No Limit Fatbar - a bit frustrated at the moment

[siggyfreud]

Hey all,

This is a bit of a rant, so you're forewarned.

I ordered my No Limit Fat bar 4-link a little over a month ago. It was a Monday, and I was told it would ship that Wednesday and would receive tracking. Didn't see anything, so the following Monday I shot them an email just in case they forgot to send me tracking. They said they were waiting on the powdercoat for the bars, and it would ship that Wednesday. Another week went by, and nothing, so I emailed them again. They were still waiting on the rods, and also bushings. Said it would be another week. Week 3 passes, nothing, so I email again, and they're still waiting on the bushings.

About a week later it all ships, and arrives (last Friday). I'm not pissed, but annoyed at this point because my buddy who works nights was wanting to help, so he's been trying to work his schedule so he can assist. If they had just told me a month at the start I would have said "no problem." But changing it week after week just seemed unprofessional.

I start the assembly, and first thing I notice is their instructions are literally hand drawings and handwriting, photocopied. For a product that's been around for a few years this seemed really shoddy. Wasn't a great first impression, but I could work with it.

I get to the part about assembling the bars and threading the ends in. I notice that whoever powdercoated the bars didn't protect the threads, so they're all coated. This made threading in the ends difficult on some bars, and impossible on others. A buddy and I, with one end in a vice, and two breaker bars, couldn't turn this thing enough to get it to the specified length. Even with some dry lube. I expected some resistance, but even working it back and forth some bars were a no go, and we were starting to damage the ends. At this point I'm kind of pissed, having waited because of the powdercoating.

So I move on to the brackets and measurements. Now I noticed that the 4-link bracket used in the video instructions, as well as all but 1 page of the hand-drawn instructions, isn't the same as what they sent. So it doesn't tell you how to locate the bracket against your measurement link, as it's not a straight angle bracket like the instructions. Instead, they have a page that references the hole centerlines against the back of the frame. The page acknowledges that GMC and longbeds may not have one of the reference bolt holes they mentioned, so they are thinking about those use cases (which mine is) but then that same page only gives measurements for a short bed. So once again I'm left hanging.

So at this point I just set it all down, take some photos, and sent them a long email with questions and asking them what to do about the bars.

I really hope my upcoming experience with them is better, because my first impression is pretty freaking low right now. I've read good things about them, and they seem knowledgeable, so I hope they can come through.

End Rant

[The Rocknrod]

You wouldn't "think" you'd get a product like that now days.

[siggyfreud]

The bracket in their video, as an example, has a straight edge on the far side, and has a lip on the bottom, so it's really easy to place in the right spot so long as you drew your line in the right location. You push it up against the bottom of the frame, and align the bracket edge to your line. Red box is my highlighting:



The bracket that came with mine though, doesn't have a singular flat edge. Making any edge align with the vertical line means the top and bottom of the bracket aren't parallel to the frame, which they should be.



The other issue I encountered, and it's not a fault of theirs, is that the location of where I think the bracket will end up is right on top of one of these frame bumps, where the old leaf brackets were.



So the bracket won't sit flush. Not sure the best way to get rid of these bumps are. Any thoughts? They're stamped in, so on the inside of the frame it's sunken in, meaning I don't think I could just grind them away, as it would essentially leave a big hole there.

[Captainfab]

I would grind that raised rib flush with the surrounding frame. Then after the front link brackets are in their final position, run a weld bead down that recess from the inside of the frame.

As for the powder coating in the threads, you need to chase those threads with preferably a thread chaser of the correct size and pitch. You can use a standard tap, but that typically cuts the threads a little deeper.

[siggyfreud]

Thanks captain. Yeah if I had a tap that size I would. It's like 3/4 inch. I may have to order one. Think I'm just frustrated because it seems like it shouldn't have been necessary.

Good idea in the grind and weld. I'll do that.

[zach_carver]

Wow I would of never guessed this from a company like them.. I always figured quality would be top notch with them.

[siggyfreud]

Originally Posted by zach_carver

Wow I would of never guessed this from a company like them.. I always figured quality would be top notch with them.

Overall they have a good rep, so I'm hoping it's an exception. The bars showed up in a separate package, so it's possible they came from the powdercoater directly and No Limit didn't see them. At least that's what I'm hoping . . .

[aggie91]

Hope all works out with NL. I purchased a C10 power rack & pinion kit from them about 4 years ago when they were out in Cali...I had a few issues, but I spoke to Rob on the phone and he took care of it. Even sent out a new part that was not threaded correctly.

I imagine that they are still working out the kinks on some of there suppliers (like the powder coater) since their move to TN.

[aggie91]

That bracket looks like it might bolt up to the holes where the old leaf spring bracket was. Have you tried that? I wonder if they sent the front brackets from a different application?

[siggyfreud]

Holes don't align unfortunately. One bracket had a tag on it with a 63-73 C10 marker, so I think the brackets are right. They're just different than what the instructions are based on, so it makes it a little more confusing during install.

[61K10]

I would put the rear axle in with the bars and put the front bar plates where they fit. Probably was org set up for a chevy and they just assume GMC is the same frame.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

The bracket in their video, as an example, has a straight edge on the far side, and has a lip on the bottom, so it's really easy to place in the right spot so long as you drew your line in the right location. You push it up against the bottom of the frame, and align the bracket edge to your line. Red box is my highlighting:



The bracket that came with mine though, doesn't have a singular flat edge. Making any edge align with the vertical line means the top and bottom of the bracket aren't parallel to the frame, which they should be.



The other issue I encountered, and it's not a fault of theirs, is that the location of where I think the bracket will end up is right on top of one of these frame bumps, where the old leaf brackets were.



So the bracket won't sit flush. Not sure the best way to get rid of these bumps are. Any thoughts? They're stamped in, so on the inside of the frame it's sunken in, meaning I don't think I could just grind them away, as it would essentially leave a big hole there.

Are you sure you have the correct bracket for the correct side of the frame? The picture of your frame is the passenger side? The picture of the bracket is the drivers side?

[siggyfreud]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Are you sure you have the correct bracket for the correct side of the frame? The picture of your frame is the passenger side? The picture of the bracket is the drivers side?

Instruction picture is driver side as well. I just took a passenger side pick of the bumps, but it's the same on the driver side too. I think the bracket will sit dead center on top of the forward most bump, so bracket orientation won't fix that unfortunately.

[siggyfreud]

Update:

I found a machinist locally who had a thread chaser big enough to fit. We managed to clean all but 1, as when we went to remove the end link the threads started to pull out with it. He thinks that the threads weren't cleaned/run through after they welded the bar together. He said the heat likely shrank the threads some, as right around the weld ring is where the chaser started to really tighten up.

I'll need 1 new bar to keep going forward.

[The Rocknrod]

Looks cross threaded to me. Did you insert it that way?

[siggyfreud]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Looks cross threaded to me. Did you insert it that way?

It went in fine for the first 1/2" until it got really tough. It looks cross threaded because the thread sleeve inside separated as we were taking it out, and the end is just hanging in there by a few threads. I can grab the top and rotate it around. But definitely wasn't cross-threaded going in.

[lumpy63]

I've been using No Limit stuff for 20 yrs or better, Any time there was an issue they handled it to full satisfaction, give them a call and explain your situation. I know Rob knows his stuff about chassis and suspension as I had the opportunity to ride in the No Limit C10 at Del Mar Good Guys a couple of years ago..E TICKET RIDE !

[Lovett]

I have a question about the bars. Did each bar have right hand and left hand threads on it? A "normal" race car type of 4 bar would have both threads for adjustments on the car? Did the left hand get threaded into the right hand hole? Also if you chased the threads, you would need left and right hand taps. Just asking because I was thinking about getting the same thing you ordered for my GMC

[siggyfreud]

Only one end was threaded, and they were all normal right handed threads.

Lumpy - Thanks for the info. I'm optimistic we'll get it worked out, just was frustrated waiting a month for the parts and then running into issues. I'll give them a ring today if I haven't seen a reply to my support email.

[Mark T]

I bought the same setup for my '66 GMC. I had the exact same problems as you have. After several calls they finally sent me a diagram with the new bracket and the measurements to make it work. You do have to relieve the bump so the bracket will fit flush with the rail. I have just started the work and I hope it works out. I think I still have the sheet in the shop and I will send it to you. I have to say I was surprised with their response when I called with the problem. They acted like they had never heard of it before. I have to agree the instructions really cheapen the product. They have also changed the front kit and the cross member does not match the instructions.

[Robert Haas]

I spoke with them yesterday. The person I spoke with kept arguing with me that the frame on my truck (65 GMC) was the same as the Chevy. I will need to rethink using their product if the technical support is going to be adversarial even before I buy.

[Mark T]

I hope this helps.

[siggyfreud]

Originally Posted by Mark T

I hope this helps.

Is yours a longbed Mark? I have that diagram too. If I use those measurements to place the front bracket, and then check and see if said bracket is still about 36" from axle centerline, they're pretty far off, which makes me think that diagram only applies to a shortbed.

[siggyfreud]

So I just went and measured again. If measure 69" from my frame end to place the furthest bolt hole per the sheet above, it puts the furthest end of the bracket 30" away from my axle centerline, whereas the instructions say it should be 36".

Do I need to determine the difference in length between a long-bed and short-bed from axle CL back to add that delta to the numbers in the sheet above?

[Mark T]

I do have a short bed. That would make all those measurements wrong. None of the holes in the frame line up so that's no help either.