First off, I would like to thank all of you for posting some truly great information. It is extremely helpful, and I REALLY appreciate all of your time and input into this entire forum.

Ok, I am actually in a bind-
Vehicle- 1999 GMC JIMMY SLT
What I want to acheive- 2" lift via t-bar and shackle (unless other reccomended way)
-Minimum wear on all parts as possible
-cheap and sturdy as possible
-Stock ride
-31's to fit (Absolutely no trimming)

What my big question is, is there a way that I can acheive both full functionality of my front shocks and reduce additional wear? What I want to know I guess is what kit or method that will keep through most of the life of the vehicle as I only have 84K miles on it.
I have read in alot of threads about stock torsion vs. aftermarket torsion keys and have not ever found a real reason or difference. What is better- Raising it up with stock keys, or aftermarket?
Control arms- I dont even know about these, but have heard that they are highly reccomended.
Stock shocks- I have also read that there are spacers for the shock absorbers in the front that allow for more use of the full shock (otherwise without this the shocks will be stiff as heck and will not be good whatsoever).
Reccomended tires- I want 31's to be ables to fit, no rubbing. If it helps, im going to be using a deeper dish rim (15") that I own. Also, since its my daily driver, fuel economy.
Add-a-leaf/shackles- pros and cons please. =] Im pretty set on shackles though!

-Im thinking the FABTECH 2" shackles for the back, as i've also heard good things about them. But like any of my other questions, what is a better alternative at the same price.

Im only 18, afterall, but am slowly learning about all of this and appreciate any patience that you may have with my n00b questions. And I truly apoligize if I missed anything in the forums, but some information I would like more detail on. Thank you for your time-

 

A body lift should accomplish everything you want. It doesn't affect and steering or suspension components and won't reduce the life of any parts. Also, it gives you a full two inches whereas the torsion bar method is recommended to stay around 1.25-1.5. It won't affect ride quality at all and it's right about $200 (depending on what all you do with the tbar/shackle, it could be way more or way less)


As for the tbar method,

I haven't heard of many issues with the front shocks. My rear shocks are too short but I haven't noticed any difference with my front shocks after cranking the bars up. There are companies that make 'lift shocks' though. They don't add lift but they're longer to account for an already lifted truck.

The upper control arms that are talked about supposedly hold the upper ball joints at a flatter angle (allegedly, the same angle as the stock control arms at the factory height). The lesser angle should keep the balljoint in spec and allow it to live its life out as it normally would.

As far as the stock keys vs aftermarket debate, (in my opinion) thicker stronger torsion bars are the best, followed by aftermarket lift keys and then cranking the stock keys. The stock keys work absolutely perfect though and since aftermarket keys cost money and are a PITA to remove/install, they're generally not recommended (mainly because it's spending money on an unneeded item, not because they're bad)

With the tires, the wheels are the real killer here. 31's typically fit with a body lift (or tbar/shackle) if they're on stock wheels. Wheels with lower offset (nearly all aftermarket wheels have less offset than the stock wheels) will push the wheel/tire assembly further away from the truck. Many people like the look, however, because they're farther out, they can hit the fenders when turning. This is where trimming is usually needed. If you know the specs of the wheels (backspacing, offset, width), then I'm sure there is someone on this site with similar specs that could say how they worked with 31's

Not sure which is better, shackles or add a leaf. I went with shackles because they're cheap and easy to install. Add-a-leaf looks better in my opinion.

You can go all out with the ~$450 Rough Country kit that includes everything (keys, shackles, shocks, control arms and upper ball joints) or you could go the cheap route I did which cost a grand total of $35.something for the shackles.

Hope some of that helps

 

So would it be more ideal if (while cranking the t-bars 1.75-2.00") I used new control arms along with everything else stock up front? That way I can have brand new ball joints and a functional stock ride still. But as for the shock extensions- are they only included in kits? As far as the rims go, the off-set is more on the deepdish side, but with 30's or maybe even a set of 31's I would be able to fit without rubbing? Sidenote* I am not really going to be offroading at all, but want to do this to make my Jimmy more aggressive and truck like. I don't see the functionality of only a body lift, besides bigger tires, but if I went that route, how much would the tires raise me up? I'm sorry for all of my double checking and non-sense questions =\ Thank you for your input though! You have helped and saved.me a world of trouble! =]

 

Ive heard some horror stories about the RC/SL 2in lift kits because all they do is re-index you t-bars causing front end parts to wear out quickly. I think your best(cheapest) bet would be to crank your tbars 1.25-1.5 and get some shackles first. Then do a body lift. Heres a pic of mine with a 2in BL and im running 30s.

 

Nice truck man! Love that color! I would go with a body lift, but I'm also looking for a bit more performance. If that is the route that the mechanic recommends, then I might do that. As for now I'm looking for a nice set of 31's to fit with my offset. I still don't know where to get control arms alone though. If I even need them that is...How much extra clearance do you get with a Body lift alone. I want ground clearance too =]

 

Thanks. For our generation there is a 2in BL, but they make a 3in BL for 1st gens you could make this work if you fab some bumper brackets. You should be able to fit 31s if you do one of these, only if you use stock wheels. If you are looking for control arms check ebay or craigslist