How-To: Bring down an Avalanche

The Chevrolet Avalanche is becoming more popular among lowrider enthusiasts every day...both for towing and showing. Like a car, the stylish four-door SUT (sport utility truck) fills the needs of a family, yet quickly transforms into a full-length-bed pickup when extra cargo room is needed. However, like most trucks, it's way too tall and could definitely benefit from an altitude adjustment. A mild drop in ride-height would not only make it look better but also handle better, since the center of gravity is lowered. So we decided to bring down an Avalanche to show you how it looks.

That's where DJM Suspension (Gardena, California), Amtech Corporation (Las Vegas, Nevada) and Master Image Customs (MIC, Anaheim Hills, California) come in. The test bed for the tech was editor Ralph Fuentes' stock-height 2002 Avalanche. (Note: Ralph normally rolls on a set of 22-inch Pirelli radials and Oasis wheels, but for a true apples-to-apples height comparison we put the stock rims and rubber on for our finished photos.)

Through the years, DJM Suspension has established itself as a leader in the design and manufacture of top-quality suspension products for import and domestic trucks. From drop spindles to flip kits, to control arms to shackles, they make it all...in house. One of their latest releases is the K2001, 3-inch front/5-inch rear lowering kit for 2001 and newer Avalanches (and Suburbans). The kit includes "dropped" lower control arms, rear coil springs and a rear hardware kit. The control arms are shot-peened and powdercoated for a custom finish, come with new ball joints and polyurethane swing arm bushings installed and "zerk" fittings to grease the bushings. Twin tube pivot sleeves are also provided for a quieter ride.

The Avalanche has torsion bars up front so no "dropped" coil springs are needed. The rear drop kit also includes new trailing arm brackets to correct the change in pinion gear angle. A set of DJM TS1315 front shocks and TS1800C rear shocks are also required, but sold separately. Detailed instructions, new mounting hardware (including Nylock nuts) and a hardware parts list are also included. Always check to make sure that you have all of the parts and hardware listed before beginning the installation. Next, fill out the installation helper (blue sheet) included with instructions, as follows.

Measure the vehicle height before beginning installation and again when complete. All vehicles have some height differences from the factory. DJM's tech line gets calls all of the time about vehicles that are lower on one side after lowering, but the vehicle was not measured before installing. Filling out the installation helper, before beginning installation, solves this problem. Our Avalanche was 1/2-inch higher on the front passenger side from the factory; so the torsion bar was adjusted slightly lower to make the front level.

The truck came with factory sway bars, but we wanted to further improve the handling by adding better Amtech bars. Amtech makes anti-sway bars, springs, and their flagship product, the innovative RollGard stabilizer system for rear leaf springs (a RollGard system is coming for rear coil springs in June).

To do the drop we called on the custom truck experts at MIC where Scot Phister and Robert Foreman made handled the R&R. We found after the installation that the heavy-duty rear springs were too stiff for everyday driving, so we swapped them for DJM's standard 5-inch drop rear springs which made the ride smoother, especially over dips and bumps. Once the work was done we took the truck to veteran alignment specialist Reg Barry at Marty World Automotive (Norwalk, California) for a four-wheel computer alignment. This is a must when doing suspension swaps as toe and camber are altered dramatically.

Follow the photos now, as we show you the quick way to bring down an Avalanche with no cutting or special tools required. Note: Never work under a truck supported on a jack only. Use quality jackstands with an adequate rating for your truck's weight.

1. Our altered Avalanche (right) looks a lot better with a little "altitude adjustment," than the stock truck (from Selman Chevrolet in Orange, California).

2. Here's the stock lower control arm, shock and spindle assembly.

3. At the rear end of the torsion bar, locate the torsion bar key bolt (between the crossmember) and remove it.

4.

4. & 5. Remove the lower and upper stock shock bolts and remove the shock.

6. Scot finds it helpful to unbolt the sway bar end link.

7. Jack up the control arm slightly, remove the lower ball joint nut and free the ball joint from the spindle.

8.	8. & 9. Loosen, unbolt and remove the tie rod from the spindle.
10. Slowly lower the control arm until the tension is removed from the torsion bar and remove the torsion key.	11. Unbolt the control arm and remove the pivot bolts.
12. Remove the control arm and let the torsion bar hang.	13. The DJM dropped lower control arms (left) are shot-peened and powdercoated, come with new ball joints and polyurethane swing arm bushings installed, plus twin tube pivot sleeves and "zerk" fittings to grease them.
14. The outer sleeves are already installed in the bushings. You must assemble the inner sleeves correctly. Do not skip this step! Drill a 1/8-inch hole through the zerk-fitting hole in the arm and the outer sleeve for grease to pass through to the inner sleeve. (Note: The drilling operation will probably leave a "burr" on the inside of the sleeve; use a rat-tail file to remove burrs.)	15. Install the grease fittings, apply white grease (provided) to the inner sleeves and insert them into the control arm. Also apply white grease to the bushing ends.
16.	16. 17. Slide the torsion bar end through the new control arm and attach the pivot bolts through the frame mounts and control arm bushings.
18. With the control arm raised to ride height (flat with ground) slide the torsion key up into the crossmember, move the torsion bar back to align with key and install the adjustment bolt, do not tighten yet.	19. Raise the control arm enough to install the lower ball joint, nut and a new cotter pin.
20. Install the tie rod and the sway bar end link but do not tighten it.	21. Tighten the control arm pivot bolts to about 40 ft. lbs. torque.
22. Install the new shock with the bolts provided. Repeat R&R steps on the other side then check that all bolts are tight and installed correctly. The torsion adjustment bolts can then be tightened.	23. Here's the new DJM control arm and shock installed.
24. Scot used a grease gun on the zerk fitting to fill the control arm bushings.	25. To get the "toe" close enough to get you to an alignment shop, turn the tie rod end about three full turns. Close is all you need for now.
26.	26. & 27. Moving to the rear, support the axle on a jack, unbolt the sway bar end links and remove the stock shocks. Lower the axle enough to remove the coil springs.
28. The new DJM dropped springs (left) will lower the truck 5 inches on the rear.	29.
29. & 30. Unbolt the trailing arms from under the axle, install the new DJM trailing arm brackets (leaving the bolts loose) and bolt the trailing arms to the new brackets. Then, tighten the bracket bolts, before the trailing arm bolts. Do not over tighten.	31.
31. & 32. Install the new coil springs and shocks. Remove the factory bump stops, cut off the first ring and reinstall them. Everything was then checked front and rear.	33. The finished rear installation with the new shocks and the standard rate dropped springs looks good.
34.	34. & 35. The Oasis wheels and Pirelli tires were reinstalled and the ride height checked again. We found the right front passenger side was about 1/2-inch higher than the other corners, so the torsion bar was adjusted.
36. We test drove the truck then immediately had a four-wheel computer alignment performed by Reg Barry at Marty World Automotive (Norwalk, California).	37. We later installed a set of anti-sway bars from Amtech Corporation to improve handling even more.
38. The difference is shown dramatically when comparing mirror heights on the stock truck (left) and our test truck.	39. In this rear 3/4 shot our truck (left) really looks lower than the stock truck.
40. A nose-to-nose comparison shows our truck (right) has a much lower profile.