2003 tahoe wander

[Kirbie]

ok so I am new here got great deal on this I have been ford person so my first chevy. I had a pull to left so whet and got a alignment stayed that way for a day and the pull came back. I have read that the drivebox may need tighting ? any thought help. I do know when I drive a I have play in the steering wheel so I don't know how much in a Tahoe you should have..i can drive 70 down the highway and move it back and forth with out car moving.

 

[Larryjb]

If the alignment was good for a day, then came back, get a second opinion on the alignment. They may not have tightened something right. This could be dangerous.

A good alignment shop will check the condition of the steering components. Don't start tightening the steering box until you know all steering components (idler arm, pitman arm, tie rod ends, etc etc are in good shape.
Larry

 

[Kirbie]

the pull comes back like random. its there and comes back. which is weird. I guess I just need replace balls joints idler arm and tie rods...etc.. and then

 

[Larryjb]

If it feels random, it's probably related to tracking on road surfaces. If you get underneath, try wriggling the relay rod (AKA center link) up and down. If it moves easily, tie rods are worn. This is very common.

Also, ride height in the front will affect the caster. The lower the front height (compared to the rear), the less the caster. Because caster affects the on center feel, a sagging front end can make the steering feel unstable. I believe that I have heard on this forum that some alignment shops actually do check this and either advise, or go ahead and adjust. There is a specification and procedure for the ride height adjustment. Search this forum and Google for Z-height.

Personally, I wouldn't play with the steering box tightness unless you know for sure that you have excessive slop in the box. Steering on these Chevys is very light. I once adjusted the box tightness on my Grand Marquis, but that had over 300000km, and was 20 years old. At that, I only adjusted it very slightly to remove excessive slop.

Larry

 

[Kirbie]

Awesome ty u so much i check that out. Its my first chevy i have onky owned fords and one dodge.. so learning it i will check this out great info

 

[Larryjb]

Depending on what years of Fords you had, and what models, some things will be very similar, some will be very different. I really like Ford's 4.6L V8, but it's a very different engine than the Chevy's. The Chevy 5.3L is super easy to work on, but not without it's faults. The only serious thing that I had to do on my 4.6L was valve stem seals. Other than that, the engine gaskets held up well unlike the Chevy intake manifold gaskets.

Are you planning to do the work yourself if you need new steering components? If so, there's lots of good info on this site. I have added my own thread on all the troubles I encountered and how I got around them.

Larry

 

[Kirbie]

Oh i defintaly will do my work my self.. i look them up for sure!! I know my explorer ball joints are part of my control arms so i drilled them out and put my own ball jkints in..my 16 f150 have no idea about and my 07 charger i tore it down and back up lol