Fabtech Lift Not Aligning Properly

[Astro]

Has anyone here experienced any type of issues when installing the Fabtech 3” Lift Kit?

Everything bolted up fine, however, the front will not realign back to factory specs.

The alignment tech was telling me that he felt like the upper control arms were too short and he wanted me to put the factory ones back on. He was saying that if the caster was aligned properly that the camber was way off. The way it currently sits is what he described as the best he could get to make it drive straight with the equipment that’s installed.

I’ve been emailing back and forth with Fabtech support and they are saying that according to their R&D team, everything is fine on their end and they don’t know why it won’t align properly.

I provided Fabtech with the following measurements:

Center hub to fender lip distance:

Front Drv: 25.5”
Front Pass: 25.5”

Rear Drv: 24.5”
Rear Pass: 25”

Keep in mind that the rear passenger side is ever so slightly up on a curb so i think that’s why the measurements for that were a little off.

I also verified that the UCAs were installed as follows:

Driver Side: 44539
Pass Side: 44540

Here is a pic of the truck after the kit was installed. It did feel like the truck had a bit of reverse rake after the install, but i chalked it up as the possibility of the suspension needing to settle.

When i measured the rocker panel distance to the ground front and back it seems like the rear is about .5” lower or the front is .5” higher.

Front of the rocker panel to ground: 19.5”
Rear of rocker panel to ground: ~19.0”

I don’t know if those measurements will really tell you anything but it was an observation that I had made. It honestly feels like the front needs to drop by about .5” to 1.0” inches to me.

Even with those measurements being wonky (IMO) Fabtech has stated that their R&D team is not seeing any problems.

Has anyone else experienced an issue like this before when installing the Fabtech 3” lift?

I just don’t see where the issue lies considering the front part of the kit is just UCAs and coilovers…it’s not an overly complicated install by any means.

 

[Astro]

If anyone has the kit installed, aligned properly, and can provide me with their fender to hub center measurements I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[whonut]

Not an alignment expert by any stretch, but my rig rides so bouncy after install that I can’t drink a coffee while driving.

 

[ErnestRocks19]

Had installed at 4wp they got it done and driving straight however like @whonut said its bouncy. Finally pinned it down to the rear shocks. They are so soft and fabtech says thats how they tuned them. Replacing with fox shocks in rear to see if corrects bounce problem.

 

[Thekidcasual]

Not sure about this but when I got my eibachs installed my alignment was off as well, the shop that installed them told me that when something is lifted or leveled that that’s how it’s supposed to look. The alignment shop it’s trying to copy factory alignment so it’s going to be off. Correct me if I’m wrong

 

[whonut]

Had installed at 4wp they got it done and driving straight however like @whonut said its bouncy. Finally pinned it down to the rear shocks. They are so soft and fabtech says thats how they tuned them. Replacing with fox shocks in rear to see if corrects bounce problem.

Let me know what rears you go with. Very curious.

I am installing my aftermarket front bumper tomorrow. Will let you know what added weight in the nose does to the ride.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Does the kit come with UCAs? Do you have a part# on those UCAs?

 

[whonut]

Does the kit come with UCAs? Do you have a part# on those UCAs?

It does come with UCAs. Part numbers as he mentioned are

Driver Side: 44539
Pass Side: 44540

 

[Nukegm426]

When you lift them it’s going to change the alignment specs some... the new upper arms should help but not always. There’s only so much alignment adjustment in them. Now a better alignment tech could probably get things closer to factory specs but you reach a certain point where it’s not feasible.

 

[Astro]

Thanks for everyone’s input. I’m going to see about taking it to a different shop.

I was under the impression that aftermarket UCA’s were designed to correct the issues that would be present with installing the lift kit…I guess that’s not the case.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Fabtech UCAs are supposed to be factory replacements. At least the ones they use in their 6* lift kits. Which can also be used stock. That will mean no caster/camber correction asides from what the stockers give you. I don't know if those are the same arms. I keep an spreadsheet with parts so I'll check it out tonight when I get home.

If those were the same arms I'm thinking they're then you'll benefit from Icon or or JBA UCAs for example. My Icons have a lot of caster/camber correction built in.

 

[Astro]

Why aren’t there any options for adjustable UCAs for these trucks?

I come from building drift cars and all of our aftermarket suspension components are fully adjustable at like a fraction of the price of these truck components. A price of ~$600 for arms that are basically factory replacements, aren’t adjustable, and don’t correct the alignment seems insane to me.

 

[SurfRebel20]

Typically with lifted trucks the caster is more around +4-5 range. You can't follow factory specs if it's lifted because nothing is factory anymore. A good offroad or truck shop will be your best bet for a proper lifted alignment

 

[Nukegm426]

Why aren’t there any options for adjustable UCAs for these trucks?

I come from building drift cars and all of our aftermarket suspension components are fully adjustable at like a fraction of the price of these truck components. A price of ~$600 for arms that are basically factory replacements, aren’t adjustable, and don’t correct the alignment seems insane to me.

Because your drift car weighs half what a truck does and isn’t made to haul a load or trailer over rough terrain...

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Why aren’t there any options for adjustable UCAs for these trucks?

I come from building drift cars and all of our aftermarket suspension components are fully adjustable at like a fraction of the price of these truck components. A price of ~$600 for arms that are basically factory replacements, aren’t adjustable, and don’t correct the alignment seems insane to me.

I don't know many that build adjustable BJ's in this market? The only ones i know are SPC made for Toyotas FJC's/4runners, and they're $625 for example.

Most of the aftermarket ones for the RAM have a built-in offset and they can vary the length as well. Our caster/camber is adjusted at the LCA's so when you pair them with your 2-3" lifted strut/coilovers etc you can get plenty of camber/caster to spare. Some manufacturers don't add this variables in the their design because some cater to the folks that use brackets/spacers/lift spindles/drop diff brackets etc and they don't need aftermarket offset UCA's to correct geometr. it's all baked into the kits. The ones that do will say for 2-3" lift. Aftermarket UCA's in general are more expensive cause they're built better than stock, have better bushings and better BJ's. Not all UCA's are created equal, the more expensive ones have better parts. is just like everything else , if you want to play you've got to pay.. so pay once cry once

 

[Ram1500rsm]

OP, you may contact Fabtech and ask them if their UCA's are stock lenght/offset or if they're built with an offset for their 3" lift. If they're built in with the offset then all you have to do is find a competent shop that can do alignments. 4wp and the like are not that type of shops for example.

This is the lift of UCA's i have. They're for 4th gen but should fit 5th gen, you'll see Icon, BDS, and others that are already showing in web sites for 5th gen with the exact part numbers so you can bet the house 4thgen and 5thgen UCA's are the same thing.

 

[Astro]

Because your drift car weighs half what a truck does and isn’t made to haul a load or trailer over rough terrain...

What does that have to do with having adjustable components built into the arms? There are a lot of parts on my car that are built to a far higher standard, so I’m missing your point.

No matter which way you look at it, there is no reason for UCAs that are factory copies to be so expensive. I just don’t see the point of even making them if they aren’t going to correct the alignment specs that the lift kit is skewing.

 

[Astro]

OP, you may contact Fabtech and ask them if their UCA's are stock lenght/offset or if they're built with an offset for their 3" lift.

I have been in contact with Fabtech and that’s why I am now reaching out here. Their general take on it is, “well we’ve never seen anything like this before,” and it seems like they just want me to stop
contacting them at this point. The last time I reached out to them was to see if their R&D team could provide me with the reference measurements for hub to fender distance. I provided them with the numbers in the OP and they came back and said it looks fine. I personally still feel like the front is too high. I’m not sure why they are hesitant to give me their numbers, but they are. Part of me feels like mine is set too high and they are doubling down on it being correct so they don’t have to pay me for the two failed alignments. I haven’t made a single height adjustment to the coilovers since install.

 

[Nukegm426]

What does that have to do with having adjustable components built into the arms? There are a lot of parts on my car that are built to a far higher standard, so I’m missing your point.

No matter which way you look at it, there is no reason for UCAs that are factory copies to be so expensive. I just don’t see the point of even making them if they aren’t going to correct the alignment specs that the lift kit is skewing.

My point is that while it’s possible to make things adjustable as you mention, you don’t see it in this application because the strength requirements are so much higher because if the possible uses for these trucks. The cost would be astronomical if they managed to package it in a size that would fit. The reason the aftermarket parts cost so much for basically a factory equivalent is the r&d cost as well as manufacturing cost. Yea it may be similar to the factory arm in function, they don’t have the factory prints or tooling to make them so they have to make their own... and the quantity sold is no where near factory part quantities so they don’t get the price reduction of mass manufacture like a big factory does.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I have been in contact with Fabtech and that’s why I am now reaching out here. Their general take on it is, “well we’ve never seen anything like this before,” and it seems like they just want me to stop
contacting them at this point. The last time I reached out to them was to see if their R&D team could provide me with the reference measurements for hub to fender distance. I provided them with the numbers in the OP and they came back and said it looks fine. I personally still feel like the front is too high. I’m not sure why they are hesitant to give me their numbers, but they are. Part of me feels like mine is set too high and they are doubling down on it being correct so they don’t have to pay me for the two failed alignments. I haven’t made a single height adjustment to the coilovers since install.

I don't have any knowledge to add here. I will say that the first thing I thought when I saw the picture of your truck was that the front looked high like you say in this post.

Did you try a 4x4 shop for alignment?