Here's the difference, Rough country mounts there's higher (closer to the drag link) than the stock location (stock and RC mounting locations identified in red and the drag link in blue in the pic below). So the drag link wouldn't have to move as far down to hit them. For stabilizers mounted at the stock location (or duals like the BDS which use the stock mounting location for one end), the drag link simply can't get that far down before something else contacts (bump stop or frame).

The tie rod stays in the same place and doesn't move with suspension travel, so its not tie rod interference.
.

.
.
.

 

So what you're saying is that even if I didn't put the leveling kit on there like rough country said I had to - the drag link would never touch the stabilizer? Does this account for some rough bouncing as well or with sagging springs?

 

No, the drag link (not the tie rod, the drag link) could hit the Rough Country stabilizers, because Rough Country mounts them so much closer to the drag link than the stock location.

If the stabilizers were mounted in the stock location (even dual stabilizers that are setup like the BDS kit pictured), then no leveling or lift would be needed, but since Rough Country mounts them so much higher/ closer to the drag link, you'll need a level/ lift to work with their kit.
.
.
.

 

Gotcha, thanks for the info man that was really helpful

 

I was wondering if someone else saw where that was broken. I thought my perspective was off. You're lucky you got home safely. I agree with Antonm-I would absoleutely not drive it. If it were me, I would be looking for another axle-especially since your route takes you through a mine field

 

Oh believe me, I noticed lol. I'm hoping that the welder can clean it up and repair it long enough for the next few thousand miles until I'm settled and can bust out my own welder. You are correct thought, having that crack go right through the spring bolt hole is mucho no bueno. Even with the all of the repairs it won't be close to 100% so it's given me the excuse to actually slow down. True story, I drive this thing really, really hard usually 10-15 over the limit and I still get 16-17mpg on the highway and that's hand calculated. However, when I'm dragging trailers I never go over the limit and when pulling 10-15k if I keep it stuck at 55-60 I can still get right about 15-16. Considering what Biden did to the price of fuel, I'm actually kind of happy that this mess is going to force me to slow down and save money. Not sure if it's a record or anything, but the best I've done over the long term was averaging 55mph just cruising and coasting a lot through the country in central Texas and when I filled up after 943 miles I only put in 34.78 gallons. That's 27.11mpg driving like a grandpa! That 44 gallon tank is awesome. Spending over $200 per fill up....not so much.

 

i do, everything pictured except the stabilizer

 

The V-10 wouldn't get 27 mpg if you rolled downhill with the engine off. I had a 6.0 I sold because the steering was a pain in the **** and I had to drive on winding roads with steep drop offs in winter snow storms in the dark. Now I drive this one on the same roads w/o issue. If I had know what to do with the steering back then, it would have been a different story. Unfortunately, it did not get enough improved gas mileage over the V-10 since diesel is about a dollar higher than regular gas.

 

I know the 6.0 gets a bad rap, it's pretty deserved, but mine has been pretty awesome with nothing major ever needed. Did the egr cooler and oil cooler right after I got it, closed off the egr valve and change the oil every 4-5k. Havent really done much of anything else major, just alternator starter and batteries. Ol girl treats me pretty good and still kicks up some pretty dang good mpg for very little effort. Don't know if I just got lucky or if the previous owner did some voodoo I'm not aware of, but there isn't even a tuner on it.

 

This may or may not be true but what someone in the know, so to speak, said the EGR system geting clogged is what makes the heads raise from back pressure and thus the head gasket issue. A lot of guys have a temp guage for their EGR system. If the temp goes up substanially, you know you have a problem...kind of a safety measure. I put on bypass coolant and oil filter. It's good to flush your radiator if it's been a while. That's what I concentrated on and mine did well

 

Mine is not clogged, or even bypassed in the traditional sense. I've been terrified about getting caught modifying my emissions equipment so when I replaced the coolers, I broke my EGR valve so that it can't actuate - ever. Never had an issue on the coolant side, except for the fact that I just discovered I have a pin hole on the passenger side of my radiator and it's spraying onto the battery. That's what I get when I have it "down" and I start crawling all over looking for things that are messed up....I probably broke it by knocking into it while checking something else lol. Can't speak to the EGR clogging or the temp sensor as I've never had this problem (knock on wood)

 

Update

I finally got everything in, the leveling kit ended up being on backorder. Got the welding shop to grind out the previous weld on the saddle and put a fully penetrating weld across the entire thing. I tried to get a picture of it today after I got the alignment done, but there isn't a good angle to see it and there is a LOT of water on the ground from rain. If someone really wants to see it, I'm more than happy to take another picture when things dry out. The shop also took the Rough Country bracket, put a 45 bevel on it and a new piece of steel and threw a great weld onto it and drilled out some extra bolt holes. Looks great, bolted straight on. Only thing left to do is wait until it's not raining and then hit the area with a wire brush and some paint to protect the weld.

Had terrible issues getting the alignment pins on the leveling kit lined up though... When the axle was being raised up I noticed that the entire axle was shifted to the driver's side by about an inch and a half and it took plenty of persuasion to get it forced back over while lifting it. Not sure how/why it was shifted like that even when the axle was fully supported, but it's something to be mindful of if you do it yourself. The only thing I didn't do was disconnect the tie rods so that might have been a contributing factor.

If anyone is thinking of doing this exact same thing and making a bracket to cover all 4 leaf spring bolts there is something to watch out for. The new u-bolts from Rough Country are *NOT* the same thread and you'll need 2 extra nuts. Factory bolts are coarse thread and the new ones are fine thread (more threads per inch). I had to go searching parts stores to find 2 additional nuts that were the right size and I got lucky enough that they only had 2...

Prior to the leveling kit, the rear of the truck was about 1.5 inches higher than the front (forward rake). Now the front sits exactly a 1/2 inch higher than the rear. Looks wise, it appears perfectly level between front and rear because of how long the Ex is. I was worried that raising the front would make it look like one of those stupid North Carolina jobs where the front is raised like 3 feet higher than the rear....thankfully it does not.

Post install it pulled hard to the right and my steering wheel was about 30 degrees off center while driving. Post alignment everything is perfectly straight. The only real noticeable difference is that with the dual stabilizers, there is a lot more force required to turn the wheel from center. It almost acts like the self centering steering help you get from new cars and it's pretty nice.

If anyone else has something similar to this happen to them, here's what I would recommend. Go buy a welder. *Welding is not difficult at all and you just need to practice on a couple pieces of scrap to get a feel for it.* Visit a welding shop and see if they are willing to give you some scrap steel, most will. Fabricate your own @#$% bracket and weld it to the tube yourself, just make sure it's level. You can build something way beefier than what the factory did and do it for next to nothing cost wise. When you're done, return the welder and you'll only be out maybe $20 total plus your own time. If the weld ever breaks again (unlikely) I will make my own saddle from 1/4 inch plate.

Lastly, the stabilizers did not come with any boots. I recommend that you check any kits you order to see if they are part of the kit, if not then find some to put on. I don't have the time to get some in before I have to make another long trip, but you don't want to jack up the exposed area and then have it damage the seals. A $5 boot will save you a $50 stabilizer.