1991 IFS Chevy Silverado Wheeling

In addition to labor and the suspension kit, you also need to determine if your stock components are in good shape. Many suspension kits require reusing some stock fasteners, and if the A-arm bushings, steering tie-rod ends, and knuckle ball joints are worn, more cost can be added. We replaced our lower A-arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, three of the four tie-rod ends, and the pitman arm with new Moog components. Total cost: $560.

Another issue with IFS is the front axle halfshafts. One of ours had a busted CV boot (right), and though the new boot is only $15, we chose to splurge and get a whole new halfshaft ($55) rather than chance some internal contamination and spend time wrestling the new boot on. Our truck is the heavy-duty eight-lug 3/4-ton so it uses the same shafts as the 1-ton.

One unexpected obstacle and cost with our well-worn truck was that the crossmember the torsion bars attach to was actually torn through from some serious abuse by a former owner (as in getting it way off the ground abuse). We pounded the metal back together, added some reinforcement plate, and burned it tight with a Hobart MIG-welder.

There are two major styles of IFS suspension kits on the market for '88-'98 Chevys: those that lower just the bottom A-arm and use a new taller knuckle, and those that lower both the upper and lower A-arms. The Tuff Country kit is the latter version and requires a torch or plasma cutter to remove the old bumpstops since they occupy the space on the frame where the upper A-arms will now attach (arrow).

The upper A-arm drop brackets are attached so that they effectively lower the whole front suspension. You will need to drill some holes through the frame and attach the brackets. Some folks weld these brackets directly to the frame, but we are going to wait and see if they move at all before we make that addition.

The upper A-arm is attached to the black powdercoated drop bracket, while the lower A-arm attaches to a powdercoated lower subframe that encases the front differential. The front differential is also lowered to keep the CV joints within an acceptable angle. We didn't initially get a front skidplate, but will definitely try to build one before we attempt any rockcrawling, as the aluminum diff and front steering are a bit exposed. The rear suspension uses a 3-inch lift block and an add-a-leaf to bring the bed up to height.

Almost any truck is affected by going to larger tires, and our best advice is to complement those larger meats with some lower gearing. We found a set of 4.56 gears for our GM 9 1/4 front differential, and decided that the addition of an ARB selectable Air Locker would not only help the off-roadability of our truck by keeping both front tires turning when we need it to, but also would help test the idea that a front locker will break parts in an independent front end. To match the front, GM Truck Center replaced the stock 3.73 gears in the rear 14-bolt with some 4.56 gears, but we left the factory Gov-Loc alone at this point.

Once the truck was finished, we replaced the old baloney skins with some 315/75R16 Dick Cepek radial Fun Country IIs (35-inch). We kept the stock 16-inch steel rims for bash-ability and since they had the factory backspacing. If we had used a kit with a new knuckle we most likely would have needed new rims. We headed down the road to Tyerman's Wheel Alignment Service to get the truck dialed in. An average alignment is another $100, depending on your local shop, but an important consideration of your truck's performance. We will return after a few weeks of abuse to determine whether wheeling an IFS truck knocks it out of alignment quickly.

Finally, another $100 was spent to reroute the driver-side exhaust crossover to clear the front driveshaft. This is another one of those things that may not seem obvious at the start, but can add dreaded delays before getting to the trail. Note the two support brackets that help reinforce the lower subframe as well as the lowered torsion bars. We will tell you next month just how much they helped or hindered off-road performance.