Fabtech HD Steering Kit

[TH]

I have a 2004 2500 HD with a 1.75" torsion bar crank. Had to replace the idler arm and a tie rod after about 25K miles.

Fabtech has a come out with a heavy duty idler/pitman arm, tie rod kit and steering damper that is made to fit trucks with their lift kits. A local suspension shop says that they can install this kit to fit my truck. They say its a bolt on system and can be removed etc if necessary. My truck is torsion bar cranked only (can't get it into my garage or ferry if net lift is more than 4"). The suspension shop says that they can grind the arms down :eek: just a tad to give me my steering radius up to 95% of stock.

Has anyone here installed this kit on their lifted truck and are you happy with it?

Has anyone here installed this kit on their truck that has not been lifted or just torsion bar cranked like mine?

I've dealt with this suspension shop before, they do good work and when I googled them, the comments were also good. However, I heard the owner and chief bottle washer/mechanic may be closing up shop so I just want to be certain that I don't get myself a heap of trouble.

Many thanks for your info and advice. :D

[ 10-03-2005, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: TH ]

[More Power]

Lifting by using just a torsion bar adjustment can cause the ball joints, CV axles, and steering components to work at more of an angle, which reduces the life of these components. Most good lifts include components that relocate the above mentioned front-end parts to maintain the factory angles, and typical useful life.

www.kennedydiesel.com (http://www.kennedydiesel.com) also carries a variety of front end parts designed to improve strength and longevity.

Jim

[TH]

thanks for the advice!

[dmaxalliTech]

The Fabtech parts are pretty darn impressive. The girth of the tie rods compared to stock is hard to beat. I have put a complete system on a truck and it really tighten's up the front end.

Here is a couple shots of some of the stuff..

http://www.gmdieseltech.com/images1/fabtech_inner.gif


http://www.gmdieseltech.com/images1/fabtech_outer.gif

http://www.gmdieseltech.com/images1/fabtech_stock.gif

[DmaxMaverick]

Thanks, dmaxalliTech!

Are these hard parts compatible on a stock height truck, or is their lift required to upgrade?

[dmaxalliTech]

I installed them on a stock height truck.