Best Leveling Kit for 1999 LS Blazer, 4 x 4
 

We have a 1999 LS Blazer, 4x4. I recently put 235 tires on it as that was all I could get that were decent without special order & paying a lot more. However, the tires are extremely close to the mud flaps now at both the front & the back. The tire shop recommended putting a leveling kit on it that would level things out just an inch or so & that would solve the problem. However, they did not sell them & were unable to reach the person they tried to call about it. All I want to do is put a high quality leveling kit on it that will bring it up just an inch or so to give that clearance back. I took it to a local shop that wanted nearly $1000 with installation for a kit that they said was the only thing available for that vehicle & it would take it up 3.5" & would provide shackles, springs, shocks, etc. However, the shocks are brand new & I don't want to take it up another 3.5" so I looked on line, but I am confused. The prices are good, but then I read comments about many of them not being fully compatible & modifications, etc. being needed after all is said & done. I want to try & avoid this. Can anyone recommend a reasonably good quality leveling kit that is reasonably priced as well (since I have been laid off for a few years now with no good steady work like the last 38 years of work) & that will just bring it up to the original clearance over those ever so slightly larger tires & is truly made for this vehicle so the installation goes fairly smooth for me & does not require modification? Thank you.

Search "tbar crank and shackle lift" on here. You can do it yourself for about $50 plus the cost of an alignment when your finished!

have you considered a body lift? you will gain 2 inches and the price is about 180$ for the kit. I installed mine in about a day and have put about 5000 miles on it with zero issues.

Tires should be 235-70-15, might want to double check that on the sticker in the door jamb ;) New replacement rear springs installed are ~$450 to $500. Adjusting the front torsion bars to factory specs, and a wheel alignment, should be ~ $100. That will put ride height back to where it should be.

Thank you for the replies, I really appreciate it. Does anyone know the proper way to tweak the torsion bars to get an extra 1-1.5" which would probably be more than sufficient for the 235 tires I had to install?
If not, the body lift might be the best bet as I have had SS Nerf Bars on it since day one along with the mudflaps, hitch kit, & other protectors. Can anyone recommend a real good, but reasonably priced body lift to get 2" max as I think 1-1.5" will be fine, but the search indicated the body lifts started at 2"? The torsion bars were allegedly worn out upon an inspection (by the big cast in stone operation)a few years ago when I was having some tire issues. They replaced the torsion bars & you know now that I am thinking about it the vehicle seemed to ride lower after that. Of course I succumbed to their insistent that I needed new shocks as well which I certainly believe was true, but we went round & round about the shocks they ended up putting on which in my opinion were not as good as the shocks I had installed in the past & on my Jeep myself for much less money, but they insisted the Blue shocks were the best ones for that vehicle.
The initial search seemed to indicate potential problems with the "tbar crank and shackle lift" unless I misunderstood that.

Post #4 in this thread gives the procedure for adjusting the torsion bars: https://blazerforum.com/forum/liftin...r-crank-88814/

235 will fit with no lift at all. Read your door jam. If your mud flaps rub,remount them.

other wise performance accessories is the body lift i used for 180$.
cranking your torsion bars for height will increase wear on many components and will ride like sh*t. trust me I know. I only adjusted mine to gain 1.25 inches and now I need ball joints and cv shafts, plus my ride quality blows.

but the body lift did not change ride comfort at all, and will not increase any wear on suspension parts.

Thank you for all of your responses, I really appreciate it. OK, I was under the impression the minor torsion bar tweaking was the safest route to take, especially relative to what I want to accomplish. Now I am thinking I better not go out & do that today like I initially considered. Is there a particular body lift that everyone recommends that is high quality & reasonably priced?
Yes, I understand the door jamb tag. Although the mud flaps WERE INSTALLED BY THE DEALER when the vehicle was new apparently & have been fine all these years the manager at the tire store said they would not warrant the Michelin tires with the mud flaps installed. She stated that the use of the 235's for this vehicle were questionable in the Michelin book. She also was the one that recommended the leveling kit & if I had that installed & reinstalled the mud flaps then everything would be fine. The mud flaps were never actually rubbing & I felt there should be no issue, although it was close, but they have always been close with that particular style of mud flap (which I don't really like as I prefer what is on my jeep or truck), but that is what the dealer installed & they have worked for many years with no issues. I cannot afford to not have a warranty on tires due to some issue made by one person that has a major impact on all that (kind of like the tire police I guess).
Thanks again for the news on the tweaking as I thought that was the answer & was prepared to get the job done today at no cost as I have a deal with the cast in stone folks on life time alignment service. I will go out & start researching the body lifts again now & in the mean time if anyone has any good recommendations, please do let me know. Thank you all again.

IN addition to the above after doing some further research on all of this I remember something else. As I recall when we purchased this Blazer there was a note that there were three different suspension options available. If I recall they were standard, touring, & off road or something like that. Ours had off road if I recall. I am wondering if when the chain operation cast in STONE folks replaced the torsion bar last year because they claimed there was too much were that they put a different part on than what was originally there (kind of like what I still believe they did to the shocks) & that is what caused the ride to feel a little lower. Any thoughts on that in addition to the above or am just out on a lark? Thanks

I would look into what level of ofter market suspension you got. Because 235's should be fitting with no issue at all.

If you do decide to get a body lift the best kit is the PA 2 inch lift. it comes with decent instructions and the price is not bad at all. you can find it on amazon, ebay, and jegs/summit racing.

Non ZR2 had two suspensions: standard, & firm ride. RPO codes in the glove box that start with "Z", will tell which suspension the vehicle was originally equipped with. Post them and we can figure out which suspension you have. Capacity of the rear springs is different from standard to firm ride and the torsion bars are computer picked just prior to vehicle assembly, (depending on what options the vehicle has). You will be able to adjust front chassis ride height to factory specs no matter what bars were installed. Once it's within spec, the difference in ride firmness has to do with the tempering of the steel in the torsion bar. As mentioned earlier in the thread, incorrect ride height will cause excessive wear to steering linkage and suspension parts; adjusting the torsion bars, even a little bit, causes a substantial weight shift that affects camber, caster, and toe adjustments. The main thing is to get chassis ride height within spec to reduce wear on the parts. Next step is get a wheel alignment to prolong tire life, then leave the torsion bars alone ;) If you install a lift kit, make it a body lift, and do it before adjusting ride height & the wheel alignment. Might not hurt to check rear ride height as well.

1995-1997 Chevy/GMC S-10/15 Blazer/Jimmy - Performance Accessories 2 Body Lift Kit [BL132] | $119.55 | SD Truck Springs | Leaf Springs, Helper Springs and Suspension Parts

i just ordered my body lift from there. Performace Accessories 2" body lift for only $119.95. they also have free shipping and an extra $10 off right now. so i got mine for $109.95 shipped. ordered wednesday, shipped wednesday, and i will have on monday.

Captain Hook, Thank you very much for al your help, I really appreciate it. Indeed I double checked & you are right & as I thought, the door jamb does list the 235's as normal for this vehicle. I am not sure what this tire manager was after. The 235-75-R15 Michelins that I had installed fit perfectly fine. However, she stated that they would exclude the Michelin warranty on the tires if I either did not get a leveling kit to raise the vehicle some at the front or got rid of the mud flaps. As they could not get ahold of their leveling kit source & I needed to get the tires I let them remove the mud flaps for now. Hopefully you can give me the ok to just tweak the torsion bars a bit to get it to factory specs as I would swear & my wife agrees by memory that the ride seemed to drop after FS did their work on it about a year ago. I do not have an aftermarket suspension on this vehicle at all. Everything came from the dealer or the mfr. I will check those codes as you advised in the glove box in a bit & look for my sticker as well as I am sure I still have it since I typically keep all of that stuff & I will re-post later to let you know. Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

Also as I mentioned earlier as well I am certain Uniroyal 235s were on the vehicle originally from the dealer & with the mud flaps installed by the dealer. Then I had that blowout at the left rear going down I-10 several years ago & in a pinch I had to get the 205s which seemed slightly smaller & I wanted everything to match & they had no 235s. Besides the fact that the 205s now at this store would have been special order & cost more slightly believe it or not, I really wanted to get back to the way it was as I felt the 235's just seemed "more right", pardon the phrase.

Captain Hook,
I got the numbers you needed & I hope I got the right ones. The window sticker also said we had the premium Touring package. My apologies as I thought it was a different one as I recalled. We do have a lot of extra off road & heavy duty type stuff that was part of the package. The main number in the glove box is 1GNDT13W7X2208154. The Z type numbers are as follows; ZBG, ZM5, ZM8, ZQ3, ZQ6, ZY7, & Z85. Let me know if you need anything else & I will do everything I can to help. Thank you

Adjusting ride height is something you can do, but the vehicle must be on a level surface, front to rear, and side to side. Specs are in the link in post #6, and they are the same for yours.


Z codes:
ZBG = 235-70-15 tires were original equipment.
Z85 = firm ride suspension, (stiffest torsion bars of any T series vehicle).