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2000 S-10 2WD Lift

25K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  Rhotpursuit 
#1 ·
I am really thinking about lifting my 2000 s-10. It is bone stock right now. I have spent many hours on here reading posts but none really answer my questions. So here they are, I am looking to put 31 X 10.50's on the truck what size lift do I need. I am thinking about a 3" body but if I recall right that messes with something in the steering. Am I right on that? If so Can I go to a 2" and not have that problem and still fit the 31's? Also can I put the rearend under the leafs in the back to get some lift and do they make longer coils that I can stuff in the front and not mess with the body lift??? Any replys will be helpful Thanks...:)

Bobbys10man:monkeypee
 
#2 ·
The biggest body lift for your year model is a 2". You have several options in the front...
1. spindles
2. spindles and coils
3. spindles, coils, and control arms
4. coils and control arms

for the rear, you can:
1. re-locate the leafs to above the axle (5"-6" lift)
2. add-a-leaf (1" or 2")
3. 2" shackles (1" lift)
4. 2" shackles and 2" hangers (2" lift)

There are other options, these are just the ones that came to my mind.
 
#6 ·
ok I am thinking about 2" body lift with 2 or 3" suspension lift, I think I have found where I am going to get my body lift from. is there a way I can just use longer springs to get the extra 2 or 3" of lift??? with maybe some shackles in the back to reach the lift I want in the back... I am thinking about 32 X 10.50 X 15 tires... I think they should fit well. Are longer springs cheap and what all do I need to buy to put in longer springs, longer shocks?? Spindles??? PLEASE HELP

Thanks Bob :)

p.s. I am in the process of re-building this truck I totalled my truck :( and I didn't have full coverage ins... I am planning on posting pics later...
 
#8 ·
Since your too lazy to click on my sig to get the info you suposedly spent many hours searching for, I brought it to your thread... :D




After I lifted my truck I went through ball joints way to quick and I couldn’t get it within proper alignment specs so I decided to take my problem truck to Fabtechs headquarters and see what they have to say about this! The gray haired tech that inspected my truck would only tell me that my rims and tires are not what Fabtech recommends with their kit because they’re too wide and that is causing my problem. He is the one that got me going on the leverage and pivot concept. Since I wasn’t going to take the only "legally responsible" suggestion of putting on 15x8 rims with 31/10.50 tires (30 inches by 8 inch tread, yuck!) I figured out an experiment to try. That was to buy another set of ¾ inch Fabtech spacers and yes, double them up. I bought aircraft grade 9 bolts and tried it. WOW! I actually had a smooth ride but I lost 1.5 inches of ground clearance under my cross member! I went from 20 inches to 18.5 but, problem solved I thought. I’ll just have the assembly Mig welded and gusseted. Until, I brought it down to the alignment shop that day. Now before with 1 set of spacers I had no caster or camber adjustment (but camber was within spec) because the Fabtech upper A-arms were too short, now with 2 sets of spacers the arms are too long! Now I have custom ¼ inch spacers. The ball joints are breaking because they are not meant to take lateral force. The weakness and stiff ride of the short arm lift kit isn't the kit but the ball joints and the stock suspension geometry. Let me explain. Since the stock upper arms are so much shorter then the lowers when the suspension travels down (like when the truck is catching air) the upper arm swings dramatically more down and is in a
7 O'clock position while the lower arm is at 8 O’clock. Stock both are at 9 O'clock (level) On the landing the upper ball joint is in it's weakest position when it takes the maximum force. Poorly setup lift kits will be setup with the upper A-arms at an extreme downward angle during normal operation and will be taking weight off of the coil spring! When I had this setup the ride was so bad I could hardly light my cigarette while driving on pavement without burning my mustache. Stock style ball joints are just not made to take horizontal force like that against the stamped sheet metal cup. That is where my Uniball ball joints, aftermarket limit straps and ball joint spacers come in handy. The trick to the setup is you have to use the proper amount of ball joint spacers to get the stress off of the upper arm during normal on and off road travel and use limit straps or larger droop stops for the occasional wild off roading. For me due to the 15x10 rims and 33x12.50 tires the proper ball joint spacing is about an inch. That's because wider tires and rims have a much greater leverage to push top of the tire horizontally toward the frame using the lower ball joint as its pivot axis. If my upper A-arm is at too much downward angle there is enough force horizontally to push the upper ball joint closer to the frame increasing my lift height and tearing up my upper; ball joints, A-arms and mounts. The Fabtechs spacers are 3/4 inch and are still too short. By using a set of longer A-arms this problem of transferring weight to the upper arms is eliminated and puts it all back to the lower A-arm and coil spring where it belongs. However you are now putting much more weight to the coil spring because of the increased leverage the longer arms have and the weight taken off of the upper A-arms.




So I do NOT suggest any short arm spring and A-arm lift kit even though I use one. It’s just too hit or miss with nasty ball joint or frame cracking problems. I have braced the upper mounts by welding in gussets under the cross bar bolts and where the stock droop stop was cut off. After those started cracking from my ball joint test sessions I went with 1/4 inch thick plates that run down the outside of the upper A-arm mounts 1 to 1.5 inches and across the frame for 3 to 4 inches.



If you just want a few inches then go with the 3.5 inch $400 Fabtech spindle and $100 stainless steal break lines, it’s a good choice. Fabtech has the best design and is used by other quality lift kit companies like California Super Trucks (CST) with their 5.5 inch lift kits. You won't be disappointed in the quality. Fabtech is the only company to make a spindle with a solid reputation. The $280 3.0 inch lift spindle by AIM industries (sold under several names like Chassis Tech ect) is the only other company to cast a S-10 lift spindle and they have been known to break. So stay away from the 3.0 lift spindles. If you decide to find a Fabtech set used on Ebay be sure to get the right style due to the different break caliper design from 99 to 03. Longer stainless steel brake lines will also be needed. This type of brake line has a plus and minus. The plus is that they will not expand under pressure (while the break pedal is depressed) like the factory nylon corded rubber break lines do. The result is a much firmer break peddle and increased pressure to the pads. This means it takes less foot pressure to stop the truck. The minus is that because they are so rigid they tend to flex most at the ends. DOT approved braided steal break lines will have some type of support near the ends of the braded steal hose. If the break lines don’t have this added support the line will fray near the fittings and will fail prematurely. Only get DOT approved Stainless steal break lines.



Next step for just a little more tire clearance I'd suggest a $120 Performance Accessories 3 inch body lift kit. Some people say a body lift raises the center of gravity too much. I disagree. To achieve increased tire clearance you have to raise the fenders or cut them. Since there isn’t much to cut on the second gens we’re stuck. A body lift will increase your center of gravity some, but not near as much as a suspension lift that raises the motor, trans, frame ect. The reason a 3 inch lift kit only fits the 94 model year of the second gens is due to a difference in the lower steering column shaft. The 95 and up use a splined shaft. If you want a custom shaft made try Borgeson.com. If your heater line on your truck is like my 94 V6 you'll need a Gates 18751 from your local parts store. My heater hose makes a sharp 90 degree turn down from the firewall to the back of the intake manifold. Both ends are different sizes 5/8 top and 1/2 at the bottom. With the kit I just got a 5/8 hose to use on the power break booster and the heater line. NO WAY was that hose going to make the bend down without kinking. The gap guards were originally made in southern California by a guy in his garage out of big rig inner tubes. He made templates with cardboard first.




For those of you that haven’t bought a lift kit yet you may want to consider the AIM long arms $650) and my Uniball joints ($300 to $350) verses the CST long arm kit ($1800 to $2500 depending on options). I am thinking that because they both use long arms and Uniballs so most of the problems we have with the short arm lift kits will be minimized if not eliminated. The AIM kit with Uniballs just does it for half the cash. Either setup is capable of being broken with enough abuse. The CST kit’s strength is a well earned reputation for quality parts and they have welded on a larger one inch Uniball ball joint. The only problems I have heard about with their setup is that they don’t use a factory style tapered pin. Instead they use a 5/8 inch grade 8 bolt that can oval out the spindle over time on street driven trucks and they use a softer coil spring that doesn’t give as much lift. The AIM and my Uniball setup have a tapered pin but the ¾ inch size of the Uniball is limited to what will fit between the bolt holes but will eliminate the side breaking out issues you have with stock ball joints. AIM has a questionable reputation
that the company service and support sucks. People who have bought their long arm kits though are happy with the hardware and ride quality. I have no direct information other then what I have read and herd from the owners of each kit. For shocks, the so called front “3 inch S10 lift shocks” are actually shocks originally designed for the 91 through 99 Chevy C2500 (¾ ton) 2WD Suburban and are just relabeled. A quality self adjusting gas charged shock is highly recommended such as the Bilstein BE5-2422 and is what I use.



Lets talk about coil spring rates now. A mild 1.5 inch lift spring rate such as the Moog & TRW 5662's and 5664's are about 640 to 710 and can be used with stock upper A-arms. Some slightly longer (3/4 inch) springs that require tubular A-arms are the Fabtech 7268-2 for the 4 cylinder standard cab is 710. The Fabtech 7268-3 for the V-6 extended cab is 750. The Fabtech 7268-4 for their discontinued long arm setup is 800. Full size truck stock spring rates vary from 760 to 870 depending on the model and the ton capacity of the truck. If you plan on installing the lift kit yourself I have the trick to installing the coil springs. Only do this if you are an experienced mechanic and take all safety precautions. A compressed coil spring is vary dangerous. Follow the shop service manual instructions. This is merely an added technique I discovered to complete the job much faster. This at first took me all day. Now I can now start the job after work and be done in time for dinner. Place the coil spring on the lower A-arm and twist it to the groove so you know what half is facing the engine. Grease the threads on the inside coil spring compressor because your going to compress a 15 inch spring down to 10 inches. Insert the coil hooks from the compressor kit one coil in from each end. Now slide it off center towards the engine side of the spring until it stops but the hooks remain firmly in place. Now when you compress the spring it will bind it into a slight “C” shape. This will give you the added clearance to clear the lower section of the coil spring cup on the frame. Once in place as you release the pressure on the spring make sure it sets properly into the seat on the top too (as shown above). If you don’t seat it properly on top it will tear up your frame. After you bolt up the spindle and remove the spring compressor tool, double check the spring placement by looking up through the lower shock mounting hole.



Ok, now to the rear end. Since a spindle lift only lifts a little more then leveling out most trucks I will only look to the rear end as the last step. There are two ways to go. One is more dramatic then the other. The first way is to use hangers, shackles and shocks. Remember that if you put on a 2 inch lift shackle it will only give you 1 inch of lift. Think of it this way. If you have a 5 foot bar you raise one end 2 inches the net result for the middle of the bar is 1 inch. Now think of the spring as the bar with the axle in the middle. Since the axle is bolted to the middle of the spring the net result of the 2 inch shackle lift is 1 inch of lift. Next is the hanger, the leaf spring mount closest to the front of the truck. A CST 1.5 inch hanger will give a ¾ inch lift to the axle. For the shocks look for Suburban rear shocks for up to 1.5 inch of lift and go to the ZR2 rear shocks for a 2 to 3 inch lift. The second more dramatic lift is the flip kit. It puts the axle under the leaf spring instead of over it. It will be 4.5 to 5 inches of lift. You will have to weld it in or the flip kit will break off the stock spring perches. Mine broke the first day. The factory perches just aren't made to take pressure from the other side. From there you need to move the axle assembly forward 3/4 of an inch forward on the spring. This will help make up the distance in the driveshaft splines and e-brake cables. Lastly you have to keep the lower shock mounts under the spring to keep travel and ride quality. You keep your factory hydraulic break line but you will have to bend the bracket up that is bolted down to the pumpkin cover. Your pinion needs to point directly forward (level). Don't point it up towards the back of the trans. As the U-joints rotate on an angle the driveshaft speeds up and slows down with every revolution. One end equals out the other, unless they do not have the same angle. In that case they will speed up and slow down the pinion and you'll feel it vibrate the whole truck. With a flip kit your lower shock mounts will still be under the leaf springs. This means you got a 5 inch lift and you can use stock replacement S10 shocks. I use and recommend the $59 Bilstein B 46-1681 for the 82 through 99 S10.

If your going to get a whole new rear end to weld in the flip kit just make sure it's from a 2wd, the 4wd rear ends are wider. I got my 3.73 Posi at a pick your parts salvage yard for $65 axle to axle. Look in the glove box for the axle codes. The 2wd, 4wd S10 and full size trucks use the same codes. If it has a factory posi it will have a G80 code. The other G codes are GU2=2.73, GU4=3.08, GU6=3.42, GT4=3.73 and GT5=4.10. Happy hunting!





 
#9 ·
bobbys10man said:
ok I am thinking about 2" body lift with 2 or 3" suspension lift, I think I have found where I am going to get my body lift from. is there a way I can just use longer springs to get the extra 2 or 3" of lift??? with maybe some shackles in the back to reach the lift I want in the back... I am thinking about 32 X 10.50 X 15 tires... I think they should fit well. Are longer springs cheap and what all do I need to buy to put in longer springs, longer shocks?? Spindles??? PLEASE HELP

Thanks Bob :)

p.s. I am in the process of re-building this truck I totalled my truck :( and I didn't have full coverage ins... I am planning on posting pics later...
That amount of lift will allow you to run 31/10.50/15 with with some rubbing but don't expect to run 32's without heavy rubbing
 
#16 · (Edited)
Now that makes no since because half an inch in radius expansion wont make that much more of a difference cause if hes gonna rub with 32's its gonna be about the same as the 31's would be...I can run 31's with mine on 2" bl and 2" coil-shackle lift and i have 1" of clearance between the frame and tire and my rims are mags which has more backspacing than stock...so the question at hand is if hes running on stock rims or not? Since he says his truck is bone stock he should be fine.
 
#17 ·
Old post from 05

Its not just diameter increase but width as well

Driveability on road without any rubbing BUT offroading, that's where rubbing will begin easily

You have 5.00" inch or higher of backspacing?
 
#10 ·
i have a spindle and body lift check my sig. im running 31x10.5x15 bfgs and they only rub if i hit a bump at the wrong angle
I really like the heigth of your truck and that is about the heigth I want to get on mine. I have a 2" lift, and you said a spindle and 31x10.5x15 tires work? I'f that the case, I believe I will be going for the same setup. That is such a clean truck. Mine Is very clean and in good condition too. 87,000 miles and 11 years old isn't bad for not breaking 100,000 yet. I can't complain. What kind of spindles did you get for your truck and how did you mount your ball joint?
 
#12 ·
Nope, didn't realize that...but I still like it, and if it is still together after three years, whats a little bit of complimenting going to do. I like your truck to. Level large and looks mean. Nice that someone visits to see if this thread has been dug up though..haha!
 
#13 ·
Ive got a 91 s10 2.8 5-speed im buildin the moter right now the truck has been grate but i need it taller. i already have a 3"body lift, coil spacer,and longer shakles with 30" tires 3.73 gears. i want 31s can i fit the tires in the frount with the fabtech spindles.and will the truck turn the tires with the gears i got. it pulls trallers 50% of the time i drive it. i would aprecheate any help yall can give me
 
#22 ·
Yes that is the problem with the Fabtech short arm kit. That is why they were only around for a short time. Not only that, it was/is a horrible ride. Try to fab up a heat shield to stick in there...That kit you posted look too shady....IMO
 
#23 ·
15 year old thread....amazing.
 
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