Suspension Rebuild Priorities

[CTX-SLPR]

As I mentioned in my project thread, I found 180K mile old original suspension parts under my 98 K2500 Suburban and am trying to figure out what to spend my limited budget on first. The Suburban is drivable for as much I use it to get to work, the grocery store, or church but it's not in "daily driver" shape as I'd not trust it to be my exclusive form of transportation.

Specifically, should I replace the original shocks (which aren't leaking visibly but that just might mean they are empty), the lower ball joints (which have ripped boots), or all 4 ball joints? The steering seems solid so I'm not immediately worried about the tie rod ends, idler arm, or pittman arm even though all but one inner tie rod end seem to be original.

Thanks,

[squirrel]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[anotheridiot]

I do not think the pitman arm has any wear parts, its just a hunk of forged steel. They way I look at it, is where dont you want to be. I stay away from Fords because I hate king pins. you lose an upper or lower ball joint and your tire is off and you are stuck on the road for what could have been replaced for the price of that tow. Your inner and outer tie rods can be a nuisance, make the wheel vibrate, feel sloppy, but it most probably wont leave you stranded.

[Matt Cramer]

I'd guess the original shocks are likely to be shot at this point, but if it doesn't feel bouncy and it settles back quickly if you jump on the bumper, you may be able to procrastinate there.

The lower ball joints take most of the load, but there's probably a way to check if the uppers are worn beyond spec. And I'd inspect any bushings and ball joint like parts for wear too.

[squirrel]

my kiddo's 99 Silverado (new body style) has 260k+ miles on it, original shocks still work fine. Nothing needed on the front end, not even the brakes. (although the ABS is screwed, and has the fuse pulled)

you can spend money if you want, but you said you have a limited budget. Which is it?

[CTX-SLPR]

my kiddo's 99 Silverado (new body style) has 260k+ miles on it, original shocks still work fine. Nothing needed on the front end, not even the brakes. (although the ABS is screwed, and has the fuse pulled)

you can spend money if you want, but you said you have a limited budget. Which is it?

I don't want to spend money but I'm not exactly confident in taking a trip with the family in it to Tahoe or the like. The ball joints having ripped boots definately worries me as do the shocks on a 6500lb vehicle. It does bounce and rattle more than I'd like but I'm not ready to declare that's the shocks since it's a 3/4-ton and it's built for a heavier load and a stiffer ride. The age and it's lean in the corners more make me suspect the shocks.

I think I'll order the lower ball joints at the same time I get the calipers from RockAuto and just replace them. Shocks are fairly simple (assuming they've not rusted to the frame) and I'll take care of them in July or so.

[squirrel]

strange, I've never had to replace calipers on anything...they last forever.

If the shocks are worn out, the truck will bounce more than once when you go over a bump. It's pretty obvious. A 3/4 ton has a stiff ride, that doesn't tell you anything about the condition of the shocks, it just tells you that it has stiff springs, so it can haul weight.

Rattles are common in older vehicles. It's normal, and not a sign of suspension problems.

Dust boots on ball joints are nice to have, but if you grease them regularly (and clean off the mess) they are not something that makes the truck any safer. No dust boots on the drag link in my 59 chevy truck, ever, and I've put a lot of miles on it.

[squirrel]

since the ball joints are cheap, you could buy new ones, and don't install the joints, just the boots. Save some labor, and fix the problem, and the fun thing is that the OEM joints are probably better, even after all these years, than the replacement parts.

[CTX-SLPR]

strange, I've never had to replace calipers on anything...they last forever.

Bleeders are seized and at $50/side I don't really feel like messing with snapping one off when the whole reason I want to open them up is the flush the brake fluid anyway.

If the shocks are worn out, the truck will bounce more than once when you go over a bump. It's pretty obvious.

It's more than a single bounce going over a speedbump so I'm suspect on them.

Rattles are common in older vehicles. It's normal, and not a sign of suspension problems.

I think this thing will need door pins and bushings as well as maybe strikers sometime but that's a nice to have vs. makes me worry like the brakes (pedal still feels weird though much better after putting pads with friction material on them) and to a lesser extent the ball joints.

[Loren]

My old '88 truck (first of the new style), I replaced everything when I first got the truck, parts from the CarQuest. I shouldn't have, 20K miles later ball joints, idler arm were all shot, literally ready to fall apart, it was scary because I was not watching for that. So much for that confident feeling of having new parts, I agree you're better keeping the originals IF they check out, and just keep grease in them. If you replace, at-least get the best. As far as replacing just a boot, I have never been able to quite trust a ball joint once it's had a pickle-fork in it to separate, but that's just me...I can't recall if front axle shafts would prevent you from doing this but sometimes you can separate ball joints by loosening the nut a couple turns only, have the vehicle weight so it's pulling on the joint, then hammer on the nut end of the joint with a piece of aluminum held against it to prevent damage from the hammer. Hammer on the sides of things a few knocks too, to help loosen things. After it all pops loose, then you can jack the car up and remove the parts like normal. My '91 4x4 w/ 160K (mechanically similar to your Sub') had needed the idler arm replaced and the joint at the end of the pittman arm had no cotter pin and was loosened and about to fall apart (!), otherwise the original stuff seemed OK. I would check for looseness, jack the weight off the lower ball joints by lifting on the a-arm and see how much movement there is, wiggle things and visual inspect, etc. Yeah you want your family to be safe. In my area which is very wet and muddy part of the year, bad rubber boots spell the end of greased joints in a hurry. The water works it's way in, the grease floats away off the top, and the dirt that came with the water grinds everything up real good. I've had a few stuck calipers in my time, to check for that you can hold your hand against the front wheels after a couple-hours' drive; if one is hotter than the other there is probably a caliper dragging...if not, you're good. I've never had one leak.

Shocks don't affect how the car leans in a corner, just keep it from pitching and bouncing around.

All said, our '91 3/4-ton 4x4 was the nicest-driving truck I've ever had. They really nailed the front suspension design on those, I think. If ever I thought the ride was harsh, all I had to do was borrow the neighbor's Ford to find out how bad a truck could ride. Too bad about the overheating 100hp 8mpg junk 454 that could never be fixed no-matter what (in ours, anyhow) and the engine fire, etc. I'm sure by the time yours came along they had the engines working better.

If I had ours back again I would do a couple things: Put a Holley carb and a standard old HEI in it, between smog checks, so it would work, and then make a tin heat shield for in-between the hotter-than-the-sun glowing exhaust manifolds and the oil/trans cooler lines and P/S hoses so they don't catch on fire at the top of a long hill. With those changes we'd still have our nice truck, and not mind the mileage because we'd be driving other cars normally.

[SuperBuickGuy]

there is a vast difference in quality between GM parts and aftermarket. Squirrel is right, if it isn't broke - don't fix it. if the ball joints don't rattle when you jack under the control arm (12 and 6 hand position), don't worry about it. Lower joints, especially, they rarely wear out. If you're concerned about the boot, simply replace the boot but not the joint because the quality difference is amazing (as illustrated by Loren's comment).

Known issues are:
unitized bearing failure
idler arm failure

Wear issue is generally just the upper ball joint and CV joints - especially the outboard ones

as for shocks, get some bilsteins, you'll be astounded at the new truck you'll own once they're installed. The do make a world of difference. Second is the stock, koni shocks (the z71 shocks)

long term wear issue is the rear bushings.

I've owned several of these trucks, and my dad still owns one I sold to him with 200k miles on it. It has nearly 500k on it, and the bushings, and ball joints are what GM put on in 1993. I replaced the running gear with heavy 1/2 ton, so those have at least 300k miles on them without replacement. He's replaced the shocks once.

As much as the 4x4 magazines hate the IFS suspension - don't listen to them, they last as long if not longer than solid axles....

burn your money on something worthy like your Buick ;)

[Deaf Bob]

77 chevy C-30, 450K miles easy.. Worked hard while I use it, front end parts are 1977 parts. I bought it with a flat cam at a hair over 100,000 miles and put 350k miles on it.. New rear brakes 20k miles ago.. Same with rear inner bearings, outers were fine.. Front pads once, have spares in the console.

A shot of grease 2x a year.. Drives better than the 90 Suburban Sub wallows..nature of the rig..
Put a rear sway bar on it if it bothers you that much..


Like Squirrel and SBG say..ain't broke or sloppy, grease it..
Loren and Scott both put new parts only to have them fail..
Grease gun is easier than screwing up a front end...

[CTX-SLPR]

GM Part #:12383410 $62.10 from GMPartsDirect.com. That's at least the OEM ball joint. I've not been able to find an Energy Suspensions replacement boot like I could for my Riviera.

[Matt Cramer]

GM Part #:12383410 $62.10 from GMPartsDirect.com. That's at least the OEM ball joint. I've not been able to find an Energy Suspensions replacement boot like I could for my Riviera.

You might want to check if some of those "Help Accessories" generic boots fit - they did for some hard to find boots on my Dart. And no real advantage here for going with polyurethane.

[anotheridiot]

Rock auto is your friend if you want to get parts and save money. I usually utilize their catalog to find part numbers, then check to see if Amazon Prime carries them for a little more than and make it up with the free shipping and actually knowing when you will get the stuff. Most of the oddball parts are 4-5 days away from me in Chicago.