Leveling Kit = Ball Joint, Warranty Issues?

Uncledeadly · March 1, 2008

I'm thinking on putting a leveling kit on my truck to get rid of the front rake. I went down to the local truck toy shop and was told that GM/Chev was not honoring the warranty on levelled trucks and they were having problems with ball joints on trucks that had been levelled with the spacer over the coilover trick.

Are you guys aware of any issues with ball joints or CV joints with the above? I can't see how a 1.5 to 2.5 inch kit would put that much extra stress on these components.

Which kit (have you used) do you suggest?

Thanks for your input and help

RR

jhndizzle · March 1, 2008

never heard of this issue, i used a readylift.

WFO · March 1, 2008

Spacer on the top or on the bottom . They all change the angle. Many people have the install here and have not problems, that I know of. If your dealer has a problem you should change dealerships. My Sky Jacker kit was a spacer kit on the top of the strut. In the instructions Sky Jacker wants you to swap the right strut for the left strut. I read the instruction and was thinking WHAT. I called tech support and they said that is want they want. I did not see a difference between the two struts, but their must be. No problems yet, (knock on wood).

Zembonez · March 1, 2008

I'm thinking on putting a leveling kit on my truck to get rid of the front rake. I went down to the local truck toy shop and was told that GM/Chev was not honoring the warranty on levelled trucks and they were having problems with ball joints on trucks that had been levelled with the spacer over the coilover trick.

Are you guys aware of any issues with ball joints or CV joints with the above? I can't see how a 1.5 to 2.5 inch kit would put that much extra stress on these components.

Which kit (have you used) do you suggest?

Thanks for your input and help

RR

Such a small lift is not going to hurt the ball joints.

Unfortunately, dealerships don't always attract the smartest of the smart any more than any other business does. Old Charlie at the Chevy store might be a nice guy but be dumb as a box of rocks. He might also be the guy making the "warranty calls". Each dealer is different. Find yourself one with a brain.

iminaquagmire · March 1, 2008

I don't think they would not honor the warranty pertaining to the balljoints. Its not that significant of a change but anything is possible I guess. If they don't honor it, they are not that difficult to change anyway. There is no way that they could completely not honor the vehicle warranty.

VMax2007 · March 1, 2008

I don't think they would not honor the warranty pertaining to the balljoints. Its not that significant of a change but anything is possible I guess. If they don't honor it, they are not that difficult to change anyway. There is no way that they could completely not honor the vehicle warranty.

On a side note, did you know that the upper ball joint on the GMT900's is NOT replaceable by itself? You have to replace the entire upper A-arm as an assembly. The guy that put my Truxxx Level-lift in told me this.

shedberg · March 1, 2008

I specifically went to my GM dealer and asked if a levelling kit would void any part of my warranty. I was told NO.

MS3DALE · March 1, 2008

We wouldn't void someones warranty at our dealership just for a leveling kit,Hell we wouldn't even void it if a full 4" or 6" lift was installed unless the lift kit itself caused the issue,then in most cases the lift kit company would take care of any issues caused by it.

Uncledeadly · March 1, 2008

We wouldn't void someones warranty at our dealership just for a leveling kit,Hell we wouldn't even void it if a full 4" or 6" lift was installed unless the lift kit itself caused the issue,then in most cases the lift kit company would take care of any issues caused by it.

They will (apparently) honor the warranty on 4 and 6" lift kits because (they say)the angles and geometry aren't changed. The leveling kit,(they say) because it increases the angle of the a-arm is the cause of premature ball joint failure and they won't warranty this.

I've been searching this site for a while and it appears that there is a large number of owners with leveling kits but ball joint failure doesn't appear to be at epidemic proportion so I think I'm going to go ahead and install one.

MS3DALE · March 1, 2008

Yea,Ball joint failure isn't an issue on these trucks,as Zembonez said,The lift is so small its not going to hurt it.

iminaquagmire · March 2, 2008

I don't think they would not honor the warranty pertaining to the balljoints. Its not that significant of a change but anything is possible I guess. If they don't honor it, they are not that difficult to change anyway. There is no way that they could completely not honor the vehicle warranty.

On a side note, did you know that the upper ball joint on the GMT900's is NOT replaceable by itself? You have to replace the entire upper A-arm as an assembly. The guy that put my Truxxx Level-lift in told me this.

I did not know that but now that I think back to when I installed my kit it seems about right.

em6788 · March 2, 2008

wow this kinda scares me

i just got my rough country kit yesterday

will probably intall it next weekend

ill probably just go the safe route and have the dealership its self install it

just to be on the safe side

Silverado4x4 · March 2, 2008

I called my dealer before I installed my leveling kit to see if I would have any warranty issues and he told me they have no problem with them just not to install a complete lift kit. I cant see why people would say about boot failure, yeah the angle is changed very little but its much more when turning the front wheels left and right. I have always leveled my IFS trucks and never had a boot failure or ball joint failure. 1993 was my first IFS and had 4 after that without a problem.

rawson7 · March 3, 2008

Hey VMax. How do you like your TruXXX leveling kit? I'm thinking of putting one on my 08 crewcab. Do you know what part number you had put on? There's a couple different kits they use and I'm unsure which one to get.

VMax2007 · March 3, 2008

Hey VMax. How do you like your TruXXX leveling kit? I'm thinking of putting one on my 08 crewcab. Do you know what part number you had put on? There's a couple different kits they use and I'm unsure which one to get.

I don't know what part number mine is, however, it is the 2-1/2" front only kit. I ended up having them put a 1" taller spacer in the rear because it lifted the front a full 2-1/2" and the front was 1/2" higher than the rear. Now it is a 1/2" taller in the rear. I Believe Truxxx makes a kit that raises the front 2-1/2" and the rear 1". I recommend getting that one.

Otherwise, yes, I love it!!!