The other day I had my truck "offroad" and part of my trailmaster lift broke. The reason I say "offroad" in quotes is because I was in 4x4 on the dirt but I was on a rutted out dirt road that a two wheel drive _car_ can fly down. There are a few little side trails that go off to the side of the road but nothing major. Anyways, I was attempting to go up a hill that I have done several times before I had the kit installed (one month ago). The hill has a narrow path that is bordered by a four to six inch deep rut on the left side at the crest. When you go up the hill you have to avoid the rut but you can still make it up if a tire slips in. After three attempts to make it up the hill I decided to just back off, I was pissed becuase I could do it before the truck was lifted. As I backed down the hill my steering was all tweaked and my truck turned sideways on the hill and I slid down. I was sooo close to rolling over and there was nothing I could do! When I stopped sliding, I tried to drive away but I couldnt go anywhere. I got out and both my front tires were turned inward (left to right) and the tops of the tires were turned in toward the engine. I could drive forward so 4x wouldnt disengage. Finally I got it out of 4x and the problem went away. I drove out and drove home with no problems. When I got home, I took it out of the driveway and it happened again, from then on the truck was undriveable. I have no idea how I made the 15mile (on the street) trip home!

When I had the truck towed to the place the lift was put on, they found that trailmasters centerlink was bent. And so was my pittman arm (I think that is what it was called) and my idler arm. Worst of all, my steering gearbox was shot. And the movement up and down from the distorted centerlink banged huge dents in my oil pan. There was also damage in other places from other parts flying around.

So now all of my parts are replaced, $871 later. I and the shop cant figure out how or why it happend, I wasnt forcing the truck too hard, I wasnt doing anyting stupid or crazy. I have done that hill 1000 times before the lift kit was put on. I have ruled out it being the fault of the shop. Everything they put on was perfect, nothing moved, nothing shifted, just one of the parts was bad.

We are still waiting to hear what trailmaster has to say about all this on monday, I hope that they can do something for me.

Sorry for the long message
Dustin

 

Hey dustin d, what year model truck do you have and how is your truck now? So do you think it was just a bad part or the way Trailmaster makes their lifts? I was thinking about getting a Trailmaster 4" lift kit, but I'm not sure. Do you still think it is an allright product or would you not recommend it? Also, do you by any chance still have the installation sheets for the kit. I was trying to find a copy of them to look to see what I am getting myself into, but I have not had any luck. I think Squanto804 was going to fax me a copy, but I never heard from him. Whatever questions you can anwser I would appreciate it.

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1997 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 extended cab short bed
Options: Off Road package, Towing package, 4.6L V8, Captain's chairs, LS rear axle, green with two tone tan
Modifications: Westin Brushguard
Pioneer Premier cassette receiver with 6-disc CD changer
Goodyear Wrangler AT/S
Future mods: Superchip
Nerf bars(Manik or Warn)
Spray-in-bedliner
KC Daylighters
Winch(Ramsey or Warn)with hidden mount
Trailmaster 4" Lift Kit
35" BFGoodrich tires
Dual exhaust(Borla or K&N)
Next Generation K&N II Kit
Custom hood with air intake
Seat covers(water proof)

 

Dustin d, that really sucks but I can tell you that I have had my truck offroad many time and quite heavy duty offroading and have not had any problems with any of the parts. I have actually been quite suprised how well the kit has held up and is still as tight as when I installed it about a year ago. Only thing I can think of is either you got a bum part or the shop did not tighten something or installed a part wrong. Hope you get it worked out. Let us know what happens.

Buckster, have not forgoten about sending you the instructions, just have not had time to get to my office to a fax machine. Will get it to you as soon as I can. Trailmasters lift is very well made but if you plan on doing extreme offroading, I would think about getting a kit that uses replacement steering knuckles instead of spacers. I have had no problems with the spacers at all. I really love the kit. Very easy to install and Trailmaster was very helpful.

See ya.



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97 F-150 Black, 4x4 XLT ext.cab,sb,offroad pack.
4" Susp. lift, 3" body
4.56 gears w/LS,
Flowmaster 50 Series w/ duals out rear
36x14.5x16.5 Super Swampers TSL Radials,
16.5x9.75 Weld Scorpio V wheels,
Pre-Runner Bumper w/KC Daylights,
Westin nerf bars,
Pro-Comp Front Skid Plate,
Summit Aluminum Diff cover,
Rancho 9000's and remote,
Lift Lips,
Lighted FORD logo,
K&N Filter,
Superchip,
Bosch Platinum +4,
TransGo Shift kit,
Bug shield,Tinted windows
Sony ES Mobile head unit,Sony ES Mobile changer,MTX Thunderform sub,Boston Acoustic Pro-Series up front, Polk in rear,PPI & Coustic Amps,Alpine Alarm

Check it out at:
http://members.aol.com/squanto804/scottwebpage.html

 

I still cant figure out what happened. Before I took it to the shop I checked to see if anything was loose or missing. Everything was perfect. I checked on the truck 2 times during the labor process and they didnt change, move or add any other parts. I think it must have just been a bad part.

I will keep you updated on what they say to me.

Dustin

 

I'd be interested in knowing how many miles you have on the truck and what size tires you run. My bet is, it's not the the Trailmaster and it was the idler arm. Here's why I say that... On the road a while back, my truck just felt wierd steering wise. I noticed that when I turned into my driveway my Swampers were leaving black marks on the cement. Dummy me didn't really think anything of it. I checked things over and didn't notice anything (I'm NOT a mechanic though). Well, a few of us were having dinner at a restaurant and when we left I tried (notice the TRIED) to back out of the parking spot and it wouldn't go. I had someone else try and back it out while I watched from the front and one of the tires looked like it would snap off the axle. Probably a 75 degree angle from the ground. We managed to back up a little, turn, go forward, etc. for 10 minutes to get it out. Took it to the 4x4 shop and they said the idler arm was toast. They told me that they go bad on every truck eventually and big tires make it go out faster. Also, since it controls the steering, if it lets go, the steering system can be damaged AND cause damage. Whew, long post...but that's what I think happened.

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hytek1dr@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Freeway/7515/

 

I guess it could be possible that the idler arm went out first, but it seems kind of unlikely.
The truck is a 97 4x4 with 42000miles. I have 35" tires on it. (3" larger than factory tires). The new tires were installed in feburary and I have put about 6000 miles on the truck since then. The lift was installed about 3-4 weeks before all of my problems happend.

I dont think that the idler arm was damaged first. Less than a week before the steering problems began. I had an front alignment done at a shop where I know the owner. He would have noticed any problems with the part while he was making his adjustments. If the idler arm only lasts for a few thousand miles after you lift the truck and put on bigger tires, I think that this would be one of the most talked about topics on the board. Right up there with door cracks. <g>

I am not saying you are wrong Fordman, but I will keep you updated on what I hear.

The last I heard from the 4x4 shop is that trailmaster sent out a new centerlink to them, and that UPS picked up my broken parts for inspection at trailmaster.

Dustin

 

So, what's the verdict on your truck dustin d?

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2000 Ford F-150 Extended Cab Flare Side 4x4 Lariat
5.4L;auto;3.55LS;Black/Silver;Off-Road;remote keyless entry;floor shift 4wd;Class III

Installed accessories so far:
Lund X-Terminator bug shield; Vent Shade Vent Visors; GTS headlight blackouts; Westin Black nerf bars; Pendaliner bedliner
Pending
Genuine Steel Products (Longtek Engineering) black Grille/Brush Guard; Crank torsion bars to level truck; Trail Blazer II Slotted taillight covers; Clear corner lenses
Wish list:
Roll bar; Lots of lights; Flowmaster 40 or 50 Series single to dual exhaust; Aluminum dash kit; White gauges; Optima red top battery; Hidden winch; Custom backup lights; Kenwood TV/CD/AM/FM/DVD system; Viper alarm w/ remote start; Rancho RS9000s; PIAA front air dam; Super charger; Lightning emblems (after super charger); Custom tonneu cover to fit around roll bar; Custom backup lights; A 18' - 25' boat to tag along behind



Please visit My Web Site (Just Updated)
or e-mail me lariat4wd@yahoo.com

[This message has been edited by lariat4wd (edited 11-16-2000).]

 

I got money back for the trailmaster part already, But that was a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of it! The shop that did the work is trying to get the rest of my money back for me. I dont think traildisaster will give it to me though. They dont return calls,

If you are looking for a lift, Choose another brand.

Dustin

 

my local shop doen't recommend trailmaster lifts for anything except show trucks.Maybe they know what they are tlking about.