Hey my dudes and dudettes!
So I've been reading through everything I can possibly read on this forum about lifting my van a simple 2" (or call it 2"+1" if you want). Basically I want to put 2" pucks up front and keep the back level with that, so I"ll need another 2" in the rear. My torsion bars are already cranked up just to level the van out, which probably means my torsion bars are tired, or maybe indexed wrong, if that's even a thing. As is ever important, we are talking about a
2002 Astro AWD. I'm not looking to lift it any higher, get crazy or anything. I just want a tiny amount of extra clearance, slightly larger tires, and I want to keep as decent fuel economy as possible. I'm not planning on towing or hauling often so don't feel the need for S10 springs.
Anyway the sticky'd post on a
2" budget lift by WimpTech was a huge help and inspiration, but I found that the cost of all these parts was far more than the $120 quoted. Hell the bolts themselves were currently at $145+shipping!
Being a cheap *******, who also doesn't want to have to re-do any projects, I decided to sleuth my way across the vast internets and find all the parts I needed for the least total cost.
Thanks to WimpTech's post, I have a list of needing:
•Some way to lift the rear end: Shackles/Blocks/Add-a-leaf (which I'm leaning towards out of ease and cost and the mild lift it should provide, even though I know it will make the rear a bit stiffer)
•Body lift blocks
•Exhaust hangers
•Body mount bolts
•Body mount bushings
•Bumper relocation bracket
My price point comparison was based off Journeys Off Road Astro lift kit for $225 which I honestly think is a phenomenal deal. This includes bolts, bumper relocation bracket, shackles and body blocks, which leaves only the
bushings and
exhaust hangers, which I found both on Amazon for $53 and $14 respectively, shipping included. So all-in you're looking at roughtly $292 or so. I'd honestly go this route, but I'm trying to stretch my dollars and I also just
really don't want to drill a new hole on my front hangers if I don't have to. Mostly because I'm lazy, and also because I fear I'll screw something up and have to buy new hangers or pinion shims or some other dumb ****.
My cheapo self is leaning towards this list:
•
JOR Add-a-leaf to get a mild 2" lift in the rear, includes all hardware and shipping cost.
$56•
6 2"x3" body blocks from ZoneOffroad via Amazonto save on shipping, which saves about $14 or so.
$30.84•
Exhaust hangers x2 $14.78•Body bolts.
M12 x 1.75 x 140 class 10.9 (x4) and
M14 x 2.00 x 130 class 10.9 (x2) $16.48 + shipping (which is $6.80 for me in the PNW)
•
Prothane Poly 7-108 body bushings via Amazon $53.49•Bumper relocator - I can be frugal and get it from
JOR for only
$38, or the fancier and sturdier-looking one from
OLV for
$115 shipped.
All of this comes to the grand total of
$216.39 with JOR bumper bracket or
$293.39 with OLV bumper bracket.
So basically I can spend about a buck more than the JOR kit + bushings/hangers and get the same results, with a stronger bumper relocation bracket, and I won't have to deal with pinion angles, drilling hangers, losing wheel-well space in the rear, etc.
Am I wrong with any of this? Tell me now because I'm ordering this stuff tomorrow night (Sunday) unless someone speaks up and tells me a I'm a dumbass.
Hopefully this shopping list will help other frugal van owners and I won't be leading people down the wrong path. The next thing I have to figure out is my shopping list to overhaul the entire front end, but I figure lifting the van is going to be the most fun and why not beat on the old front suspension components a little more and get a little more life from them while I can. I mean, I'm replacing them anyway.