That aftermarket lift kit I put on last month... total failure on I-40

I installed a budget 3 inch leveling kit on my 2015 F-150 about 6 weeks ago. Last Thursday coming back from Tulsa on I-40, the driver side strut spacer just sheared clean off at 70 mph. The tire rubbed right into the fender liner and shredded it. Had to limp to a shop in Weatherford and pay 400 bucks for a towing and a proper set of Bilstein coilovers. Anybody else had cheap lift brackets let go on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy82027d ago

Tbh that sounds terrifying. A strut spacer shearing clean off at 70 mph is literally my worst nightmare on the highway. Honestly, I've seen a ton of those budget leveling kits fail on forums, but a full on snap is next level scary. Ngl, I think people don't realize how much stress those cheap cast aluminum spacers are under, especially on a heavy truck like an F-150. That 400 bucks for the Bilsteins is a harsh lesson, but at least you're not stuck with a blown suspension again. Good thing you made it to Weatherford without rolling it.

sean_green4427d ago

Dude RIGHT? I had a similar thing happen on my old Ram 1500 with some cheap spacers. I was just cruising down I-35 and heard this LOUD pop, then the whole front end started shimmying like crazy. Pulled over and one of the spacers had cracked clean in half, not even sheared just broken. Scared the crap out of me. People see those $60 kits on Amazon and think they're a steal, but you're literally trusting your life to a hunk of cheap Chinese metal. I went with some Eibach coils after that, never looked back. Glad you made it out alright man, that could have been way worse.

samk7727d ago

Yeah, "next level scary" is about right. I was white knuckling it the whole way to the shoulder, praying nothing else let go. People really don't get how much force is on those things at highway speed, especially with a heavy truck bouncing down the road. That cheap cast aluminum stuff is just asking for trouble. The Bilsteins were expensive but at least I can drive without wondering if the front end is about to fall off.