after reading through pages and pages of this forum and others, i think i finally decided on a lift for my 1990 3/4 suburban. at first i wanted a 6" lift, but after reading, i decided that i should start off with a 4" lift. it seemed that a lot of suburban owners have a 4" lift with 35s, a couple with 36s. this truck is my daily, and might see some soft soft trails once in a great while. so i figured that a 6" lift would be pointless.

what i hvae picked out, all from ORD is the 4" shackle flip for the rear, and the 4" EZride kit for the front. it says all kits include spring bushings and u bolts- so that should mean the front is all set right? below that, it says the steering arm is recommended, which i will also get.

for the rear, would you guys suggest to get new bushings to install at this time while its apart? also, since i will be using the stock springs, should i buy new u bolts for the rear?

as i was browsing their website, i came across the swaybar correction/disconnect, and wondering if i should also do this at the same time? the price is right, but since it wont see much offroad abuse, didnt know if it would be pointless?

and one more question for now- when i was looking at 6" lifts, most places said that the crossover exhaust pipe would have to be modified. is this the same for this 4" lift? should i buy some headers and get dual exhaust so i dont have to worry about that?

I have a k10 with the same springs up front. I took my swaybar off. I can't give you an unbiased opinion but we've got leaf springs...its not really gonna sway much to start with.

During the installation of your shackle flip your springs won't need to leave the axle, thus you don't need new springs unless yours aren't any good to start with.

I have greaseable bushings on all of my springs but I don't know how much of a difference its gonna make. I did get new shackles from ORD for the front springs. The stock shackle allegedly bottoms out.

I have headers, can't help you with the crossover pipe stuff.

The stock chevy steering sucks. Its resultant forces push the axle forward/backwards. You might want to go crossover someday.

I would definitley get the raised steering arm for the truck when you install the lift.
Headers suck, I had to use the good old hammer to resolve some clearance issues with mine, which were guaranteed to fit without a hammer. But I suppose that was for when they were installed in my 2wd 3/4 ton Silverado w/454... not my 1980 GMC 4x4...I had to turn the drivers side front spring rear shackle bolt around to get the header to fit...

do you think that i should just take my swaybar off for now, and in the future look into the correction/disconnect? since its my daily driver, i just want to be sure its not going to be a terrible unsafe ride without the sway bar there.

do you think it would be a good idea to install the shackle flip, front springs, and the steering arm, and then see how everything is and look into the rest as time goes on?

one more thing, how should i measure my shocks so i can get new ones with my lift?

WITH THE LIFT INSTALLED, and only after the lift is installed, raise the truck up by the frame so that the wheels (both front and rear) are hanging free by the suspension.
Measure the distance from the shock mount eye center on the chassis to the shock mount eye center on your axle (at full droop). That measurement is how long the shock needs to be able to travel (fully extended).
This one is a little harder but the only way I know to do it with the suspension fully compressed.
Put a floor jack under each an axle tube for one tire at a time and jack up that side of the suspension until the tire comes off the ground. With the suspension on that side fully compressed, measure the distance from shock mount eye center to the other mount eye center, and that is how short the shock needs to be (at full compression).

and one more question for now- when i was looking at 6" lifts, most places said that the crossover exhaust pipe would have to be modified. is this the same for this 4" lift? should i buy some headers and get dual exhaust so i dont have to worry about that?

I had the same problem. Cut a section of the y-pipe out, get an elbow from NAPA or Autozone. Make sure that the elbow is longer than the cut out section. Fit and weld in the elbow. Costs $5 and takes 1/2 hour. I now have about 3/4" of clearance which works fine.

thanks for the info. if i cant get access to a welder, you think it would hold up by clamping it?

Did you ever remove the swaybar? I have the same truck and I'm also thinking about removing the swaybar. How much does it affect the drive? Is it dangerous?

Is it just mine, or does the steering feel kinda squirrly especially when breaking after a 4" lift?

Depending on the lift used and how stiff the front springs are, some people find that the springs are adequate to keep the truck from experiencing body roll when cornering.
But try yours, if it seems to unstable in the corners, don't try to be cool and endanger your life or anyone elses.
A lift that is done properly shouldn't make your steering feel weird.
if your steering feels fucked, it could be because your steering joints in your tie rod or balljoints are bad.

I don't experience any body roll, just a squirliness all the time, so i think your last diagnoses is probably the reason. I think I need to replace the ball joints. Is that usually pretty expensive to have done say at pepboys?

I have a 87 3/4 burb with 4" of lift. It was on when I bought it. You don't have to mess with the crossover pipe. The stuff I read said it was good to 8".

That sounds like the way to measure for shocks but I would make them a little shorter on the compression measurement so you don't break off the shock mounts as I have done.

I run 33"s on mine. 35"'s and I think even 37"s will fit without cutting the fenders but not for anything besides forest roads IMHO.