I'm currently in the middle of installing a 4 inch lift on my 1990 1/2 ton suburban. The rear went easy as hell, springs fit like a charm with no problems. Front is a different story.

The frint springs are too short (which I've been told is normal for chevy lifts?). I have fabricated some shackle extentions for the front hanger, but would prefer a better way to attach the springs. How can I get the short springs to fit??

Also, is it possible to do this lift without a steering correction, or am I doomed to have shitty steering (I can't turn the wheels to the right, only to the left!!!) without a new arm?

Move the rear shacke forward.

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Front_Suspension/Shackle_Angle2.JPG

You might have to make longer shackles, but the benefits of having the proper shackle angle are worth the effort. The above picture is of 4" rancho springs on a 76 chevy 1/2 ton frame. I dropped the front mount down about 3 inches and extended the shackles enough so that the spring would not hit the frame on compression.

Check out http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/tech.htm for tons of chevy tech info.

If I replace the shackle in the rear of the spring, it will not move the front eye closer to the hanger unless I relocate the sway bar. This will also require more length from my driveshaft and put my tires closer to the front fender, all of which would like to avoid.

Is there any downside to my setup, which is basically an identical shackle at the front of the spring?

If the spring is that short, you need to get new springs. Dont cobble the thing together, do it right. Longer springs are better anyway. Dont be afraid of moving the sway bar. It needs to either be removed or lowered after a 4" lift anyway.

Here is how I mounted my front shackles. If you did something similar you could place your mount just about anywhere you wanted.

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Bumpers/frontbumper2.JPG

Make sure that you did not receive springs for 1st Generation Chevy's, as they are several inches shorter than 2nd gen chevy's.

Two more pics

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Bumpers/frontbumper4.JPG

http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/images/Tech/Bumpers/frontbumper3.JPG

I'm doing the same thing to my K30 as bgreen has shown you. Move the shackle mount on the frame forward along the frame (look at the picture) and put on longer shackles. That will give a better shackle angle AND clear the frame on compression just like he said. Without moving the upper shackle mount you should be able to put the bolt in the front eye and pull the shackle up onto the back eye to get the bolt in. The rear spring eye will be about 1" in front of the top shackle eye becuase lift spring extend on compression. If they were longer, they would hit the frame.

And what do you mean by:
shackle extentions for the front hanger
and
basically an identical shackle at the front of the spring
Please tell me your not talking about a shackle on the front and rear?

Oh, and you'll definately need steering correction. Do a search for "cross over steering" while your at it.