I just replaced the rear upper control arms and am trying to figure out how best to raise the suspension to the specified 485 mm before the final torque.
I cannot get the suspension anywhere near high enough without lifting it off the jack stands.

I can put the wheels on and let it settle on the bump stops before raising it again to the proper height. Then torque.
Or, I can deflate the airbags while still on the jack stands.
Not sure how to proceed?
Advice?

 

I may have answered my own question.
The shop manual states:Install the upper arm.

1. Fit the bolts but do not fully tighten at this stage.

2 . Set the height between the center of the halfshaft end and the edge of the fender trim to 485 mm (19.10'').

THEN

3. Connect the upper arm and wheel knuckle.
I will try this but I had a lot of difficulty in aligning the upper arm and wheel knuckle after the top bolt was installed.

 

I am pretty sure I installed all three bolts of the upper arm then torqued to spec after setting the height. Also it helps to have the bags deflated when working on suspension.

 

Yes! It was a matter of deflating the bags. The second (right side) went much faster.


And I would go ahead and plan on cutting the top rear bolts out.
I somehow thought since my truck has no rust that it would not seize, that was not the case.


These two tricky brothers paid the price for my rage.