Why so few GM Builds?

[VisionxOrb]

you should ditch that dual setup and do the ford shock tower mod along with ORD swaybar disconnects. makes a HUGE difference. I had an 84K5 blazer that I put setup on and its articulation/offroad performance was head and shoulders better than before the mod and thats with the swaybar disconnects still connected as they add a point of movement so the swaybar doesn't bind with the axle moves fore/aft as the leafspring shorten/lengthens with un/compression.

ford shocktowers are like 30 bucks and disconnects are 100. it was the best mod by far that I did, especially for the money spent.

ford tower mod
https://ck5.com/forums/resources/extended-shock-mounts-with-rancho-shocks.53/

Swaybar disconnect
http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/swaybarkit.htm

 

[nitro_rat]

The ORD disconnects are such a PITA to disconnect most guys seldom/never do. Zone makes a sway bar shackle for like $50 that does the same thing but no hitch pin...

http://zoneoffroad.com/zone-offroad...-chevy-gmc-blazer-jimmy-pickup-suburban/c5401

 

[Martinjmpr]

Perhaps it's already been said, but as I stare at the most recent posts on this section of the forum, ALL I SEE are GM builds.... Perhaps these things come in waves...

.
I was just going to say the same thing. More GM than non GM builds on this page...which only makes sense since AFAIK GM is still the biggest truck seller in the US and Canada.

 

[Buliwyf]

So you're going to criticize Chevy for making their vehicles hard to work on while still acknowledging that your favorite brand is a royal PITA for working on the engine?

.

So what. Just because Ford has a few hard to service areas, and Dodges best techs all work for Hyundai now, doesn't make the new GM suspension easier to maintain. GM's new front end still sucks.

Guess what I have to work on more often in my driveway.....Engine, or suspension? Hint: There's a BDS box in my garage.

 

[VisionxOrb]

for the 01-10 HDs, atleast theres this cure for the front end.
http://www.wfoconcepts.com/pr/WFO-DMAX-3-SAS-Kit-using-Ford-Superduty-Axle-(Radius-Arm)/10446/19141

EDIT: and GMT400s can be "fixed" with this http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/88-98SolidAxleConversion.htm

Atleast the 2011+ HDs IFS is pretty stout.

 

[superbuickguy]

All the GM folks are out doing. Not sitting at home posting about what they wish they were doing. 😁

Land Rover types have lots of time to sit and type.

 

[trbon8r]

It’s strange how in the off roading world, some people feel independent front suspension is the devil when it’s attached to a GM truck. Yet somehow IFS takes on magical and indestructible characteristics under a Toyota or other brand. Funny how cognitive dissonance works.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Funny.. and accurate.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

It's strange how in the off roading world, some people feel independent front suspension is the devil when it's attached to a GM truck. Yet somehow IFS takes on magical and indestructible characteristics under a Toyota or other brand. Funny how cognitive dissonance works.

I love the IFS under our Yukon 2500 the same way I do our Montero, but ironically the Montero has larger CV axles than the Yukon. I will likely never own another Jeep.

 

[nitro_rat]

It’s strange how in the off roading world, some people feel independent front suspension is the devil when it’s attached to a GM truck. Yet somehow IFS takes on magical and indestructible characteristics under a Toyota or other brand. Funny how cognitive dissonance works.

I’ve never seen a Toyota IFS front diff puke the gear set through the housing, seen plenty Z-71’s do that! Even on stock tires.

Show me a GMT400 4x4 that doesn’t need an idler arm and pitman arm. If the owner doesn’t remember recently replacing them, it needs them (maybe even if they do)!

I think the ease of “cranking” the bars to fit big rubber may have something to do with the bad rep.

 

[superbuickguy]

I've never seen a Toyota IFS front diff puke the gear set through the housing, seen plenty Z-71's do that! Even on stock tires.

Show me a GMT400 4x4 that doesn't need an idler arm and pitman arm. If the owner doesn't remember recently replacing them, it needs them (maybe even if they do)!

I think the ease of “cranking” the bars to fit big rubber may have something to do with the bad rep.

Oh good grief. I'm an attorney who does auto lemon law, and despite being brand loyal - recognize they all have bad cars. I just helped a client with a Toyota that had that exact problem. They couldn't get the differential to stop leaking.... it was also a lemon Toyota Tacoma that got me into lemon law practice. I know this is going to be tough for a fanboy to get but Toyotas can be junk too.

 

[rayra]

I've never seen a Toyota IFS front diff puke the gear set through the housing, seen plenty Z-71's do that! Even on stock tires.

Show me a GMT400 4x4 that doesn't need an idler arm and pitman arm. If the owner doesn't remember recently replacing them, it needs them (maybe even if they do)!

I think the ease of “cranking” the bars to fit big rubber may have something to do with the bad rep.

Show me three.

 

[nitro_rat]

Show me three.

No pics, that was back around the turn of the century before everyone had a camera on their phone. Heck, before everybody even had a cell phone!

That’s how long the 8.25 IFS has been pulling vacuum...

The S-10 and 3/4 ton flavors aren’t made with such weak sauce though. I don’t know why GM dealt the 1/2 ton trucks the short straw.

 

[Buliwyf]

Not sure if serious?

Nobody scours a wreck yard looking for aluminum GM front ends, it's A Ford Dana 60 I want to put into every 4wheeler build. Loose GM front ends are only valuable to people with broken GM's. LOLz. It's actually pretty common. It's especially not a locker friendly axle.

The lucky GM guys, blow a tie rod when the diff and suspension bind up in a weird spot.
https://youtu.be/qOa3mbrWaEE

Real GM's are square:
https://youtu.be/p_dZerJwfmI

 

[Dalko43]

Not sure if serious?

Nobody scours a wreck yard looking for aluminum GM front ends,

Okay, but no one scours a wreck yard looking for a Toyota IFS; that's not a reflection of either's reliability. The rockcrawler's and backyard mechanics generally wants solid axles for their project vehicles.

it's A Ford Dana 60 I want to put into every 4wheeler build. Loose GM front ends are only valuable to people with broken GM's. LOLz. It's actually pretty common. It's especially not a locker friendly axle.

No kidding? You, the self-proclaimed Ford fan, want a Ford Dana 60 for your project rig. Who would've thought?

Sarcasm aside, most pickups outside of 3/4 ton's, to include Ford's, now use IFS setup's. For an ultimate rockcrawler rig, I see the merits of solid axles. But for the everyday driving that most truck owners, and even most overlanders, encounter, an IFS works very well. I don't see any need to pick on GM just because they use IFS setups.