I want to lower my 99 Z-71. I have searched the forums, but didnt find the answer I was looking for. I have looked for a complete lowering kit, but couldnt find one. Does anyone make a kit to lower my truck? I want a 2/4 drop. Is it very difficult to do what Parrish did? I need new shocks as it is, I was thinking of theToxic drop shocks from belltech, are these quality? How does a "key" work? Will ride quality be severely effected if I do the key thing versus getting spindles? Thank you.

 

parish is the only person i know that dropped a Z71.

 

quiksilverz71 dropped his too

 

The only way for you to drop the front is with Keys. They are the things that hold the torsion bars where you crank them. They are around $70 for the pair. And the back you can either do shackles and hangers, or a flip kit. Both are fairly cheap and retain smooth ride. I just dropped my 4x4 Blazer last weekend with by taking the bolts all the way out of the T bars and 2" drop blocks in the rear. Looks sweet and corners awsome.

 

Look at McGaughy's suspension parts for what you need. They came out with a drop spindle mount for the 4wd models, www.mcgaughys.com . They have 2/4, 4/6 and 5/7 drop kits for reasonable prices.
Rumor has it the Toxic shocks are junk. Cheap but you get what you pay for. Most go with Bilstein for best quality.
The torsion bar keys are the cheap way to lower the front BUT you will lose suspension travel and alignment adjustment room. They are cheaper but if you can afford the extra $150 or so for the spindle mounts for sure go that route.
BTW, the rear ends are all the same ( 2wd vs 4wd ). All the shackle and hangars are identical ( except for SUV's ).

 

I have found some threads that say Toxic shocks are crap. I am going to go with Edelbrock shocks, but I cant find a part number for the 2/4 drop shocks for 4wd. Does anyone know this?
I am going to go with the key from Belltech. Has anyone had any problems with these?
Thank you.

 

i droped my truck 1" in the front and 3" in the rear.

just turned back the tortion bolts in the front and trimed the bump stops.

in the back i took out the lift blocks and put in shackles. i needed new u bolts when i took out the lift blocks. a rcsb z71 has some serious rake to it, now it is close to flat and looks just like a 2wd. not low at all. there are some pic's at www.turbotruck.net under suspension.

 

I dropped mine 1" in front and 2" in back. Did the same as parish except for the rear shackels. The only cost is the 2wd U-bolts.

 

QuicksilverZ71 i think used the McGraughy's kit. his truck looks bad ***!! i started a thread about this a while ago and he posted pics of his truck.