There are three different front suspension options on the 2014 to 2018 Silverado and Sierra 1500 series four-wheel drive trucks. You can tell the difference by looking at the lower control arms. We have a chart listed here to help you find the style that your truck has. The reason that you can’t mix and match between the suspensions is due to different ball joint sizes.
There is also the Magnetic Ride Control option (MagnaRide) On those trucks you can’t change the front struts but can still use a spindle.
There are also two different rear suspension options, with magnetic ride control (MagnaRide) or without MagnaRide. If your truck has MagnaRide you can not replace the rear shocks. For those trucks you can only use a shackle along with a set of shock relocators.
This kit fits the trucks with aluminum or stamped steel lower control arms. These trucks can easily be lowered 2 inches in the front with a set of Belltech 2514 drop spindles. The spindles, also called knuckles, are easy to change and can usually be swapped if in about 2 hours. A wheel alignment is required once you have the new lowering spindles in place.
On the 2014 to 2018 Silverado and Sierra 1500 4wd trucks Belltech recommends only lowering them 2 inches. We have seen increased front drive axle wear when lowering them more than 2 inches. But we have lots of customers that have lowered the front of their Silverado or Sierra 1500 more than 2 inches, some with no issues and some that know they will need to replace the drive axles on a regular basis. Because of this we include the listing for lowering the front of this truck more than 2 inches using the Belltech spindles in combination with a set of adjustable lowering struts. Keep in mind that if you do lower the front of your four-wheel drive truck more than 2 inches there will not be any warranty on issues like drive axle wear and you may not be able to get tech support from Belltech due to an unauthorized installation. If you do have issues we can provide you with tech support by calling us at 1-800-661-8789.
To provide the drop in the back of your 2014 to 2018 Silverado or Sierra you have several options. There is a 2” drop shackle available listed as part number Belltech 6400 but the preferred shackle is a Belltech 6401. It is the same shackle, but the kit also includes a set of u-bolt spacers so that you can remove the factory installed 1-inch lift block to attain three inches of drop. If you want to lower the rear of your Silverado or Sierra 1500 more than 3-inches, then you need to do a flip kit which moves the axle on top of the leaf spring pack. If you just do a flip kit is will give you 7 inches of drop so they also have raising shackles and hangers available to prove 4, 5 or 6 inches of drop. Although the rear drop of over 4” is not Belltech approved the rear suspension on the 4wd trucks is the same as the 2wd trucks so there should be no concerns.
