95 Front Suspension

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

My 95 pickup is borderline dangerous to drive, due to (I think) multiple worn out steering parts. (My fault

[JoeyD]

200k without much greasing, replace them all like you said. Just use Moog parts and make sure you grease them now.

[JohnC]

Me Scottish side says "if it ain't broke, why pay to have it fixed?"

I also have a personal thing against indiscriminate parts replacement as a problem solving methodology.

Of course, at 200K they could all be shot, especially if you really never greased them. (What do you mean "forgot"? smile.gif )

All these parts can be tested and evaluated for condition. The idler arm is a little tricky and most folks say it's bad when it's often not. See the factory manual for testing procedures.

Tthe steering box can be adjusted to compensate for wear, but leave that for last. It is also difficult to evaluate and the easiest way is to fix everything else and then adjust the box just enough to get rid of the remaining slop. Be sure to check it with the engine running as it'll always look bad if there's no pressure in the system.

[rjschoolcraft]

I would disassemble the steering box first and inspect it for wear. I checked the price on one of those once (when I busted the side cover as I described to you when we spoke on Friday) and it was over $400. As I recall, you have the manuals for your truck. Everything you need to know to disassemble and check and reassemble is in the book. If the gears or the recirculating ball screw are worn excessively, then you should probably replace the box...but you might just look into prices for the piece parts. It might be cheaper. I know $50 for a side cover sure sat a lot better than the price for the whole box. I made the final lash adjustment of my box on the truck, even though the manual says not to. You might just be able to adjust the box in the end.

I replaced the control arm bushings on my 1967 C10 pick-up several years ago, when I upgraded the front suspension to 1971 level. I also did it on a 1967 Camaro. It was a fairly straight-forward, but time consuming task. Those bushings are greasable, where the ones on your truck are not. If you have access to a press, it shouldn't be much trouble. You will probably need to relieve the torsion on the torsion bars. Be sure to mark the setting so you can return to it. Also, consult your manual for extra insight. I've not done one of these, so I'm making some assumptions.

Good luck!

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

JohnC: You said,

[damork]

Brian,

I had 143,000 when I replaced most of what you list. I did it all myself as I was a mechanic for years, even taught diesel mechanics.

You might be wise to take it to a place that does alignments and ask for an evaluation. The upper ball joints are not a common replacement on these, but it depends. I replace only the lowers on mine and I might not had to. The steering linkage is the weak point from what I found and others (and alignment shops) tell me. All my tie rod ends were loose, so I did them all, used Moog across the whole front end, idler and pitman arm too. I got all the parts from www.rockauto.com, (http://www.rockauto.com,) and they were great to work with.

The other source might have been NAPA as they have very good HD parts. Seems they had a premium line and a low cost line, and I looked at them both - there was a difference, but I wasn't going to pay their premium price. I think they handled Spicer parts as their top of the line product.

The steering box comes out okay although some have replaced the linkage arm without removing it. It wasn't worth the battle to me and I think I did a better job of removing the arm and retorqeing the new one with it out of the truck.

Once it was all completed I went shopping for an alignment shop that would adjust to a minimum toe in and very little camber. I got 110,000 miles on the previous tires due partly to a good alignment job and now I'm hoping for the same. The shop that did my alignment had some resistance but once they understood (and saw the previous alignment ticket) they did a great job.

If you do it yourself and if it is a 4x4, you might want to get seals for your front bearing hubs (where the CV connects to the hub). The front end needs to be high enough to allow release of the torsion bars too.

All the best....

[Bruce Ostien]

Brian,

I have installed the urethane / poly bushings that you mentioned on Volvo cars. They seem to last forever. I had some on an anti sway for 3 years and removed them while changing shocks. They imediately expanded back to their original shape instead of remaining squashed and there was no weather checking. Don't know if anyone makes them for GM trucks. I would be interested if you find a source.

Are you going to be driving your suburban while working on your truck?

Bruce

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

damork: I already had one upper ball joint go bad awhile ago. I

[JohnC]

[quote]Originally posted by moondoggie:
[b] Even though I

[Cowracer]

Sounds like a great topic! See My Cheap SOB post

Tim

[Uncle Wally]

Moondoggie,

I would surprised if the steering box is worn out to the point of replacement. There is an adjuster on the top of the box that when adjusted correctly, will remove a ton of slop in the steering (if that's the only problem). I would try to adjust it before you spend the big dollars to replace it.

Waldo

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

Based on everyone's advice, I'll probably try adjusting the steering box. The reason I initially didn't want to do this is that I've tried it on a couple other trucks I've owned with zero success. I wanted to make the Sub steer like a new vehicle, & felt the only way to achieve this was by wholesale parts replacement. I suspect that when I priced the steering box, I'd wind up trying to adjust it anyway.

My wife wishes to take the Sub, our camper, & the twins for short camping trips during the week when I must work & can't be there to do this for her. I'd like her to not have to deal with driving a tow vehicle that really doesn't steer right. It doesn't bother me to do this when I'm driving - I've been doing it most of my life. I just thought It would be nice to not have to worry about them being in a vehicle with less-than-perfect steering gear.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[damork]

I know NAPA is everywhere, but Carquest sells Moog suspension parts in their own repackaged boxes and Moog is definitely at the top of the chain in quality suspension parts.

I'd rather buy top quality for cheap and getting $60 ball joints for $35 is what I was able to do with Rockauto. I usually find GM (and many other OEM) parts for 40% off what most dealers charge and it is quite easy to do.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

damork: Thanks for the heads-up. This is exactly what I hoped to get when I started this topic.

I tried the link to rockauto.com but it didn't work. I'll probably Google them & find out what's up with that

[rameye]

I just bought lower balljoints for my truck from gmpartsdirect.com I've had good luck with these folks. I was told the balljoints on my sub were OEM only..press in type. I think the joint was about 36 bucks.

Hint,, On my Sub I had to make a special grease gun attchement in order to get grease in the lowers. If you have to, buy a new tip and trim .040 off it (reduce diameter) in a lathe. Makes life easy!

[tom.mcinerney]

Moon-

The A-arm bushes didn't need grease, may be fine. If do replace them or control arm bush, the urethanes have been considered superior for 20 yrs. I think Kennedy stocks some...

All chevies demolish the pitman arm balljoint-end regularly. That's 65% play, and the idler arm balljoint-end prolly 10%.

I replaced upper & lower balljoints on mine. They were fine--the original lowers had torn boots, and were still snug. Maybe not too late for the greasegun.When reinstalling rubber boot (grease cup) on my new Moog lower balljoints, i found that this was really a pressing operation. Once pressed into place, they sealed nicely. I have foto.tbhpmciat hotmail.com.
The torsion bar r&r could be tuff. Want soft bar, 4'+ long ,1" or 5/4" diam to tap with weighty sledge from front. Use 5/8" soft steel bar to urge forward from rear, apply heat as needed to sockets, mindful that bars are spring tempered....

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

Continued thanks for all the great help.

Maybe trying this is over my head. They way it's going I'll never get the time anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter. :confused: I'll keep monitoring all this good help & decide how much to do when the time presents itself.

Blessings!

Brian Johnson, #5044

[rjschoolcraft]

Moondoggie,

I'd be willing to help you do this if we could arrange a mutually agreeable time. You know how to contact me if you're interested.