Besides being visually funky, that inherent droopy front end of your '99-'07 Chevy pickup puts the big hurt on your approach angle. And we all know that a good approach angle is one of the primary components of a capable off-highway rig.
A simple, inexpensive solution is to install a leveling kit under the front of your 1500 or 2500HD truck. We recently installed Off Road Unlimited's kit under our '02 2500HD. This kit raises front suspension height by approximately 1.5 inches, thus leveling it with the rear of the vehicle. The complete $420 kit included a new pair of reindexed cogs (often called "keys"), droop stop pads, and four shocks. These parts are also available separately.
Why didn't we just crank up the torsion bars? Well, cranking up the torsion bars will result in a small amount of height increase under most of these vehicles, but only a limited percentage of vehicles are adjustable to the 1.5-inch figure, which is the magic number to level this particular vehicle.
Matt Dinelli, the owner of Attitude Performance in Arlington Heights, Illinois, installed the kit in about two hours. Following are the highlights of this simple, cost-effective, and worthwhile install.
 The installation begins after...  The installation begins after measuring and noting the distance from the front hub centers to the bottom edge of the fenders. This figure will provide a reference point later on in the installation. The stock shocks are removed and then holes are drilled in the top of the bumpstop brackets for the new ORU droop stop pads. These new pads are important because when the front suspension is lifted via the torsion bars, the distance between the upper A-arms and the top of the bumpstop brackets is shortened. This means that the two will come in contact more often when the suspension unloads. The new pads serve to eliminate metal-to-metal contact and cushion the impact. |  After noting the amount of...  After noting the amount of threads visible on the torsion-bar adjuster bolts, a torsion-bar clamp is used to push the cogs up to release pressure on the torsion-bar adjuster bolts. The bolts are then removed, along with the threaded blocks they fasten to (shown). The torsion-bar clamp is then loosened and the torsion bars are slid forward out of the cogs. With the torsion bars removed, the cogs are then free to be removed. Note: The torsion bars can be stubborn to remove due to rust and may have to be hammered out. |  Here you can see the difference...  Here you can see the difference between a stock cog (bottom) and a new ORU cog. The ORU cog is keyed differently to rotate the torsion bar, thus raising the front suspension height. |
 To install the new cogs, simply...  To install the new cogs, simply reverse the disassembly procedure. The adjuster bolts are tightened to show approximately the same amount of threads as before removal. The vehicle is then lowered and the hub-to-fender distance is measured. Adjustments should be done in small increments, and the vehicle should be raised no more than 1.5 inches from the factory height to avoid damage to the CV shafts. |  The next step is to install...  The next step is to install the new ORU front and rear shocks. Installation is straightforward and quick. |  The final step is to have...  The final step is to have the vehicle aligned at a professional alignment shop. We used Dave and Jim's Auto Body in Arlington Heights, Illinois. They do all of the alignment work for Attitude Performance. Here technician Mike Goodrich begins the process of aligning our newly leveled rig. He has completed hundreds of four-wheel-drive alignments, so he's clearly an expert. |
 We couldn't decide whether...  We couldn't decide whether to shoe our workhorse Chevy with all-terrain or mud-terrain tires. Our dilemma was solved by fitting a set of Dick Cepek Radial F-C IIs. These tires are a unique hybrid design featuring a tread pattern that is part A-T and part M-T. They feature a self-cleaning tread with an extra-wide footprint, siped tread lugs to improve grip, and Sidebiters for added traction and sidewall protection. We chose to mount our new meats to a set of Dick Cepek DC-1 polished-aluminum wheels. These wheels look great without being gaudy, and they're super-easy to clean. | 
Before | 
After |
An added bonus is that the ORU leveling kit allows you to use up to 33-inch tires. We opted for a set of LT265/75R16s, which translates to 31.7 inches in height. This selection helped to further improve ground clearance, but they're not so large as to significantly affect our rig's gearing. Speaking of ground clearance, adding the leveling kit improved our 2500HDs front valance-to-ground height by 1.5 inches (from 13 inches to 14.5 inches). With the new tires installed, our valance-to-ground height jumped to 15.5 inches, which is 2.5 inches more than stock.
Not surprisingly, ride quality was a tad stiffer than stock. This was due mostly to the new shocks (ours were shot) and the stiffer sidewalls of the Dick Cepek F-C II tires compared to the street-oriented Firestone Steeltex Radials we had been rolling. Nonetheless, our rig still retains the same comfortable ride that's inherent to the IFS Chevys. Oh, and the Cepeks offer a major improvement in traction. We were stunned at the grip these tires offer in all types of terrain. Best of all, they still retain excellent road manners that make the daily commute enjoyable.