Front end Rebuild

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JPVortex

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Hey yall. I have a 02 suburban with 200k miles.

It has all the original steering and suspension components. Which are all worn which makes steering the thing a chore.

Money is tight right now so I need some budget but decent parts that will hopefully last me for the next year to year and a half.

What would you guys recommend? It's bone stock ride height, no modifications there.

Any of y'all have any experience with SKP or any other suspension brands from RockAuto that I can get a solid year out of?

Thanks!
 

Trey Hardy

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Hey yall. I have a 02 suburban with 200k miles.

It has all the original steering and suspension components. Which are all worn which makes steering the thing a chore.

Money is tight right now so I need some budget but decent parts that will hopefully last me for the next year to year and a half.

What would you guys recommend? It's bone stock ride height, no modifications there.

Any of y'all have any experience with SKP or any other suspension brands from RockAuto that I can get a solid year out of?

Thanks!
Kryptonite ball joints and hub assembly’s will outlive the thing for sure 60$ a piece for the ball joints I believe 250-300$ a piece for the wheel bearings
Tie rods maybe go for ac delco because moog and mevotech stuff are junk now a days
Kryptonite tie rods are super stout but expensive maybe they make an oem style one also I know they do for the 07-13 body style.
My inner tie rods I got the hummer style hexagon shaped ones off custom offsets for 60$ I believe
 

Trey Hardy

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They do have oem style outer tie rods for 60$ a piece I just seen
We did the whole front end package on my buddy’s truck last year and it was insane the difference it made on his steering went from two hands all over the place to driving with his pinky super tight no play at all
 

Joseph Garcia

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RockAuto.com and GMPartsDirect.com are your 2 best bets for quality parts at lower prices. If you are looking only to 1 solid year out of them, IMO, any cheap aftermarket parts will likely do it for you.
 
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JPVortex

JPVortex

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Think I've decided to go with a 1aauto kit. I've used them before and actually got over a year on a previous truck I owned which was a 6 inch lifted 94 K1500. Only thing that went bad too were the ball joints and the angles on that thing were terrible.

I think 1aauto is on the upper end of crappy parts lol.
 
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JPVortex

JPVortex

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Make sure you put your new centerlink in correctly it is easy to install backwards and at 200k I wouldn't assume the current one is in right.
Will do! I’d assume nothing would line up if it was upside down or something though.
 

Marky Dissod

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Make sure you put your new centerlink in correctly it is easy to install backwards,
and at 200k I wouldn't assume the current one is in right.
Will do! I’d assume nothing would line up if it was upside down or something though.
Problem is, it WILL line up and bolt up.
THEN, when you drive it, you will know something feels very wrong,
but you will stare at it, wondering how and why it all bolted up.

If you feel reasonably comfortable swerving at 10MpH over posted 'limits',
centerlink is PROBABLY installed correctly, take a pic or two before removal, just in case ...
I THINK the centerlink cannot be installed 'backwards', but it can be installed upside down, which is the problem.
 

latvius

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Upside down, backwards, it's basically if you pulled it off and swivelled it 180 degrees, right to left and left to right of the vehicle. It can be hard to describe other than it is in wrong and YES you can put it in wrong. You can drive it, my Denali was that way for years, my son n laws was the same as well. Eats up your front tires and feels like you are in fulltime 4 wheel drive. I had to argue with my mechanic and what helped me the most was having a 2005 Tahoe in addition to the 2005 Denali so I could look at them and see and show the difference.

Problem is, it WILL line up and bolt up.
THEN, when you drive it, you will know something feels very wrong,
but you will stare at it, wondering how and why it all bolted up.

If you feel reasonably comfortable swerving at 10MpH over posted 'limits',
centerlink is PROBABLY installed correctly, take a pic or two before removal, just in case ...
I THINK the centerlink cannot be installed 'backwards', but it can be installed upside down, which is the problem.
 

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