Part Two: The Rear
The rear is as simple as swapping out the leaf springs and the shock. It's a lot less involved, but GM does make it interesting-getting wrenches on the leaf spring bolts takes a little finesse. Make sure to suspend the rear end and unload the tension on the leaf springs before removing them.
1. After suspending the rearend...
1. After suspending the rearend to unload the pressure on the leaf springs, the U-bolts were removed.
2. By unbolting the front...
2. By unbolting the front and rear shackles, the stock leaf springs could be taken out of the truck.
3. With the stock springs...
3. With the stock springs out of the way, the new leaf springs were bolted up.
4. When installing the new...
4. When installing the new U-bolts, you can remove the factory block from the stock leaf spring and reinstall it with the new leaves, if you want an extra inch of lift in the rear. But, keep in mind it will make the rear end higher than the front, which is only preferable if you'll be towing often.
5. Once the new leaf springs...
5. Once the new leaf springs were secured, the stock shocks were swapped out for a set of Bilstein dampers. The Bilstein shocks offer proper valving for this truck, so it will ride nice on the highway and still be able to handle the rough off-highway stuff.
6. The kit also comes with...
6. The kit also comes with an extender to drop the factory bumpstop down to prevent the shock from bottoming out. In our mad dash to shoot all of these pictures, we forgot to take an after shot of that, so you will just have to use your imagination. Aside from the bumpstop picture fiasco, here is what the rear setup will look like when you get done.
7a. Here, you can see the...
7a. Here, you can see the killer Nitto Dune Grapplers being mounted on our American Eagle Alloy wheels. This wheel and tire package not only complements the lift kit, but it also gives the truck an extra shot of machismo.
7b.
The Final Word
After spending six hours installing Superlift's 6-inch lift on the new GMC, we were thoroughly impressed. Every nut and bolt was planned out, and the instructions were some of the best we've seen. The company even goes through all of the lifted truck warnings from the standard "align the truck after the install" to advanced Stabilitrak warnings. So, if your truck is equipped with 4x4 or Stabilitrak, make sure to heed these warnings. If you're looking to add a little altitude to your new ride, be sure to check out what Superlift has to offer.