2009 Chevy Silverado Buildup - Heavy-Duty

To compensate for the added height, the half shafts were bolted back in place with composite spacers and six new bolts per side. As with much of the front suspension, Loctite was added to the fasteners. You can also see the new Rough Country lift spindle held in place by the upper ball joint.

Paying close attention to the orientation of the wheel speed sensor on the hub and also the brake dust shield, Art bolted the hub onto the lift spindle and reinstalled the 35mm axle nut.

Art then measured the tie rod, noting the distance. A tie-rod sleeve was then threaded on, strengthening the steering, before the tie-rod end was threaded back on. Rough Country's spindle raised the steering so the steering geometry remained constant, although the tie-rod end must be flipped over to enter the spindle from the top.

With the brakes bolted back on and the massive Rough Country shock in place, the front suspension was taking shape.

Art unbolted the torsion bar crossmember and clamped these drop brackets in place to drill the holes. The brackets have holes that correspond to rivets on the frame, so no measuring was necessary.

While Art bolted in the torsion bar crossmember, Dave bolted the kicker braces to the crossmember and then attached them to the transmission crossmember to reinforce the suspension.

A cool element of the Rough Country kit is this sway bar end link that includes a ball joint to eliminate binding throughout its travel.

It doesn't get much easier than this. Jorge supported the rear axle on a stand while he removed the U-bolts. Greg helped position the axle with the lift blocks in place, and new U-bolts were cinched down.

The MBRP exhaust was big, stainless, and because we went with a muffler delete pipe, was even easier to install than usual. It will sound great, last forever, and increase our fuel mileage.

Jorge removed three bolts, sprayed the hangers with WD-40 to loosen them up, and, along with Dave, removed the rear portion of the exhaust from the DPF back.

A new gasket, three bolts, and two hangers later and we were ready to install the polished, double wall exhaust tip.

The TS Performance Power Play MP8 is a quick way to increase the power of your Duramax. The included hardware and wiring plugs in-line with the factory harness at the MAP sensor and fuel pressure sensor and involves no cutting or splicing. Dave found a clean, dry location to mount the module and secured it with the included Velcro. Then the control knob was routed into the passenger compartment to allow for power tuning on the fly.

We picked 35x12.50R18 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM2s for several reasons. The new Mud Terrain is tough, offers tremendous grip on trails and rocks, and lasts a surprisingly long time. We installed them on a Toyota Tacoma Fantastic Four in 2008 and the tires are still in service after 50,000 miles. We doubt they'll last as long on this heavy-duty truck, but it's impressive nonetheless.