tuff country LIFT BREAKS!!!

[wstsidesrf]

Tuff country sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i have a 2003 tundra sr5 4x4. with the 5" tuff country lift.
My wife was driving the truck and pulled into a wallgreens parking lot. and the passenger spindle snaped in half.. when fixing it i also check the driver side spindle, and saw it was alos cracked. im so glaDE I WASNT GOING 70MPH WHEN IT BROKE. WE WOULD HAVE DIED!!!AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THE WAY THE SPINDLE BOLTS TO THE EXTENDED BALL JOINT, THE TOLLORENCES ARE NOT FLUSH WITCH PUT STRAIN ON THE NUCKLE OF THE SPINDLE. I HAD THE LIFT ON FOR THREE YEARS, SO IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY SNAP. WHEN CALLING TUFF COUNTRY, THE DIDNT WANT TO HELP ME AT FIRST. AFTER SENDING THEM LAW SUIT PAPPERS THEY CALLED ME AND SENT ME SOME SPINDLE SUPORT BRACKETS..FOR FREE...BIG WOOP! I STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE NEW SPINDLES AND LABOR TO FIX...
PLEASE BE VERY CARFULL IF YOU HAVE THIS LIFT, MAKE SURE YO PUT THE SUPORT BRACKETS ON THE SPINDLE.. OFCOURSE THEY DONT GIVE THEM TO YOU UNLESS YOU ALMOST DIE FIRST,,ITS NOT WORTH ALMOST DIEING JUST TO HAVE A LIFTED TRACK.
YOU CAN EMAIL ME IF YOU NEED ANY INFO BRADHART@GMAIL.COM

[Raines124]

Sorry to hear about your spindle breaking. Glad you didn't get hurt in the matter. This may help some other members with the Tuff Country kit to take a closer look at their lift kits and also inspect them more often.
It always sucks to see aftermarket companies not stand behind their products. Once again. Glad to see you and your wife didn't get hurt.

By the way... Welcome to the site.

[HBjeff]

yeah their chevy kits are known for being garbage....

personally i wouldnt trust a kit with spindle spacers. weak.

was this their spindle or the spacer?

[Diablo]

The spindle supports aren't the best thing either. I have that lift on mine, with the spindle supports, and the bolts that hold the spacer to the spindle broke. Mine was also the passenger side. That caused the whole wheel and tire to collapse into the wheel well and skid. Luckily for me, I was coming to a stop or it could have been a terrible problem. Horrible design! I had to get towed to my shop and fixed it myself. About $300 and I did the work. I think that I'll call them and see if they will send me the new spindles that supposedly come with the kit now. I have a feeling that they won't care about my near catastrophic situation though.

Did they not offer to send you the new extended spindle? The spindle support will only keep the spindle from breaking. The next week link is the two bolts that hold it and the spacer together. I can't see why they wouldn't replace it with the new spindles that they should have had in the first place since it's a potentially dangerous thing. Let me know what they say so I'll know what to do. Glad that you're okay!

[wstsidesrf]

i tried to get them to give me the new spindles, but the only offerd them to me at a discount..$500.oo for the pair. or they would send me the suport brackets for free. im so pissed at this crapy lift, they said the spindles are an upgraded kit..they stilll sell a 4.5" lift kit with out the spindles. what a joke!

[Diablo]

Wow! That is just so irritating. They should have to send the new spindles to everyone, like a recall. I mean, it's a REAL safety issue. Had that happened to me or your wife on the freeway or something, it could have been very dangerous. It's such a poor design for any car, let alone a 5500 lb. truck! I was just driving down the street on a paved road and suddenly it just snapped! It sounds like there should be some legal action taken if they won't stand behind their flawed design when it comes to safety. $500 for the spindles that should have come with it? BS!

[TIE-YOTA]

I have heard several folks boycot Tuff Country. Alot of people told me to stay away from Tuff Country. I guess I know why now. Sorry that happen to you guys. That sucks. There is nothing worse or scarey than a lift failing. A buddy of mine, J. Castille, has a power stroke that has a bracket for the TRAC bar to maintain the correct settings. He has a 6" lift. The TRAC bar bracket snapped in half. Bad deal.

[Diablo]

I actually like the lift except for the horrible spindle spacer thing. If it just had the correct spindles, it would be cool. The RCD would have been cool but it was still in the "coming soon " for 3 years deal. It was also quite expensive for a lift, but I guess this proves that you get what you pay for. I couldn't wait any more so I got the TC. If only the spindles would have been included, it would be fine. It's just that now that it has broken once, I'm scared of it. Adjustable coilovers, 295's and stuff, yet I'm afraid of tiny bumps in the street even.

[HBjeff]

yeah RCD is a better kit by far, their quality is amazing, but at $2400, its a ripoff for only 6 inches. for that price i would expect no less than 10

[wstsidesrf]

well...i just came home today with my new 06 dc 4x4 limmited fullyloaded tundra. iim sick of worring about the lift, time to put it up for sale. Any buyers?? im over, lifting my truck up high. i think im just going to stick with a toytek spacer on this new truck,and call it good!

[Diablo]

Hey wstsidesrfr,
I just looked at your pictures. Your truck looks awesome! Too bad about the TC problem.

[wstsidesrf]

thanks........$1500 later, and now its fixed. i got the new 06 dc, so let me know if any one wants a sweet truck. 35000 miles. $22,000

[TIE-YOTA]

Originally Posted by wstsidesrf

thanks........$1500 later, and now its fixed. i got the new 06 dc, so let me know if any one wants a sweet truck. 35000 miles. $22,000

I like your truck (AC). It looks cool.

[SnowTruck]

Any aftermarket products we install on our tundras should be an improvment on the handling and structural integrity of our trucks. It should only make them tougher (not weaker) than what we bought off the dealers lot. Sorry to hear about your lift trouble. Enjoy the DC.

[flacostundra]

so this problem would be fine if it had the whole spindles from tuff country and a upper control arm would help out a lot