08 tahoe 2wd w/RC 7.5 lift not level

[ReedR]

After installing RC 7.5 lift w/N3 struts on my 08 Tahoe LTZ 2wd the rear sits lower then the front 2 inches . RC says it should be level and the ride height should be 28 1/2 inches (center of wheel to fender). Mine sits 29 1/4 in the front and 27 1/4 in the rear. RC sent me new rear coil springs thinking the rear is sagging. Everything is still the same after install. Anybody ever heard of this or had this problem.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

After installing RC 7.5 lift w/N3 struts on my 08 Tahoe LTZ 2wd the rear sits lower then the front 2 inches . RC says it should be level and the ride height should be 28 1/2 inches (center of wheel to fender). Mine sits 29 1/4 in the front and 27 1/4 in the rear. RC sent me new rear coil springs thinking the rear is sagging. Everything is still the same after install. Anybody ever heard of this or had this problem.

View attachment 256741

@ReedR I have not heard of this happening but with the front sitting that much higher there is certainly a part mix-up. I highly doubt that incorrectly installing a part could result in this. I would double check that part numbers of the parts you have and compare it to what that kit should include.

When I look up that lift kit I see that the components providing the lift up front are: Struts, strut spacers, lift knuckles.

And for the rear is: lift coil springs, coil spring spacers.

You mentioned the coil springs but did you also install the rear coil spacers?

 

[ReedR]

@ReedR I have not heard of this happening but with the front sitting that much higher there is certainly a part mix-up. I highly doubt that incorrectly installing a part could result in this. I would double check that part numbers of the parts you have and compare it to what that kit should include.

When I look up that lift kit I see that the components providing the lift up front are: Struts, strut spacers, lift knuckles.

And for the rear is: lift coil springs, coil spring spacers.

You mentioned the coil springs but did you also install the rear coil spacers?

Yeah I talked with RC directly, parts are correct. They also told me there aren't coil spring spacers with this kit. I've looked at several sites and they all show spacers in the parts break down, even RC site says it does. The list of parts in the box doesn't show spacers either. The front struts are RC N3, so no spacer. They are about 3/4 of an inch to long. What's really strange is the order sheet that came with the new springs calls them 6 inch Suburban/Danali XL. They are exactly the same as the original one they sent me. RC says they are correct. I think I'll just pick up some spacers myself and not deal with Rough Country any more.

 

[akbrener]

I doubt it will settle more than an inch up front, but things may take a bit to break in and settle into place. did you torque the control arms with weight on the suspension or hanging?

 

[ReedR]

I doubt it will settle more than an inch up front, but things may take a bit to break in and settle into place. did you torque the control arms with weight on the suspension or hanging?

Yeah I did torque hanging until we lowered it and it squeaked just by pushing on the fender so I loosened and tightened with tires on the ground. RC guy said it would settle too but like you said almost an inch is a lot.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@ReedR I agree, this has to be an incorrect part or something. That's lame that RC isn't much help. You should be fine to get a rear spacer just make sure that rear shocks have plenty of travel.

 

[ReedR]

@ReedR I agree, this has to be an incorrect part or something. That's lame that RC isn't much help. You should be fine to get a rear spacer just make sure that rear shocks have plenty of travel.

Roger that, thanks for the help

 

[akbrener]

Would be perfect if you were from North Carolina

 

[ivin74]

After installing RC 7.5 lift w/N3 struts on my 08 Tahoe LTZ 2wd the rear sits lower then the front 2 inches . RC says it should be level and the ride height should be 28 1/2 inches (center of wheel to fender). Mine sits 29 1/4 in the front and 27 1/4 in the rear. RC sent me new rear coil springs thinking the rear is sagging. Everything is still the same after install. Anybody ever heard of this or had this problem.

View attachment 256741

Leave it like that, that's the new trend, lol

All kidding aside get you some rear spring spacers, they are cheap and easy to install

 

[ReedR]

Would be perfect if you were from North Carolina

Close South Carolina

 

[imi4tth3w]

So i just installed the 7.5 with the vertex coilovers on mine and i'm seeing a somewhat similar situation. (2008 2wd tahoe)

I haven't measured the rears, but my fronts are sitting WAY high. I measured them at nearly 31" from center hub to fender in the front. I ordered the tool to lower them as low as they could go (only like 5 or 6 more theads) and it barely went down maybe 0.5" to 0.75". i know the rcx 7.5 is already a 5" kit stretched to 7.5". even without cv axles i do not want to run a 5" kit at nearly 9".

something about the 2wd hoes is weird here.

I don't think rough country is going to have a whole lot of info either on this. But at least for my application i need a different spring (which i can guarantee rough country can't do anything about..)

So the options are the N3 strut (most likely what i'll do), some other coilover (expensive and risky, most on backorder), or big spacer with factory struts.

 

[ReedR]

So i just installed the 7.5 with the vertex coilovers on mine and i'm seeing a somewhat similar situation. (2008 2wd tahoe)

I haven't measured the rears, but my fronts are sitting WAY high. I measured them at nearly 31" from center hub to fender in the front. I ordered the tool to lower them as low as they could go (only like 5 or 6 more theads) and it barely went down maybe 0.5" to 0.75". i know the rcx 7.5 is already a 5" kit stretched to 7.5". even without cv axles i do not want to run a 5" kit at nearly 9".

something about the 2wd hoes is weird here.

I don't think rough country is going to have a whole lot of info either on this. But at least for my application i need a different spring (which i can guarantee rough country can't do anything about..)

So the options are the N3 strut (most likely what i'll do), some other coilover (expensive and risky, most on backorder), or big spacer with factory struts.

So i just installed the 7.5 with the vertex coilovers on mine and i'm seeing a somewhat similar situation. (2008 2wd tahoe)

I haven't measured the rears, but my fronts are sitting WAY high. I measured them at nearly 31" from center hub to fender in the front. I ordered the tool to lower them as low as they could go (only like 5 or 6 more theads) and it barely went down maybe 0.5" to 0.75". i know the rcx 7.5 is already a 5" kit stretched to 7.5". even without cv axles i do not want to run a 5" kit at nearly 9".

something about the 2wd hoes is weird here.

I don't think rough country is going to have a whole lot of info either on this. But at least for my application i need a different spring (which i can guarantee rough country can't do anything about..)

So the options are the N3 strut (most likely what i'll do), some other coilover (expensive and risky, most on backorder), or big spacer with factory struts.

Yeah with the n3 struts mine sits almost an inch higher than it should, by rough country numbers. I had to put 2 inch spacers on the rear coils to level it out. Rough country stopped answering my emails about it and would leave me on hold until I was mysteriously hung up on. I think the n3 struts they use for this kit aren't right for the tahoe. They sell the same ones for the 1500 Silverado, which is probably correct since the rear sits a little higher

 

[imi4tth3w]

Just thought I would update people on what i ended up doing.

I ended up getting some aftermarket springs from Eibach to replace the coil springs that came on the Rough Country Vertex coilovers. These coilovers are a 2.0" body but you need 3.0" springs as there is a gap between the shock body and the spring that is larger than what you see on fox coilovers.

The springs on the Vertex coilovers are 13" springs with 750lb/in spring rate. I picked up some 12" springs at 700lb/in from eibach. The swap was pretty easy and it rides quite good. I wouldn't mind going to an even lower spring rate but eibach didn't have anything until 400lb/in which is likely too soft.

I also ended up lowering my 7.5" kit down to ~5" of lift to improve the ride and suspension angles. I custom ordered the rear coil spring spacer from the BDS 4" kit. This coil spring spacer bolts to the frame of the vehicle and is about 3" tall. Using my factory rear coil springs (much softer than the RC 7.5" springs) and an additional 1" bottom spacer, it sits level at 5" of lift overall.

One piece i'm missing is i need to get the 4" BDS kit's rear sway bar links. Currently using the RC 7.5" kit's rear sway bar links and they are definitely a bit long. BDS was pretty easy to deal with and order the spacers but they didn't return my email about another order for the sway bar links. Maybe it got lost so i'll send them another message. I also removed the rear control arm drop bracket that is used in the RC 7.5" kit since its not really needed but i might play around with it a bit more to see if i can better set up the rear axle placement and pinion angles.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Just thought I would update people on what i ended up doing.

I ended up getting some aftermarket springs from Eibach to replace the coil springs that came on the Rough Country Vertex coilovers. These coilovers are a 2.0" body but you need 3.0" springs as there is a gap between the shock body and the spring that is larger than what you see on fox coilovers.

The springs on the Vertex coilovers are 13" springs with 750lb/in spring rate. I picked up some 12" springs at 700lb/in from eibach. The swap was pretty easy and it rides quite good. I wouldn't mind going to an even lower spring rate but eibach didn't have anything until 400lb/in which is likely too soft.

I also ended up lowering my 7.5" kit down to ~5" of lift to improve the ride and suspension angles. I custom ordered the rear coil spring spacer from the BDS 4" kit. This coil spring spacer bolts to the frame of the vehicle and is about 3" tall. Using my factory rear coil springs (much softer than the RC 7.5" springs) and an additional 1" bottom spacer, it sits level at 5" of lift overall.

One piece i'm missing is i need to get the 4" BDS kit's rear sway bar links. Currently using the RC 7.5" kit's rear sway bar links and they are definitely a bit long. BDS was pretty easy to deal with and order the spacers but they didn't return my email about another order for the sway bar links. Maybe it got lost so i'll send them another message. I also removed the rear control arm drop bracket that is used in the RC 7.5" kit since its not really needed but i might play around with it a bit more to see if i can better set up the rear axle placement and pinion angles.

@imi4tth3w Just so you know the Jeep JK front sway bar end links fit perfectly on the rear sway bar of the Tahoe, I am using a JK link for a 3-4 inch lift on the back of my tahoe and it fits perfect. my rear is lifted 3-4 inches.