likely, will accomplish what your looking for.