Surfurban

Okay, in my last post I shared a little about my rear anti-sway bar and the dogbone link bushings. Here's a picture of the damaged bushing that I was able to salvage by shoving it up into the D-bracket on the frame:



Now, yesterday morning and last night on the drive to and from work I noticed the truck pitching back and forth from the passenger side rear to the driver side front over every dip and bump on the highway ... kind of like an off balance jittery see-saw. So I crawled back under her last night and found that since the truck had been lowered, the anti-sway bar was now forced up against the subframe by installing the dogbone "correctly". This was limiting the upwards travel of the rear axle on the passenger side! So, I'm now seeing why the dogbone was left "detatched by the previous owner.





I ended up removing the dogbones on both sides (for now). I was going to remove the bar, but one of the bolts attaching the D-brackets to the axle stripped, so I have to work on that. I ended up just temporarily zip-tie'ing the bar up on the dogbone end. Hehe, did I mention on ocassion that Mickey Mouse is my friend? BTW, the truck drives moocho betta!!

Question if anyone knows: Is there some sort of spacer available that inserts between the D-bracket and axle thus dropping the anti-sway bar downward allowing for better travel of the axle on lowered Burbs?? If not, I'm sure it's not that difficult to have some made.

in2pro

yeah I'm wondering if the right kit was used to begin with...

Surfurban

Yeah, me too. The front upper and lower control arms are definitely not stock too. As for the rear, you'll notice in the pics that the anti-sway bar D-bushings weren't upgraded. Usually, these come as a whole kit ... but again, spacers there would solve the issue of ridin' up on the subframe.

Surfurban

Well, I found that Ground Force makes a lowering "kit" that comes with the anti-sway bar spacers, so I know they're out there I'm gonna keep shopping and make some calls along the way. I just wish I knew what kit I have, especially because the front control arms are tubular, not stamped. Any info appreciated!

Surfurban

Got it!! Well, the front control arms anyway ... they are DJM as shown here [Edit] Actually found that the entire front and rear is DJM [End Edit]:



[Edit: Adding picture of rear kit]



That also puts to rest the type of bushings I have since the rear dogbone bushing p/n is "DJM" 64166. Whoohoo! ... I love making progress!

Surfurban

Okay, this is some funny sheeyaat. I just got done talking to the tech at DJM in Cali ... in lesser terms, he called the installer of this kit a "dumb-a$$" and "a complete moron"! No kidding, actual terms he used aside from laughing. In any case, the two dogbones I show in my pictures above are only half right! The passenger side one is "supposed" to be extremely offset like this:



If you look at my pictures above from earlier, you’ll see that both of the ones on my truck are straight like the left one in the picture above here. This is why the anti-sway bar is not shifted over to accommodate the factory tracking bar bracket (I called it a subframe above). It should look like this:



Good God Almighty I tell ya! So tonight, it’s back under the truck again to see if the “rest” of DJM’s kit was properly installed, dare I say “completely” installed! HA! I really just hope that some of this posting will assist others from making these mistakes and doing things the right way first.

Surfurban

If I could rip out this entire DJM suspension I would, based on lousy customer service soley! I called DJM and spoke to Mike in tech support today just minutes ago about my 2000 Suburban not having the right part installed which was the "offset" sway-bar link. Remember, I have already gone through a lot of research, time and trouble just to find out what kit this was and who manufactured it since I bought the truck used. Anyway, I wanted to order just that part to "correct" the kit. He says, "We don't sell just the parts." Sooooo I would have to buy the entire kit just to rectify something I didn't install? No replacement parts?? Bogus. THEN, as if to add insult to injury, he says that if I were the "original" customer they would have one out to me right away ... he says then that would be a "warranty obligation". WHAT?!! I told him that makes no sense in that it would mean they would have to either open a shelf stock unit to split it, or make a new one anyway. I said I simply want to correct a "kit" that apparently was sent out wrong to begin with (since they only sell kits) to whomever originally purchased it. If DJM only sells kits, then who's to blame for the wrong part? Duh. I said I'm not looking for a freebie, was willing to pay for it, and he told me to seek a local machine shop. BULL! Please note, this is the same guy that asked what "moron" (his words) installed your suspension? Not to mention he also included "dumbass" in that same conversation. They will not get anything else from me but a really bad reputation unless they are willing to assist. Customers should be happy, and while I'm not the original purchaser, I AM using the kit and want it right, not to mention SAFE!! The customer is always right?? Yeah, sure.

Just for reference ... I purchased a home about 15 years ago that had a child's Hunter fan installed that wasn't working. I called Hunter, explained the issue and was looking for parts to buy ... 3 days later I had a brand new fan in the box shipped to me with no questions asked. I wasn't the original buyer then! That's just one example of going out of your way to support your product with an upset "user". I have other examples of great customer service, but I think the point is quite clear based on that one.

PS - DJM, my email is exit39@gmail.com if you'd like to assist me.

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