4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

[whoDEANie]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

You should be able to put the stock upper a arms back on.
And know that is crazy maintenance that shouldn't be required .
Aggressive offset is hard on parts though.

Yeah, I can fully appreciate that I'm not going to get fantastic mliage outta my suspension parts, but knowing nothing about trucks, I trusted them to give me a reliable setup. My feelings wouldn't have been too hurt if the ball joints only lasted as long as the tires (or even as little as 50,000km). However, I'm probably averaging about $650 every 10,000km on suspension maintenance. That just seems excessive and potentially unsafe to me.

...will definitely not consider lifting my next truck unless I know exactly what the hell I'm doing.

 

[Summitric]

I guess a 3" levelling kit would have been the better option in this case


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[pfi572]

4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

I guess a 3" levelling kit would have been the better option in this case


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With these HDs and 3 inch leveling a buddy had one installed and went through two $3000 front ends in 70000 Kms .
Pulled it out .
He is back to stock and if he did it again he would go the Rancho as it rides great and no trouble to date.

I had leveling kit for a short while also and removed it in place of the 4" rancho.
So far so good for me but like I said stock off set wheels.

PS Summitric ?
This was our experiences only.

 

[Summitric]

Done many, and nothing abnormal for worn front end parts... Done a few 4" lifts with pro comp and rancho and super lift, and no problems...


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[OVERKILL 19]

4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

Are u doing a alinement after every ball joint change too?

Call Cognito , you must have a install problem.
I always thought CST or Cognito was the Goto stuff for GM.

 

[Summitric]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

are u doing a alinement after every ball joint change too?

Call cognito , you must have a install problem.
I always thought cst or cognito was the goto stuff for gm.

i think the older kits had weaker/smaller ball joints, and have heard of several durability issues with them...
I agree, it might be worth a call to cognito and explain the whole situation to them. I'd be upset too, if i was having this issue....

 

[OVERKILL 19]

That's crazy amount of ball joints!! I was choked doing the dodge at 80000km

 

[tex78]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

At the gm dealer in rocky, we had lots of issues with the same kits as deano..

That's y I told him not to go that way at the start... Upper is just not big enough , and takes out lower when it gets bad

Even all highway still have issues

 

[OVERKILL 19]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

At the gm dealer in rocky, we had lots of issues with the same kits as deano..

That's y I told him not to go that way at the start... Upper is just not big enough , and takes out lower when it gets bad

Even all highway still have issues

So what does Rancho etc doing different?

 

[tex78]

No idea, never installed a rancho kit

 

[whoDEANie]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

Are u doing a alinement after every ball joint change too?

Call Cognito , you must have a install problem.
I always thought CST or Cognito was the Goto stuff for GM.

Yup, that's one reason why it's costing me so much money. Actually, this time they are replacing both upper control arms too - ridiculous.

I've suspected this to be an install issue and tried to contact Cognito but have never heard back from them. That said, I wasn't very persistent. I think next go around I'm going to a reputable shop (maybe Farley's and see if they can figure it out).

 

[tex78]

I.d make a stink with cognitto dean, going to a different shop will do nothing, it's a common thing from what I have seen, we installed lots, had lots come back in 10000 km with bad uppers ( first oil change lol ) which is so sad

One thing we tried was to modify a 97 k3500 upper to fit as it's way bigger like the kit should have ( never seen or heard if it worked out)

 

[whoDEANie]

I.d make a stink with cognitto dean, going to a different shop will do nothing, it's a common thing from what I have seen, we installed lots, had lots come back in 10000 km with bad uppers ( first oil change lol ) which is so sad

One thing we tried was to modify a 97 k3500 upper to fit as it's way bigger like the kit should have ( never seen or heard if it worked out)

Yup, using a Moog ball joint. Their beefier but still only a heavy half ball joint.

 

[crossfire879]

Is your torsion bars cranked right up? I have a 2012 duramax with a 2.5" leveling kit with the cognito control arms and balljoints. I have it cranked up pretty high to clear my 35" tires. Been on there for over 50k in all kinds of conditions and havent any troubles. Try the stock uca and lower it down some if you can.

 

[whoDEANie]

Is your torsion bars cranked right up? I have a 2012 duramax with a 2.5" leveling kit with the cognito control arms and balljoints. I have it cranked up pretty high to clear my 35" tires. Been on there for over 50k in all kinds of conditions and havent any troubles. Try the stock uca and lower it down some if you can.

No, I don't think so because the front suspension is still pretty soft. I suggested the possibility that it was too soft and the amount of travel was causing the excessive wear, so they replaced the torsion keys in December and cranked them up a little higher (maybe a bit over 4.5" now). However, they didn't replace the ball joints at that time, so I'm unsure if that helped or not. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how long this set lasts me. If they do wear prematurely again, I'll take it to someone specializing in lifts instead of taking it back to the dealership.

I'm curious how you fit 35's on when my 33's still rub with over 4" of lift. That said, the offset of my rims makes it a bit tighter fit, but I wouldn't think it would be that big of a difference. Did you do the fender mod?

 

[crossfire879]

Re: 4" Cognito Lift - Ball Joints?

No, I don't think so because the front suspension is still pretty soft. I suggested the possibility that it was too soft and the amount of travel was causing the excessive wear, so they replaced the torsion keys in December and cranked them up a little higher (maybe a bit over 4.5" now). However, they didn't replace the ball joints at that time, so I'm unsure if that helped or not. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how long this set lasts me. If they do wear prematurely again, I'll take it to someone specializing in lifts instead of taking it back to the dealership.

I'm curious how you fit 35's on when my 33's still rub with over 4" of lift. That said, the offset of my rims makes it a bit tighter fit, but I wouldn't think it would be that big of a difference. Did you do the fender mod?

I put in the suspension max 2.5" leveling kit. They are clocked torsion keys for .5 to 2.5" lift. With the inserts at the highest setting and the torsion bars cranked up a bit i fit the 35s. I did do the large fender mod. No way they wouldnt have fit otherwise. My wheels are 20x9 and 0mm offset. Any more of a negative offset and they wouldnt have fit either. I talked to a guy on dmax forum and my fender height is almost the same as his with the cognito 4". Also got a 2" block in the back. I only really did it because everyone said it wasnt gonna be possible lol.
So having said that, my front end is obviously strained a bit but my balljoints and steering components are still tight so i dont know wtf is going on with yours. I was thinking of doing the cognito 4" front box kit and get rid of the leveling kit so the ride would be nicer. You are the only one i have heard of who has this much trouble with cognito lift.