Chevy & GMC Vans

Hi, I purchased a 2004 AWD Astro and am going to go with a 2 inch lift from Overland. I see people here get the bumper relocation kit, but wanted to know if it is for cosmetic reasons, or if the bumper will no longer be safe. I plan on taking this thing to South America, and do not care about the looks of the vehicle (the less inviting to thieves the better!), just the safety and performance. Also while I have your attention, from reading the threads I am under the impression that with the 2 inch I will not need anything else, aside from the bumper kit...so a quick confirmation there would be great. I will not be regearing, as we are trying to keep it simple, and realize most people drive around with 2 wheel drive vehicles all over the world! I do plan on upgrading suspension, but I need to do more research before bothering you guys with that.

Thanks very much!

It is merely a cosmetic mod. The outer corners of the bumper bolt to the fenders as well. For the 2" lift, do the body lift for the front and then an add-a-leaf for the rear. You can skip the shackle lift unless you want to fine-tune the ride height. I recommend the aal for the extra carrying capacity you will need for this trip. DO NOT lift the rear with blocks! You will be asking for trouble down the road.

Thank you for asking this, as I had the exact same question!

Check with the DMV. Some states have bumper height regs.

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:DO NOT lift the rear with blocks! You will be asking for trouble down the road.

curious as to why not?

I know that that with my old mazda B2200's 2 or 3" alum blocks weren't an issue with only 86hp. when I went to my 00 dakota they were, steel blocks were used. if only 2" blocks, no taper was needed, if 3" or more then a pinion angle correction was needed on the blocks. steel vs aluminum was required due to MUCH higher torque with stock 9.25" rear end and 235hp (and up depending on mods), the aluminum were prone to cracking. I ran my dakota with 275 - 280hp (est) for 4 years with 2" steel blocks and never had any issues and I didn't baby it at times.

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/c ... urnout.mp4

I'm not challenging your statement, I'm curious if there's something different I should know about or that I'm ignorant in regards to? .. thanks

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:It is merely a cosmetic mod. The outer corners of the bumper bolt to the fenders as well. For the 2" lift, do the body lift for the front and then an add-a-leaf for the rear. You can skip the shackle lift unless you want to fine-tune the ride height. I recommend the aal for the extra carrying capacity you will need for this trip. DO NOT lift the rear with blocks! You will be asking for trouble down the road.

Fantastic, thank you, I appreciate it. I do not fully get what blocks are/do aside from what they sound like, I don't see "blocks" in the kit list specifically, it appears from Google these are not the same as "spacers"? Are you saying they are in the kit and I I just shouldn't use them in the rear, or is everything in the kit used, and your recommending aal instead of blocks...a comment separate from the lift answer. I am reading it as use everything in the kit, and use aal in the rear.

I was also thinking if I can, and it is not over kill, going with aal and airsprings (will have a compressor and tank), kind of like T.Lows setup but since his is a 4" lift I do not know if that makes sense with a 2" lift. I like the idea of being able to easily stiffen/or relax the ride since terrain will be constantly changing on this trip. I will not be installing any of this btw, which is part of the reason I want to keep it simple. I do not plan to ever tow anything though will obviously be weighed down with gear, and maybe a bike rack, and have the standard 3.42 ratio. For now there will be nothing on top as I just noticed last night I don't have a roof rack of any sort :(

Thank you


Good point on DMV regs. That wont affect me until I get back, but others should look into this. Also glad others had the same question...I hate starting threads that may ask ignorant, or redundant questions. I have been on several auto sites over the year, and this one is fantastic. It really makes me love my van even more. Man, I never thought I would say that about a mini...I mean manly van.

Wiley wrote: Fantastic, thank you, I appreciate it. I do not fully get what blocks are/do aside from what they sound like, I don't see "blocks" in the kit list specifically, it appears from Google these are not the same as "spacers"? Are you saying they are in the kit and I I just shouldn't use them in the rear, or is everything in the kit used, and your recommending aal instead of blocks...a comment separate from the lift answer. I am reading it as use everything in the kit, and use aal in the rear.

There are a couple of ways to do a "lift" on a leaf-spring suspension. The cheap way is to put blocks between the axle tube and the leaf spring. If I understand correctly, the regular Overland kits use either add-a-leaf or a replacement spring, which is the "better" way to do it. Someone more knowledgeable can chime in, but I recall that the lift-blocks can create some other driveline problems... The "optional" (for your needs) portion of the kit LiftedAWDAstro mentioned were the adjustable spring shackles, which I'm not even sure are included on the 2" kit.

Wiley wrote: I was also thinking if I can, and it is not over kill, going with aal and airsprings (will have a compressor and tank), kind of like T.Lows setup but since his is a 4" lift I do not know if that makes sense with a 2" lift. I like the idea of being able to easily stiffen/or relax the ride since terrain will be constantly changing on this trip. I will not be installing any of this btw, which is part of the reason I want to keep it simple. I do not plan to ever tow anything though will obviously be weighed down with gear, and maybe a bike rack, and have the standard 3.42 ratio. For now there will be nothing on top as I just noticed last night I don't have a roof rack of any sort :(

Unless Tom has made a change I haven't seen (possible), he doesn't have air-springs, but air-adjustable shocks. This will allow you to vary the damping of the ride, but not actually compensate for additional load with respect to spring rate or ride-height.

Wiley wrote: Good point on DMV regs. That wont affect me until I get back, but others should look into this. Also glad others had the same question...I hate starting threads that may ask ignorant, or redundant questions. I have been on several auto sites over the year, and this one is fantastic. It really makes me love my van even more. Man, I never thought I would say that about a mini...I mean manly van.

Just so you understand what happens: The bumper relocation kit moves the bumper UP. The front lift in the OLV kit is a spacer between the subframe and the main body. This has the effect of raising the body 2" farther from the ground. The bumper, OTOH, is primarily attached to the subframe, so without relocating it, it stay's put, introducing a 2" gap above the top of the bumper. As others have mentioned, the outer corners of the bumper also attaches to the fenders (which bolt to the body), so that portion will be 2" higher than stock. The net result is that the "middle" of the bumper will look like it sits 2" lower than before... (even though in reality everything else went up without it.)

The block kit used in the OLV application has you bolting the axle to leafs in a way that can cause the mount ears to rip off the axle. If you use 2 u-bolts like most truck applications, you will be fine with blocks.

Here is my recommendation for the ultimate 2" lift. Get the 2" sub-frame spacer kit part # ML8504-2BBK ($75), grab the Add-a-leaf helper springs part # M9504-HS2 ($140) as long as you have steel leaf springs and grab the bumper relocation kit part # ML9504-BB ($125) if you can't fab new brackets. For $340 plus shipping, you will have the ultimate 2" lifted Astro or Safari. The front will ride the same and the rear will not feel so soft and will not sag with 2 people back there. Throw on some 235/75R15 LT rated A/T tires and you are goo to go.

Wow, you guys just blew me away

Herbie, thank you for the extra info, I appreciate it, as I would rather know the why's, than just what I need as far as the learning process goes. Regarding the T.Low comment...assume anything I say that doesn't make sense is just wrong! I didn't know the difference from an air shock vs air spring...now I do. Thanks, I try not to spread bad info, don't want to cause problems for anyone else down the road.

Lifted, haha...I love that you even gave me the part numbers, you rock! That is just what I need to make sure I don't buy something incorrectly, I will be ordering everything you mentioned later today. Thanks so much guys.

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:The block kit used in the OLV application has you bolting the axle to leafs in a way that can cause the mount ears to rip off the axle. If you use 2 u-bolts like most truck applications, you will be fine with blocks.

Agreed. It's not that blocks are an issue...it's trying to use them with the stock hardware style.
Grind away the tab so you can use two u-bolts to a top plate and probably raise the bump stop 1-2" aswell (to be sure the inner bolt ends don't contact the van body under full compression)