Strength of IFS ?

[Sean McDonough]

I learned a few days ago my new truck doesn't have a solid front axle, friend thought the front diff and axle shafts meant it was a solid axle . So I was wondering just how strong is the IFS ? Can it handle some more heavy mudding or should I limit it to the more moderate trails ? I'm mostly just going to be in mud and bumpy grassy fields ( Central Ohio doesn't have a ton of fun areas ), but my bigger issue comes to tires and lift. I know with lifts CV's are not at a great angle and with larger tires for them to turn that increases their chances of snapping ( right ? ). At most I'm going to run 35's and hope to fit them with cranking and trimming the rusted out areas of the fenders. If not maybe a 3" BL will be a nice upgrade.

 

[grampadirt]

I can only give an opinion on my experiences so take it for what it's worth.My Suburban is a '95 true 3/4t,not the K2500 that has six lugs(heavy half ton).It has a 6'' lift and 33''(+) tires with most of the good stuff GM built it with.I've done some tough trails,been in snow,mud,sand and whatever else came along.An eight lug 3/4t truck is pretty tuff but I'm sure they have limits,however I have yet to find 'em.I've used but not abused it and have not broken any part of it.I would think if you use your K1500 wisely it should be fine.The most common failure on the K1500s is the rear locking diff(G80 or Gov-Lok),they can explode if treated badly.
If you lift your truck and put larger tires on be sure to consider re-gearing both diffs,bigger tires mean your differential gear ratios will mean the engine will work a lot harder to get it moving.I have 4:56 gears in my burb and work great.

 

[Sean McDonough]

I can only give an opinion on my experiences so take it for what it's worth.My Suburban is a '95 true 3/4t,not the K2500 that has six lugs(heavy half ton).It has a 6'' lift and 33''(+) tires with most of the good stuff GM built it with.I've done some tough trails,been in snow,mud,sand and whatever else came along.An eight lug 3/4t truck is pretty tuff but I'm sure they have limits,however I have yet to find 'em.I've used but not abused it and have not broken any part of it.I would think if you use your K1500 wisely it should be fine.The most common failure on the K1500s is the rear locking diff(G80 or Gov-Lok),they can explode if treated badly.
If you lift your truck and put larger tires on be sure to consider re-gearing both diffs,bigger tires mean your differential gear ratios will mean the engine will work a lot harder to get it moving.I have 4:56 gears in my burb and work great.

Yea my k1500 has the g80 and that will soon be replaced, I plan on regearing to 4.88s for 35+" tires. Thanks for the information !

 

[grampadirt]

Here's a pic of one of my ''fun'' days lol.The water was about a foot deep.

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[Sean McDonough]

Here's a pic of one of my ''fun'' days lol.The water was about a foot deep.

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That sure looks like a good day!

 

[camaroman101]

here's a link I found interesting

http://realiftsusp.com/IFSsurvival.html

 

[Sean McDonough]

here's a link I found interesting

http://realiftsusp.com/IFSsurvival.html

That is a pretty good read, one thing I am disappointed in is we can't lock the front diff unlike a sas.

 

[grampadirt]

Yep.that is a good read and one I've read before.It helped me have a lot more confidence in my front diff.Also...interestring what they say about cranking the torsion bars.Here's a little video taken a few years ago with a friend,jump to near the end if you'd like to see me climbing a hill then going through that mud puddle at speed,it was a blast lol.

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[RDF1]

The IFS is not terrible, The weak links show up if your spinning pretty fast and something grabs.
Keeping your CV angles flat as possible helps the most.
What i did for my GMT800 Tahoe was a progressive body lift. But it would prolly be noticeable on a truck.
3" in the front and 0.5" in the rear to clear the 33's but still keep the CV angles happy.
With an aggressive 295/70/17 ive never hurt the diff yet and it has 400k+ miles on it, the last 120k miles its held up to a 400hp Heads/cam 6.0. Ive put it thru some nasty stuff but if its really slick ill spin it to the moon. IF it has alot of rocks and roots ill be easy on it.

 

[884x4310ci]

My 88 k1500 has been used over the years in the woods with no break downs.
and I can say I put it through its paces. But as mentioned above already used not abused.
Every truck has limits.