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1999-2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 Leveling Kit - Four Wheeler

If you are looking for a quick way to improve the look and ride of your '99-'06 Chevy Silverado 1500, consider a leveling kit. Designed to increase the front ride height while also improving overall ride quality and allowing fitment of bigger tires, a leveling kit is virtually a no-brainer modification for late-model fullsize truck owners. Sure, you could crank up the torsion bars to attain additional ride height, but doing so will ruin your ride quality and accelerate front-end parts wear significantly. Fortunately, Off Road Unlimited offers an affordable solution to this dilemma.

1999 Chevy Silverado 1500 Leveling Kit bilstein Shocks Photo 27512623

Off Road Unlimited worked exclusively with Bilstein to create vehicle-specific replacement shocks that would improve on-road handling while also improving performance in the dirt. Each shock features Bilstein's monotube high-gas-pressure design for consistent fade-free performance and long life. Bilstein and ORU developed valving that helps increase damping control over the factory shocks-ideal for larger tire and wheel packages. The kit came with a shock for each corner as well as all the necessary mounting hardware.

Installation of the ORU kit involves having the truck lifted with the front tires off the ground, so you may want to think twice about doing it yourself in your own driveway. A special torsion-bar clamp tool is also necessary to de-tension each of the torsion bars, but typically these are available through any GM parts dealer. In our case, we tackled the install at a friend's home shop, and simply borrowed the tool from another friend with a 4x4-related business. All said and done, it took us a little over two hours to complete the process from start to finish.

PhotosView Slideshow This photo illustrates the difference between the factory torsion keys and the re-clocked ORU keys. Notice the slight clocking difference of the hole where the torsion bar fits into each key. This is how ORU attains additional ride height with the system.

This photo illustrates the difference between the factory torsion keys and the re-clocked ORU keys. Notice the slight clocking difference of the hole where the torsion bar fits into each key. This is how ORU attains additional ride height with the system.

Here you can see the special torsion-bar clamp tool we used for this installation. Essentially, this tool clamps onto the key and crossmember. As it tightens up, it twists the torsion bar away from the factory adjuster nut. The further it twists, the less pressure is put on the factory adjuster. Once all pressure is removed from the factory adjuster, the key can be removed by hand. Next, we simply replaced the factory key with the new ORU units and reversed the impact gun. Once pressure was returned to the factory adjuster, we took ride height measurements and made some further adjustments to dial in our desired ride height.

With the vehicle placed securely on jack stands, each of the front tires was removed to provide ample work space. The factory shocks came out simply by accessing the upper mounts from under the hood. A long extension with the correct-sized socket and ratchet made the job a snap. The lower mounting bolts were easily accessible from below the vehicle. Once the old shocks were removed, the new Bilstein shocks went right in. Though it does take a little upper body strength to compress the high-pressure Bilsteins, the job was still pretty easy to complete.

It's always good to place a small amount of medium-strength Loctite on mounting hardware prior to putting it back together.

The rear shocks installed in a matter of minutes, albeit a little tight to access the upper mounting bolt on the driver's side, the Bilstein shocks fit perfectly and installed easily without any issues.

This is a look at the passenger side rear shock after it was installed.

Driving Impression
With the newly improved stance, the truck felt confident as we drove into corners at speed. We didn't feel any headlight adjustments were required after the leveling kit was installed, though you should always check this, as sometimes they may require adjustment. The new larger tires ran smooth and quiet for their size, and the speedometer only read 3 mph off of what our GPS showed. Speedo recalibration kits are available via the aftermarket to restore accurate speedo readings. In the end, the owner of our donor truck was extremely pleased with the upgrades, and commented that he wished he'd performed them sooner.

PhotosView Slideshow The owner of our donor truck purchased a set of 285/75/16 Dick Cepek Radial F-C II tires, which measure out at 32.8 inches tall. The American Racing wheels were purchased used from a buddy and required some minor air-dam trimming to ensure full steering with the suspension compressed.

The owner of our donor truck purchased a set of 285/75/16 Dick Cepek Radial F-C II tires, which measure out at 32.8 inches tall. The American Racing wheels were purchased used from a buddy and required some minor air-dam trimming to ensure full steering with the suspension compressed.

Before: This stocker was in dire need of some leveling-love.

After: With a new set of tires and wheels, this Silverado stands out.

Before modifications: Ride height from the ground to the wheel well opening: 35 3/4 inches.

After the leveling kit was installed (with factory tire and wheel package), ride height from the ground to the wheelwell opening measured 38 1/2 inches. Net gain in ride height: 2 3/4 inches.

After the leveling kit was installed (with 285/75/16 Dick Cepek tires), ride height from the ground to the wheelwell opening measured 39 1/4 inches. Net gain over stock: 3 1/2 inches.

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1999-2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 Leveling Kit - Four Wheeler

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