So I am planning on buying a lift finally got the money... i was going to go with cognito but Dan from PPE is selling his fabtech 8. (He is in the process of calling me as we speak.) I am wondering are you guys who have this kit happy with it?? I know most people on here think i should go to cognito but Dan has a much much better deal. Dual shocks at all 4 corners. If i were to get the cognito kit i would be able to just kit the kit with no a-arms and dual shocks--just the plain jane kit. Let me know what you guys think!
thanks!!!
Brad
also i hear the steering if one problem with the fabtech kit.. I have blisezkieg (sp?) tierods so they should hold....

I've got a six in. Fabtech and it has been bulletproof.I tow and 4 wheel alot while guiding during hunting season and it is a tuff kit.No problems since I fixed the tierods with the HD Fabtech parts either.I especially like the one piece subframe.

not to sure about the 8" kit i would get the cognito tierods and i hope you like your tires sticking way out seen a few trucks around here with them

well i have bushwhacker cut out flares so they should still be insdie the flares.... Are these kits pretty strong? and will my truck stayed aligned?

I have the 8" and it has been awesome to me. The tie rods you got will definitely hold up fine for you if not bend the center link first. I would put the cognitio idler and pitman arm braces on to keep those from wearin out in 5000 miles. I put them on and they work awesome. My alignment has never gone out and tracks true. I four wheel the heck out of mine with out probs so you should be fine with those minor upgrades.

My old 03 had an 8" Fabtech and the only thing that went wrong was the powdercoat chipped off. I did have the steering gone through @ 50K or so and put new pitman and idler arms on with Cognito braces and Fabtech tie rods and those realy made a difference. My only complaint was the angle of the tie-rods and CV's were pretty steep. All in all, not a bad lift, but it could use some improvements.

thanks guys.... Im hoping dan from ppe calls me soon!!! How is the ride on the highway???
BRAD

? anyone who has one do they have some pics?? in the garage or something? I have been doing a few searches with no luck

here is a few pics of my truck

thanks for the pics! Great looking truck i love the front end!!!

check out my garage. unlike these guys ive had a cpl issuse but they prolbally dont wheel the truck as hard as i do

ive torn the front end out and destroyed everything the next thing will be a solid axle!

good to see another young kid with a dmax im 19 too!

thanks for the pics! Great looking truck i love the front end!!!

Thanks man! She is my pride and joy. i custom fab stuff like that and lots of other things. Im gunna build a rear bumper that will incorperate the spare tire and it will look similar to the front bumper.

haha and i thought i was all alone at bein 20 years old lol

I am pretty rough on mine, maybe not as much as soopretty but i have bent the fab tech upgraded tie rods and lost a wheel bearing. I say this kit is pretty stout for the stuff i have put it through and am very happy with it

what issues have you had???

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142687
check the thread out.

i have the kit on my truck and I love it, before I actually put the kit on i heard nothign but bad things about fabtech. I can tell you first hand that it was all BS, I have jumped my truck, towed with and overall just beat the hell out of it and I have had no problems at all!

i have the kit on my truck and I love it, before I actually put the kit on i heard nothign but bad things about fabtech. I can tell you first hand that it was all BS, I have jumped my truck, towed with and overall just beat the hell out of it and I have had no problems at all!Usually the only one to say negative stuff is the same one who has never owned whatever they are being negative about!;)

hahah thanks for the thread... I cant wait to get my kit on. I saw your running 3 shocks in the front? I thought most people didnt do that??? Not on in the factory location?? I wanted to run one there but was told it wouldnt work....?

Dezl do you have any pictures of your truck??
Soopretty do you have and quality pictures of your truck? I want to see how high it sits...
thanks!!!!
BRAD

I have had a ton of issues related to steering and cv's. Also the old Fab kits stick out quite a bit in front, which I'm sure you already know. The quality of the kit isn't bad (with the exception of the upper ball joints which are crap), especially with 6" deavers out back. However, The fact that you have to notch the diff makes it hard to switch after the fact to another lift or to stock, which I would be really careful about. Cognito makes a part to replace the cut off ear in case you did want to go back to stock, but it's new and unproven....

Like the other guy on here who mentioned wheeling hard than most...I have tested my truck out pretty good. I have found that the Fabtech kit with a high power motor has some design problems. The steering angle is quite steep, particularily when coupled with 37"s. With this combo you must turn up the bars a bit which will increase the angles between the knuckle and the centerlink, causing a lot of leverage and flex in the steering leading to toe in while in 4 which will in turn break steering components and cv's. In extreme circumstances this can happen:
http://www.zbnet.org/nonb/silverado/CIMG0969.AVI (http://www.zbnet.org/nonb/silverado/CIMG0969.AVI) (its 6 megs so it may take a while) . There are kits out there that design around this problem, which for me is enough of a reason to switch or recommend another kit given the massive amounts of money I have thrown at the steering system.

The Fabtech kit is best suited to tires smaller than 37" if you want to wheel it a bit. If you want to run 37"s and make it work optimally I would get a bigger kit. Take this seriously since your are going to cut your diff......

Here's some pics of my truck from a year or so ago:

http://www.zbnet.org/nonb/silverado/

well my diff is already cut due to my existing 4-6 inch kit. I dont wheel it that much... What broke in that video?? Tierods???

the kit is the 8-10 kit that is dans from PPE it might still be in the for sale section.

Also i plan on running 38 MTRs

well my diff is already cut due to my existing 4-6 inch kit. I dont wheel it that much... What broke in that video?? Tierods???

It was the passenger CV. I ended up replacing most everything after that though......I broke the tie rod pulling a month earlier so i had the badass tie rods in there preventing a tire rod problem.

hahah thanks for the thread... I cant wait to get my kit on. I saw your running 3 shocks in the front? I thought most people didnt do that??? Not on in the factory location?? I wanted to run one there but was told it wouldnt work....?

Dezl do you have any pictures of your truck??
Soopretty do you have and quality pictures of your truck? I want to see how high it sits...
thanks!!!!
BRAD


as of right now i dont but I will take some and post them so you can check it out.

heres a pic for size i gotta put my camera on sp

man that is a good looking truck!!