anyone used any fabtec parts?In am a dealer for fabtec and can get there lift kits relativley cheap and was wondering how they fit and performed.One there site they say there 5.5 lift will clear 315/75 tires but my truck clears them stock(2001)so what size tires can I jam under it I was hoping for 37's

 

I cleared 35's on my truck with a 2" leveling kit. Now with a 4.5" skyjacker kit, I clear them even better. I'm thinking 36's are next. Maybe 37's.

 

I ran a 5" Tuff Country and next to killing my wife and my son I will never run anything from Tuff Country again!!!!

I do like Fabtec lifts. they seem to supply you with a complete suspension system.

The extended control arms is a MUST to keep the castor in the axle correct.

I would be willing to try a Dick Cepek lift, but then again it almost looks the same as a Fabtec...

DO NOT EVER BUY A TUFF COUNTRY LIFT KIT!!!


Justin

 

I run 37's with a 5.5" lift...they rub if I compress the suspension with the wheels turned. I'd recommend going no bigger than a 36.

Fabtech is no better or worse than any other off the shelf kit....except maybe the Tuff Country. Heard several guys have broken the track bar drop bracket on the BDS kit. Lots of guys over at Pavementsucks.com are running the Cepek arms, gives you potential for more lift later on with just a spring or spacer change, but the DC kit requires you to hack into the cab mount, and the tires will rub on the arms at full lock.

The Skyjacker stuff is okay, just not as durable as I'd hoped. My SJ stuff is going in the trash in favor of DT radius arms. I Have the frame brackets on, hopefully I'll get the stock mounts cut out and the radius arms in this weekend. I'll post some pics.

If you're just looking for lift and you're only doing MILD wheelin', the Fabtech kit should be fine. Back it up with a quality shock like a Bilstien 5100.

 

Details?

I know of one other member here that had a Tuff Country control arm bolt shear off while driving.


I can barely fit my 315's (35") with my 4.5" Skyjacker.
Rub the passenger side on a good stuff.

Half inch longer control arms and I bet I could fit 37's though.


phox

 

The first problem I had was the control arms being the wrong length. When they are the wrong length the front drive shaft binds severely!!

The second problem is the drop track bar bracket hardware is grade five not grade eight like the factory hardware. I have the track bar bracket bolt shear off cause a temporary lose of control at freeway speeds.

The third thing is the pitman arm was casted wrong and caused the output shaft on the steering gear to break COMPLETELY OFF!!! The pitman arm did not go on all the way like it should have. (It was torqued and re-torqed to the factory torque spec.) When it did break I was going down Baccus Highway (75MPH) on my way home from work and ran off the side of the road in one the big fields out there.

The 4th time and final time. The new pitman was on for about 3 months after the above incident and it sheared in half. YES the pitman BROKE IN HALF!!! My wife was driving through fashion place mall parking lot with my son and it broke when she was turning. She ruined my warn push-guard, but totally destroyed the car she hit!!

After all the above I gave Troy Davis a call (Tuff Country Owner) and said I wanted the lift taken off and the truck put back to stock. He said he would fix what was wrong with the lift and replace some parts. I said the only thing that is wrong is that it is on my truck and he is still selling them. He never did offer to pay for the damage of anything.

I hate to say it, but my truck is a trailer queen. Never seen anything but a gravel road. I never pounded on it, so I thought a tuff country lift would be ok. Man was I wrong.

After talking to him (complete butt whole about it) he agreed to have it taken off.

And that’s why I will never run anything tuff country again.


Justin

 

Good to know.

I used to recommend Tuff Country, being that they are a Utah company.

After this, and Tanderson's horror story, I'll stop.

I haven't heard of any others with short control arms, in fact, the few I've talked to, their arms are 1/2" longer than my Skyjacker arms.

I've been mulling over switching to Tuff Country arms so I can fit 37's, and cure my front driveline binding problem, but I'll hold off on that now.


phox

 

I run the fabtech dual shock kit.Its super cool but was not made for the diesel front end. Lots of fab was ness. check my gallery for pics.

 

Jerry, two ways to fix your driveline binding. Take a grinder and knock some of the material off of the top corners of the driveshaft yoke (where the u-joint caps sit) or order another front driveline from Tom Woods or Jesse at High Angle Driveline. Do a search over at pavementsucks.com and you'll find volumes of reading.....

If you choose to do the grinding, you might want to have the driveline re-balanced if you plan on running over 25-30 mph in 4WD.

 

I'm just waiting till it is a needed item.

I get some popping in 4x4, but nothing too serious yet.
I was worse before I got the winch in, that extra 150 lbs helps the angle a bit.

Leaning towards Tom Woods, since he is just a short hour drive north.


phox

 

phox, I guess every truck is built different but I don't have any popping in my front end when in 4 wheel drive. I just get a popping from my tack bar bracket flexing whenever I turn the wheel in 2 wheel drive.

 

Doesn't that weaken the drive shaft??? I am guessing this wouldn't be an option for sled pullers???


I have heard of this solution also.


Justin

 

You shouldn't be taking enough off to make a difference, just enough to clear the yoke.