I took a couple of pictures of what my UCA looks like with a 2" AS leveling kit to answer a question on the tire forum and thought they would provide useful information here. I have recommended a few times that one does not go with a 2.5" leveling kit for an '09 - '10 and these pictures show my concern. Personally, I would not want any more angle on my UCA or ball joint. Looking at these pictures, I kind of wish I went with a 1.5" kit. The 2" kit raised my front end more than 2.5" (The truck is setting on level ground.)



Before leveling

After leveling


I have added a 1" block to the back after this picture was taken.

Another important note for the '09 and '10 is to remove the bolts in the lower control arm when trying to get the strut back in with the leveling kit installed. The recommendations to use a bottle jack (wow!) or a large bar to force the lower control arm down enough to make the strut fit seem crazy to me. The arm won't go down enough because the CV joints are binding. It isn't hard to remove these two bolts and just put them back roughly in the same place when done (a second set of hands is nice though!) With this procedure, it is particularly important to get an alignment soon after the job is done. Getting the leveled strut back in isn't an issue before '09 because the control arms don't have the pocket for the strut like the newer ones do.

 

Wow, that did put the front up there. I think your right about the 1.5". I have heard other members mention this, but your pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

That second picture does not look right at all!!! Glad you added the bigger block in the rear!
I'm hoping I will not have to add the bigger block when I do my 2" Rancho kit (But then, mine is an '06, so I should be fine)

 

What does your lower A arm and cv angle look like...

 

A larger tire will help this situation out right? More meat around the rim, will in turn lift it up, and lessen the angle? Right?
Do you have any pics after the 1" block?
I was thinking about when I get my 2011, getting a 2.5" AS kit, and then a block in the back, to get the most height and be level without getting an actual lift kit. But, I don't know about that now. Your 2" kit looks perfect to me. Like my 2.5" kit on my 2005.

 

how do you figure? if you upgrade the tires it's going to be universal to the front and rear...

 

Anyone add add a 2" leveling kit to an existing 6" suspension lift oon the 09-11 yet?

I want to do this to fit 37" but people say it will cause major problems! Yet there is like 50 memebers on here that have done this and say its fine. Is there something to the new body stlyes that makes this bad to do?

 

I could be thinking about this wrong, but my logic is that the Upper Control Arm, which he is concerned about, would have less of a drop if he had a bigger tire. A bigger tire would raise everything and give the UCA less travel/drop therefore less of an angle and stress on joints...right? Or did I just make that up?

 

The bigger tire will give more clearance to the truck/ground but wouldn't change the upper A arm angle. That is set by the lift/level

 

^^^ that's what i thought

 

Well, I was thinking wrong then. Sure seemed right in my head... I guess it is OK to be wrong every once in a while, though my wife would say that I'm wrong WAY more than every once in a while.

 

^^^ mine says i'm wrong every time so i gotta get my kicks in threads like this haha.

 

My truck is all covered with salt right now, but I will try to get a picture soon. Looking at my UCA with a 2" leveling kit, don't you think that 2.5" is too much? If I recall correctly, my 2" AS kit is 1 3/8" tall and the 1.5" AS kit is 1 3/16" tall. You can't really make a leveling kit in the same style any shorter because you need room for the original strut bolts inside the spacer.

 

KR,
Would you mind doing me a favor and measuring from the center of your hubs to the bottom of the fenders in the front and rear.

Also, did you add a 1" block to the existing 1 5/8" block?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

A larger tire won't change any of the angles. Here is a picture of the block...


Like this...

From the center of the hubs (from the ground is 15" higher as my stock 31.9" tires - tire spec size is without weight on them)
Drivers Front: 24 3/8"
Drivers Rear: 24 3/4"
Passenger Front: 24 3/4"
Passenger Rear: 25 1/4"

So, the rear is 3/8" higher than the front. If I replaced the original block with a 3" block, it would sit 7/8" higher (I think the factory block is 1.5', not 1.675".) I had to replace the U-Bolts when adding the block, which I left a little extra room in case I decided to swap my blocks for a 3" later. I would only do this if the rear leaf springs sagged more than the front coils as the truck ages.

Note that my truck sits 3/8" higher on the passenger's side than the driver's side. I have about 30 gallons of fuel in the tank (which is on the driver's side) and most of the transfer case weight is also on the driver's side).