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Another Steering Failure with Cognito Braces

07HDClassic said:
Its been down for about a month an a half total since school started in late august. First the vane position sensor, then an amp, and now the pitman arm. I hope that's all for the year.

And I hope you are enjoying the full tank of gas I left you in the yellow truck.... Thanks for letting me use it
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:thumbsup: Fixed it. I know the amp isn't a show stopper like the other bits, but still it should be counted in: "I hope that's all for the year." On the plus side the new one is beastly and I really want to hear what it can do.
 
Oh yeah... I forgot about the amp. on Halloween I had an amp self destruct on my, it smelled like someone was welding in the cab of my truck. It even welded the fuses in place. But thats alright the new one is sitting in the living room waiting to go in... cause a crew cab with rear speakers only kind of sucks.
 
First I want to say I am very sorry it has been hard to get a hold of me. I have been around but have been laying low on the forums as we have been swamped with everything surrounding the SEMA show and with us making changes around here to better suite business and what we felt was a better direction. It has left us short handed in different sections of the business and had me involved in sections that I other wise would not be doing.

As for Brandon's failure I did get a chance to speak with him after a VM I had. It does seem as we might be seeing a couple failures due to Cognito braces butu I don't feel this is the true issue. We have so many of these running around out there on the roads and let alone many members have been using this product to solve the pron idler and pitman wearing problem with no issue's such as what we have seen in 2 recent members scenario's. I am very interested in finding out what we can find as a answer of what may have happened. I would not have anyone panic to were they feel they need to race out and pull there braces off. Again look at the percentage of what we have seen in members using the product vs. what we have read about failures. Failures happen and it's not to say lets not talk about it but we need to look at the common percentage over the years.

I have talked with Cognito and they are wanting both this failure and the last members ( I still have it, have not had time to send it in for my credit:mad2:) They want to check them out to see if we are missing something.

To anyone that is thinking of the adding the Cognito Steering braces I still highly recommend them and stand by them. They should be installed with a freash set of idler and pitman arms if they have seen some time with out the braces. I tell customers at time of install up to 30k miles and then from there it all depends on what we find. I think I need to do a proper DIY'er write up on how to check there. With the volume of product rising we need to help installers know what they are looking for to make sure everything is going to be the best results.

I would like to if possible not have anyone directly contact me to just generally talk about this as I am still playing catch up over here and time is short every day but do know that if anyone has had a failure we could use as part of looking deeper into this I would like to know and you can PM me. Anyone that is directly linked to this failure will be in the loop of what we are going to find out and do. We know how much something like this matters and even though it's been 2 failures I have know about sense I can remember we still want to treat them as a learning point to possible help it not happen again.

Feel free to talk about any of this and I will add as I have more info and time but even if I am not posting every day I am still involved and going to help out in any way I can with Cognito. Also as a reflection of Brandon sending his email and a couple calls Cognito received the owner of Cognito was more than willing to find out more and help out on the issue. I know most don't look at it in the ways I do but the reason I stick or talk up Cognit is for the reason they are always looking to make things better for the GM IFS owner and take problems and problem solve them with product.

PS:
Brandon my wife should be sending you tracking info on the product tomorrow as I told her the time frame to get it shipped out for you.
 
I have to say I am still worried...but some ease to my mind is that I have probably fifty or more hard 4wd launches on mine at the drag strip and this is after putting 78k mi. on the original parts sporting mostly 285/75/16 A/T's

yeah I know...I'm crazy...living on borrowed time etc...

Mine were installed by a professional mechanic and he saw no wear on the factory parts worthy of replacing...

Nick,

If cognito would like to do a study on the parts of my truck and swap them with new ones just to see what they are looking like, I'm open to it...I'll pay the labor for my mechanics to do the work...all I need are the parts...it's just a suggestion...nothing more...
 
That actually sounds like a great idea Pepp, if Cognito were down for it. It would give them the chance to see what a set with a few miles on them looked like.

I'm glad Cognito and Nick are both working on this problem; they are definatly showing great customer service thus far - which is rare these days. I'm hoping that this gets figured out soon as the problem, however isolated, still scares me. Steering is something that I wouldn't want to be constantly questioning; particularly for you diesel guys with the large loads.
 
I pull large loads and do 1/4 miles...I just wonder how those 50 or so launches are affecting them...I would figure they have to be just as curious as I am...
 
I haven't heard anything yet. I got an email from Chad at Cognito about shipping me a new idler arm brace but nothing about Schulte's or my pitman arms yet.
 
I got the Parts in my Garage since like Last Year, but ever since all the Failures Recently, I'm not gonna put them On until something is Found.
 
I going to wait to hear something back before the new set go on for me as well. I'm going to give it a few more days and see if I can give them a call the first part of the week
 
Pepperidge said:
I pull large loads and do 1/4 miles...I just wonder how those 50 or so launches are affecting them...I would figure they have to be just as curious as I am...
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How about large loads in 4x4 floored? :rolleyes5: I've done that once, bet it was real good on the whole front-end. :D
 
Now I am not too familiar with specific lift kits, but If I remember correctly, I believe both 07HDClassic and schulte have Fabtech lift kits on. Does the fabtech kit change anything that has to do with the steering? just a thought.

Btw, I am glad it only happened in a parking lot. I've broken a steering knuckle on a Jeep out on the trail and remember thanking god it broke there and not on the trip home on a highway.

Keep us updated. I was about to purchase all new steering for mine including the Cognito kit.
 
BigDogYJ said:
Now I am not too familiar with specific lift kits, but If I remember correctly, I believe both 07HDClassic and schulte have Fabtech lift kits on. Does the fabtech kit change anything that has to do with the steering? just a thought.

Btw, I am glad it only happened in a parking lot. I've broken a steering knuckle on a Jeep out on the trail and remember thanking god it broke there and not on the trip home on a highway.

Keep us updated. I was about to purchase all new steering for mine including the Cognito kit.
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From talking to Chad at Cognito, the 6in fabtech kits don't change the steering much at all, but for the 8in kit, the tie rods are at a steeper angle (compared the stock and the 6in kit) and the steering braces are not recommended due to the increased stress from the tie rod angle.

As for an update on schulte's and my broken parts, I just sent an email off to Cognito asking about any updates.
 
I posted this in the other thread.....



At this point Just has both broken pitman arms and on both the brake was with in the same angles. I had another truck that we re-built the complete front end but then after felt a pretty good size POP in the front end and after looking we found the steering box sector shaft moving in the box and pushing beyond the trucks steering stops on the spindle to lower control arm. From there the extra push was trying to rotate the pitman with the brace installed past the point it should be going and then twisting the pitman arms. I watched the pitman arm flex and if it's twisting that much the load on the pitman arm shank has to give at some point. We have been looking at a few other trucks as we has them come in and Justin at Cognito has been doing the same. At this point there is not a direct cause or reason but the truck I had here is getting a new steering box do to the play in it we found.



At this point we have just shipped out replacement product to the customers to get them on the road and we are looking at possibility's.
 
My guess is what Nick is finding that if your steering box is "loose" and has play it is a good chance that's what the cause is...so what I'm going to do is have my steering box play checked by a mechanic and if it has play I will either replace it or remove the braces...I've only run 285's and now 265's... but...my truck is also 9 years old...
 
Pepperidge said:
My guess is what Nick is finding that if your steering box is "loose" and has play it is a good chance that's what the cause is...so what I'm going to do is have my steering box play checked by a mechanic and if it has play I will either replace it or remove the braces...I've only run 285's and now 265's... but...my truck is also 9 years old...
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I agree. I'll probably be doing to same before I end up installing the braces. I was reading for it. Along with new Idler and pitman and tie rod ends. I've got 94k and i can feel the looseness in the steering now.

I'll have it looked at and decide if the box needs to be rebuilt. If so, PSC here I come.
 
Pitman arm update

I got a reply back from Justin at Cognito about Mike and my pitman arms.

"Brandon's OEM pitman arm. If he was turning the steering wheel to the right when the stud broke loose, then the break happened in the forward to back direction which is the same direction the PISK provides support when the steering is pointed straight ahead. BUT, there are serious marks on the housing that indicate the stud was flexing severely, enough to hit the housing, which could have only happened before the PISK was added. So it appears that a stress fracture may have already been present at the time the PISK was installed.

Mike's MOOG pitman arm. If he was turning to the right when the stud broke loose, then the break happened in nearly the left side to right side direction which is not the direction that the PISK supports when the steering is pointed straight ahead. There were no marks on the housing and apparently this pitman arm was new when the PISK went on it. It appears to me that the pitman arm may have just had a flaw."
 
Pepperidge said:
My guess is what Nick is finding that if your steering box is "loose" and has play it is a good chance that's what the cause is...so what I'm going to do is have my steering box play checked by a mechanic and if it has play I will either replace it or remove the braces...I've only run 285's and now 265's... but...my truck is also 9 years old...
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I will see if I can get Copter to chop down the video I took so I can post it or I will just post the complete long video. I am not good with the video editing.
 
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