anyone here dropped 4wd?

im in the process of bagging a 2001 denali, and my customer dont care if it lays or not he just wants to have it go up or down, he just bought it and i told him to buy a 2wd and he was convinced that he bought a 2wd but i told him denalis dont come in 2wd and right when he brought it over i showed him the difference, in them, jay from fab lab, i seen in your post you have done some escalades, whats the best way for me to do that truck, the customer dont care if the 4wd stays or goes. or if it lays or not. any help would be so helpful, pictures will help even more.

Jay, yeah I took a look at pics on 2wd
right now I'm thinking of just doin cantilever setup for front. that's how the guy in FSC forum did. which putting plate on upper control arm, welding the piece to mount the top on the frame. relocate the shock.
that way I can keep the 4wd intact and more practical way of dropping 4wd obs chevy.
only thing is I think just need to cut the bump stop to lay frame.

so far that's prob the best way on obs chvey 4wd.... if anyone else done it and let me know how their's are done......

Don't do that man, putting the bags on the upper control arm sucks, I have replaced a few setups like that, the ball joint cant take the weight and busts but it doesn't come apart because of the bag pushing on it against the weight of the truck. The balljoint "housing" ends up digging into the spindle and now instead of just replacing the balljoint you have to tear apart everything and replace the spindle also. And, have you ever seen the bag angle when they are on the upper??? Garbage!!! I'm sure someone will reply to this and cry bullshit on my post but I'm sticking to it.

If you want it to last call ART and get the longest shockwave with the biggest bag. Fab a mount up that slides over the shockwave and attaches to the the factory lower shock mount, next you need to cut off the cup that held the factory bump stop and grind the mount smooth, with the shockwave attached to the lower control arm and traveling through the upper fully compress the suspension and shockwave and make a beefy "shock hoop" to use as a upper shockwave mount, after that all you need to do is bend up some tubeing that runs over the top of the engine and helps the "hoops" you made from flexing. I have done twenty or so of these setups and they all work perfect the only thing i've had to fix is the upper shockwave bushing isn't strong enough and over time compressess so all you have to do is order it with the bearing.

yeah, mine was 4x4, and I wouldn't do it again, but if you are going to do it and have some specific questions, let me know and I'll try to help. I'm not on here a lot or for very long so be patient.

sws4lifeman I have been looking for yeah I wanted to know what you used for spindle and hub, and upper control arm.....because that spindle and hub setup you have I would like to use to convert 2wd.

Jay, thanks for the info. I guess yeah with tahoe tehre is more weight. than short bed full size.. wasn't thinking of that. plus what you writing is make sense. first time dropping learning a lot of stuff.with your info and sws4life's info when he get back to me I think I can do this right. big thanks to you.

Originally posted by FABLAB



Don't do that man, putting the bags on the upper control arm sucks, I have replaced a few setups like that, the ball joint cant take the weight and busts but it doesn't come apart because of the bag pushing on it against the weight of the truck. The balljoint "housing" ends up digging into the spindle and now instead of just replacing the balljoint you have to tear apart everything and replace the spindle also. And, have you ever seen the bag angle when they are on the upper??? Garbage!!! I'm sure someone will reply to this and cry bullshit on my post but I'm sticking to it.

If you want it to last call ART and get the longest shockwave with the biggest bag. Fab a mount up that slides over the shockwave and attaches to the the factory lower shock mount, next you need to cut off the cup that held the factory bump stop and grind the mount smooth, with the shockwave attached to the lower control arm and traveling through the upper fully compress the suspension and shockwave and make a beefy "shock hoop" to use as a upper shockwave mount, after that all you need to do is bend up some tubeing that runs over the top of the engine and helps the "hoops" you made from flexing. I have done twenty or so of these setups and they all work perfect the only thing i've had to fix is the upper shockwave bushing isn't strong enough and over time compressess so all you have to do is order it with the bearing.

btw which aircmperssor and line, tank size recommended for tahoe?

seems to be a popular thing around here... i have a bagged/ converted 99 tahoe... what a pain in the ass.... do your self a favor get a 2wd.... i go thru tires like there is no tommorow... my negative camber is off the charts.... the transfer case hangs down below the frame so i dont go too low in the front.... overall it is just not worth it... i took out the front axles and did a bag bracket off the side of the frame and a lower bag bracket on the lower similar to sw's setup... it rides nice, but its hell on the ball joints, pitman and idler arm ect... i would definately not do it again either......i c-notched the frame, cut out that stupid shock mount crossmember, but did not cut the floor.... if you wanna lay out anymore get ready to move the gas tank and a whole lot of other crap...... i could go on... an on.... I am curious to know what SW did with his spindle and upper arm... it looks bent at the ball joint... i am considering extending my upper to help with tire wear... good luck with it

Kreative, thanks for the info too.
did you use canber kit on the control arms or you used stock?

I want to lay out but man I know it's too much work on the rear. I'm going to use the airride bolt on for rear and will be lot of work relocating stuff. I'm gonna get beater before this starts.
just happened that it's my daily driver I'm trying to do. originally wasn't even in plan but got bug hit on me. if I'm gonna give up on the idea, I'm gonna be looking at fullsize chevy trucks... but stubburn as I am I'm probably gonna do this one way or the other..

keep all the info you have coming! I want to know more.

thanks everyone for making this a good thread im in the process of bagging a 2001 denali and it is a pain in the ass, thinking of going with the shockwave idea like jay talks about in his respond, but they a bit pricey,