Lowering a Chevy Express or GMC Savana
 

I just bought a black 2006 GMC Savana 1500 cargo and I would like to lower it a couple of inches. Over the past week I have spent a couple of hours trying to determine exactly how I can do this, but all I can find are very vague answers. I found many examples of lowered Express and Savana vans on CarDomain, but of course you can't contact the owners through that site. I found various forum topics from people asking the same question, but all of them end with a big fat question mark. I contacted BellTech and Eibach about front springs, but both responded that they don't make a spring for that application and that possibly some other application would work but they won't say which. Argh!

The thing that kills me is that while I was driving my van home from the car lot where I purchased it, I stopped at a red light next to a white cargo van that was lowered a couple of inches! I rolled down my window and asked the driver how he did it and he said he had custom springs built... but then the light turned green and we both drive off. If I would have known that the internet didn't have this info handy I would have followed him!

So, once and for all, I am going to follow this rabbit hole to the end and hopefully provide exactly the info for lowering this van 2-3".

Is there anyone here who can help point me in the right direction? I need to hear from someone who has actually lowered or witnessed the lowering of one of these vans, no guesses please. Thanks!

Attachment 18516

Won't lowering the front cause the tires to rub on turns....you need the travel on the front end. The rears maybe, but then you limit your cargo cap......Maybe an adjustable air suspension is the answer......best of both worlds.

I have 4-5" of gap above my front tires and I want to lower it 2".

This rig is now only used for promotional purposes... no cargo.

I want to spend $400-ish... I don't think that air suspension is in that price range.

I know that there is some spring that can be used, probably from a Chevy truck... and that the rears can be de-arched to achieve the drop, but I want to find someone who has actually done it so I don't have to pioneer the entire thing from scratch.

Here are some examples of our vans that have been lowered a few inches:

Attachment 10649

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0006_large.jpg


http://image.truckinweb.com/f/images...front_view.jpg

i have a 2001 LT also and im tryna do the same thing.
they make a front lowering spindle for my year that drops the front 2 inches

the rear is my problem. id like to drop it at least 3 to 4 inches to level it out, but then i might be too close to hitting the frame with the axle.
id like to do a c-notch for clearance, but i still cant figure out how to get 3-4 inches lower

i have a couple of options
1. get really long shackles. this requires cutting the floor of the cabin tho. i dont know if i want 2 humps in the rear section of the cabin

2. find a flip kit to drop it about 6 inches...and get a 2 inch shorter shackle to raise it to 4 inches

Who is "they" that makes the front spindles for the 2" drop?

mcgaughys is one

McGaughy's website has no application for the Chevy Express or the GMC Savana.

There are a number of our vans that I found online that claim they just swapped the springs in the front with some other application -- so I want to go that route. It's just that nobody ever actually listed the application on any website so I don't know what springs to order!

in my research i came across this where people are using express 3500 coils and shocks to lift their astro vans with success. I wonder if the idea cannot be reversed for a drop on the express vans using stock astro coils and shocks. I am thinking of lowering my 2007 express 1500 i got last month but am having the same trouble finding info on doing so outside of cutting stock springs and losing my cushy ride. i suppose it don't matter because i don't think the wife will go for such mods at this time anyway lol. it will take a lot of convincing at least.

You can lower your van by researching different springs. Hopefully you can find someone who knows what fits. You can also cut you original springs (within reason) as long as you cut them with a cutoff wheel, or a sawzall. you have to control the heat build up. wrap a wet rag around the spring after the cut point. DO NOT use a torch to cut springs! It will destroy the temper in the steel. General rule of thumb is 1/2 a coil for 1" of drop. (this is a ballpark figure) all vehicles are different. Bear in mind, a shorter spring will be stiffer, and change ride characteristics.
For the rear you could use a drop hanger. These are readily available for pickups. I've never checked but I'd be willing to bet that the leaf spring` widths are the same on pickups and vans. Most hangers have two position mounting for 1", or 2" drop. If the overall hanger length would cause contact with the body, you could trim them off so the higher 2" position doesn't hit the body.
The alternative for the rear could be to remove the overload leaf, have the springs de- arched, or see what other GM trucks have longer rear hangers.

I am aware of the "old school" hacksaw methods of cutting coils and removing or de-arching leafs, while this does get the desired lower stance it also negatively affects handling, load capacity, and ride comfort. OK if you are just trying to win the prize for lowest truck at the show and do not plan on actually driving it, but not practical for a daily driver as is mine, and these options would never meet the wife's approval. Now for the rear I was already thinking along the lines of axle flip and lift shackles to bring to desired height as sniper suggested. But the front seems to be top secret and all pioneers have taken a vow of silence as to what they used to make it happen.

Of course it effects all of those things. Its a compromise. Any of those methods in moderation wont have an adverse effect. its a matter of what you want. In my early days, I had trucks moderately lowered with these methods, and they were fully functional trucks as well as being driven daily.
A truck or van lowered with engineered lowering components is going to have compromised load/towing capacity unless provisions are made.

the fronts on my 2002 1500 seem easy.
it looks to be the exact same thing as the chevy c1500 trucks around the 96 year model

i might do the axle flip but its an 8" drop alone and would bee a c notch
i need to see if i can fit airbags for towing with the wheels i have in the rear

These vans are designed to haul a s-ton of weight. And when you do, the van levels itself out. Same with pickups.
The firmness of the rear suspension along with the 80psi in the rear tires can be felt while driving. If you haul less than 1k lbs, it couldnt hurt to soften it up some. I myself, am not a fan of the stinkbug look either. For mine, id be fine leaving the front the way it is, and just dropping the rear 2 or 3 inches by de-arching the springs.

Taking a few leafs out sounds possible, for a softer ride, but then hang on a minute, were talking about the only thing firmly attaching the drivetrain to the vehicle, having that sort of rear end twerking cant be good. Only if it was Miley Cyrus.

Nobody makes drop shackles.
The tires are the same as the front, and on the front are spec'd to 50, with that heavy engine. I say go for less psi, and a dearch. Skip the whole slammed look, try pulling into a gas station with a steep ramp with that garbage, or hitting a pothole with paper thin tires.

We have a 2005 2500 express van, flip rearend and airbags, 2005 the frame is c notched already, front used 1993 stock 1ton duelly coils. running 295/40/20 front and 305/40/22 rear on 10" wheels.


Now the problem I have always had is bump steer, it is real bad. I wash someone knows how to fix this.