Do NOT recommend BDS lifts

[Blue Rebel]

I have a 95 F150 with 80k mi, bought with only 65k a year ago. A 6" BDS suspension lift has been on this truck now for a little over 3 years or roughly 40k mi, and all parts are JUNK!!! The shocks were leaking when i got it, and within 6mo the bushings were all junk also. Had to replace them at $55 a pop. The TTB drop brackets are a poor design that do not tie into each other at all, and are made of thinner plate steel than my "crap" rough country componants. Due to no cross bracing they bend and flex when they hit bumps, causing the bolts holding them on to stretch and come loose. Which in turn eggs out the mounting holes, junking the brackets. These I was able to get replaced under warranty, even though it took 3 weeks to do it. Gotta love having my DD sitting on blocks for 3 weeks while they make up their mind if they want to warranty parts or not. And just recently I noticed that my 6" kit only came with a 4" pitman arm! This has been giving me all sorts of steering issues, from bump steer to death wobble to just general wandering all over the damn place. Checked their website, and they dont even offer a 6" drop arm, I had to go to skyjacker for that. Replaced my pitman arm, and now the thing drives like a dream, night and day difference. The only parts on this lift that havnt given me grief are the coil springs and rear blocks, knock on wood there. And all on a truck that almost never goes off road (my profile pic was the last time, SPRING 2009) and that was just a muddy farm road, no four wheeling involved. Sorry for the long post but I am fed up with these people. They need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something a bit sturdier if they want to make lift kits for full size trucks. Down with BDS!!!

[outalne94z71]

they were good to me

[WickedQuick]

I love my BDS. %100 solid. Any the local 4x4 shop that hooked me up has been doing BDS for years on jeeps and loves it.

[The Boss]

so you bought a used truck that had a lift on it for 25,000 miles, driven in an unknown manner and possibly abused without knowing how well the lift was installed and you then drove it for another 15,000 miles and expect the thing to be 100%?

40,000 miles out of a set of shocks is a fair amount of time, especially in a lifted 4x4.

As for the bump steer and all that, is the alignment right? How are the TTB bushings, ball joints, etc? Tires balanced?

Next time you buy a used truck I would take it to a mechanic to be inspected a little better than you had done with this one. If the lift had the issues you are describing when you bought it, it should have been evident. If no signs of problems, then you are abusing the truck or fail at maintenance.

Sorry man, just how I see it. Sure the BDS parts could be bad (though I have never of of similar complaints) but you let it go for 15,000 miles.

[Mud Ready]

Ive used BDS lifts and components on several different vehicles and never had an issue.

[edlucky1]

I also thought that BDS policy is that if you break it they replace it. I have heard numerous stories about people who broke their lift kits doing stupid things but BDS still replaced everything no questions asked.

[outalne94z71]

(06-19-2010 12:10 PM)edlucky1 Wrote:  I also thought that BDS policy is that if you break it they replace it. I have heard numerous stories about people who broke their lift kits doing stupid things but BDS still replaced everything no questions asked.

the the original owner, not so much to a second owner

[ZacD]

Firstly,
I have to agree with the prior responses, particularly that of The Boss. You bought a used truck with all of that stuff installed and unknown number of miles put on it by somebody who may or may not have beaten it pretty hard. How can you complain?


Secondly,
I wouldn't ever bother with buying a lift "kit" for a TTB application. For the same or, actually, probably less money, you can get a (solid D44) front axle from a '78-'79 F150 standard cab or Bronco and it's pretty much a bolt-in operation, save for needing to fabricate a frame-end track bar mount. At that point you simply need the proper lift coils (for however much lift you want), the track bar mount (at the frame) to drop the track bar the equal amount as your drop pitman arm for the drag-link, the the necessary length brake lines and shock absorbers. That setup would be a lot simpler, keep the front end in better alignment, and be quite a bit more robust than the TTB D44 in the front of that truck. AND you don't have to worry about weak bracketry and the such.