Brandon Lee

Hello, I am new to this forum so if I am posting this in the incorrect place please let me know and i'll move it.

I have a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4.3 2WD. I take my truck offroading all the time (2WD PRIDE!) so a few months ago I lifted my truck and got bigger tires. The only problem I am in love with my truck and I am not satisfied with the lift, mostly because it is a 2WD so it started significantly lower that a 4WD truck. I bought a set of Rough Country 3" lift spindles and 3" lift blocks and installed them on my truck, which made a significant difference. But I am trying to lift it another 2 or 3 inches. (Perferibly 3 ) I was thinking about possibly buying a huge coil spring spacer, like a 2.3" spacer and installing that and buying a bigger lift block for the back, but I have no idea. Can someone please help me. I dont know what I should buy and I am trying not to spend too much money because I am only 17 so my income is only like $60 a week haha. I'm trying to keep my spindles I have right now so that they dont go to waste but I dont know weither I should buy a big coil spring spacer, a lifted coil spring, or whatever else there is. Also I do not know if I am going to need any longer tubes for my breaks and all that good stuff. Please help me! I've been trying to figure out what to do for months now. I really appreciate everybodys time and help.


(In Short)
-have 3" rough country lift spindles
-want another 2-3" of lift for cheap while keeping the spindles I have
-what do I do?





Here's some pictures of my truck

6LCHEVYZ71

Alright, I'm going to do my best here even though behind my computer screen, I've got palm-face..

My first suggestion is to remove the lift blocks and spindles and restore it to factory so you can sell it and buy a Z71. But I know you don't want to hear that so moving along..

Please for your safety as well as others, do not stack or use any more lift blocks and do not lift your suspension any higher without modifying brake lines & shocks and anything else that may bind during suspension travel. Moving along some more..

In your situation, I would suggest a 1-2" body lift. I know a 3" is tempting but they look like a$$ 99.9% of the time and you might end up having to modify steering linkages, wires, brackets (like for your radiator or exhaust), gas hoses, etc.. A 1" you can usually get away without having to do anything special. 2" is pushing the envelope and 3" is just ridiculous. Of course all this is only my opinion. I've installed a few body lifts in my day and have a Jeep with 14" of lift but I've never lifted an 05 Chevy.

I cannot recommend lifting the suspension any more without doing it right. And by right I mean new shocks, springs, subframe drop brackets etc.. I hope this at least helps you get going in the right direction.

You in Jax? Im in Sav..

Brandon Lee

Thanks for replying, I considered selling my truck but i've put way too much into it that I would lose soo much money if I sold it. It's a 2005 silverado V6 2WD with 50K miles all base and I bought it for $9000. I've spent $350 on exhaust, $700 on rims and tires, $400 on lift, $100 on tint, $100 on Toolbox, $150 on Grille (not in pictures), and $100 on a dixie horn (lol). All together i've spent about $11000 on this truck. There's no way I would get that much if I sold it and I cant afford to lose that much money so thats not an option haha. I'm not going to stack lift blocks, I dont wanna die. But I do plan on getting new shocks if I lift my truck any higher. I really dont want to get a body lift at all because they look retarted and it wont help me at all offroad. And i also dont want my duals like 2 inches lower than my bumper, idk why but it bothers me when trucks have that. I have no idea what subframe drop brackets are btw. Thanks alot for your help though!


Just out of curiosity, How much do you think I would get if I sold my truck? Because this is something I've very seriously considered. I was intersted in doing exactly what you said, selling it and buying a Z71

-2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
-2WD
-4.3 V6
-Manual Everything
-Flowmaster 40 Dual Exhaust
-18" Chrome MotoMetal Rims
-285/60R18 Nitto Terra Grapplers
-3" Suspension Lift
-Dark Tint
-Better Built Deep Aluminum Plated Toolbox
-Bully Chrome Plated Mesh Grille
-Dixie Auxillary Horn
Everything runs perfectly, I've never had a problem with it at all. What's your estimate on how much I would get if I tried to sell it?

6LCHEVYZ71

I would take the tires, rims, lift, toolbox, grille, and horn with me and return it to stock. Then sell it. Then you can put that stuff on your new truck and sell what you can't (lift). The tint and exhaust you're just gonna have to chalk to the game. It Kelly Blue Books for between $8300 and $10000 not including tint & exhaust so I think you could probably get around what you paid for it. And still have all that other stuff to put on your new truck. That's the route I would go for sure.

4WD will help you more than anything off-road, not a lift (regardless of suspension or body). A lift will just give your tires more clearance and can allow more suspension travel but lift blocks and coil spring spacers won't help suspension travel because you're still using the stock springs.
I was calling the subframe drop brackets the brackets used to keep the front suspension geometry in line. The black square thing in the pic below. It actually lowers the diff and a 2WD doesn't have a front differential but rather A arms (or equivalent) so you'd really need to lower those in my opinion for it to be done correctly. Coil spring spacers wouldn't do that. You would just be limiting your upward suspension travel.

You need a Z71 with a 4-6" suspension lift kit.

Brandon Lee

Dang that sounds like a pain in the butt haha yea I think im just gonna sell my truck and buy a Z71 or 4X4. I woulda bought that in the first place a few years ago when I bought my truck but thats when my dad wouldnt let me. Now that i'm about to move out he does have any say in it What I might do is put a listing up for the truck the way it is and price it at like $11000 or $12000 and put a bunch of options like if you'd like the truck back to stock level then -$300 from the price, same with rims, tires, all that kinda stuff. Because if I do get a Z71 or 4X4 then the lift wouldnt fit it anyways. And if I end up switching to Dodge because I might not be able to afford a nice Z71 or 4X4 with low miles then none of that stuff is going to be of use to me

SilveradoShane413

Ok so Im actually pretty interested in this thread because I have the 4.3L! So first off I noticed your exhaust.. What do you have (I know it's duals) and how does it sounds? Second off hows the power with the lift with the v-6. I was thinking about a lift once mine is up and running good and I was always wondering how the power is wish the extra height and smaller motor!

And honestly the cheapest way could be maybe a body lift?

Brandon Lee

I have a Flowmaster 40 Series cat-back exhaust with 3.5' chrome tips. It actually sounds surprisingly good for a V6. A few of my friends have the V8 and I can easily compete with their sound. The power is just slightly lower when you gun it with the lift. If you get oversized tires that the thing that affects your speed. Offroad, the lift and oversized tires help tremendously.

And I dont really want a body lift I kind of want to sell my truck and buy either a small fuel efficent car because I spend $50 a week on gas or I want to buy a Z71

SilveradoShane413

Well thats good I was shopping around for exhaust and was thinking the Flowmaster Super 40's series muffler, not the full exhaust..

I was thinking about a lift but im still debating it!

And I thought you said you were keeping your truck?

DoubleO7

If you did not keep the stock exhaust, you could always get a replacement system out of a junkyard.
Low ball them on price because people do not go to junkyards for them often.
Get the newest year that will fit.

Did you change rear gears along with the tires?
4.88:1 per your other thread.
If you go with more lift, are you going to be changing tires again?
Along with another gear change?
Or do the 37's hit the body when wheeling?

I agree with 6LCHEVYZ71 100%.
If you lift, do not use anymore blocks or spacers, front or rear.
Springs only.

If your not going to go to taller tires, then why more lift?
Without taller tires, no amount of lift will give you more ground clearence up front. Not even subframe drop brackets.

If it were me I would make one of these choices:
1. return truck to stock and either keep it or sell it.
2. sell truck as is.
3. if you want a 4WD truck, then use the parts removed to install on a truck that they will work on as much as possible.
4. keep "returned to stock truck" and sell non-stock parts removed and spend the money on your Jeep instead.

6LCHEVYZ71

I just pulled an exhaust from a 91 Silverado at my local junk yard for $15.99
Flowmaster 40 series