Don't chastise us. We know we're supposed to be all into independent suspensions. Obviously, no solid axle can match the superior bump-soaking abilities that separated knuckles, acting completely independently of each other, can achieve. Nor can the handling of an independent suspension be matched by a solid axle. So why are we so keen on, endorsing even, a solid-axle swap on a 2500 IFS Chevy?
There can only be one reason, and it should be obvious really: They break. And unfortunately, the IFS of an '08 4WD Chevrolet remains largely the same as it was in 1988. There is really no modification you can do to a Chevy 2500 front end to keep it together with big tires in extreme off-road environments. Actually, that's not completely true. A sister publication worked in conjunction with a CV-shaft builder to make some unbreakable shafts, and if we remember correctly, they cost around $1,500 each. Still interested? Well, get ready for more problems, because as soon as the force on those stronger shafts increased past what would break a normal shaft, the differential casing split in half.
If money is no object, then a custom differential housing could be made as well. The ring-and-pinion is stout, and you can even get a locker that fits. But without a new housing and CV shafts, that front end just won't hold up.
Even if you can beef up the diff and shafts enough to hold up, you're still left with a suspension that yields less than 8 inches of travel with standard lift kits. Again, the custom route can be taken, but no one to our knowledge currently makes a production long-travel IFS kit for Chevy 2500 IFS 4x4s. By the time you get done with the research, time, and money utilized to truly build a 2500's front end, you'll have a second mortgage on your house.
From stock ...
If we want to run some big tires while still being able to tow through the dirt and accomplish a bit of chasing and prerunning as well, then it makes more sense to swap in a live axle. But that can cost some big bucks too, especially after the steering and antilock brake systems (ABS) are addressed. That was the case, until Pure Performance came out with a complete five-link and coilover solid-axle swap (SAS) kit for the '99-'08 3/4-ton Chevys. Pure Performance was able to put a kit together that uses an '03-'08 Dodge AAM solid front axle, retaining the ABS abilities of the Chevy truck and AAM front axle. On top of that, Pure Performance has a rod-end steering kit that bolts from the supplied Chevy pitman arm to the Dodge AAM axle.
... to not.
We decided to take the SAS kit to a shop with a lot of swapping experience: Fabworx Offroad. The crew at Fabworx had the entire kit done and bolted onto a Duramax 4WD 2500 truck in less than a day, including stripping off the original IFS. It's doubtful you'll be able to accomplish the kit as quickly as Fabworx did, but if you can weld and want to do it yourself, then you should be able to start on a Friday afternoon and be done in time to drive to work on Monday.
How Do We Like It?
OK, remember that Fabworx modified this kit slightly for the truck to sit with around 11 inches of lift. The Pure Performance kit was designed to sit at 8 to 9 inches of lift and fit 37-inch tires, not wide 38-inch tires.
That being said, the kit still worked beautifully. In fact, it lends itself well to accepting small modifications should they be necessary. The fact that this kit accepts an already-made axle equipped with ABS and offers a bolt-in steering kit puts this Pure Performance package on the next level of solid-axle swaps.
Even with the extra few inches of suspension lift, the 15-1/2-inch-wide tires still rubbed on the control arms. They are normally just too wide of a tire to run on a truck like this.