Stonefort
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* my apologies for no pictures, it's pretty straight forward so you should be able to do this no problem. If you want to, youtube search for this procedure to familiarize yourself with how everything is laid out. Now, all the videos are for factory replacement bushing, but it will help you to see how everything is set up down there and how to remove the cross member, it's easy*
I was chasing down a clunking sound which seemed like it was coming from the front end of the vehicle when going over bumps at slow speed, but not over 10mph.
Checked everything in the front end and as I was crawling out from under the vehicle, I grabbed one of the torsion bars to help pull myself out. It moved! Traced the movement back to the bushings that hold the torsion bar crossmember in place. Yours might not move, even if the bushings are worn out because of the tension on the bushings from the weight of the vehicle. BUT if you put the vehicle on jack stands and get the front end off the ground, if those bushings are bad you should be able to visually see a gap in the rubber where it has separated from the metal part of the bushing.
There are a few solutions to replace the bushings. There are 3 oem type bushings available and they are all a unit of the bushing and mount. 3 variations because some of these vehicles either had the mounts welded, riveted, or bolted to the frame. Mine was welded so I optioned to use after market bushings - Energy Suspension part number 31143R. I got mine from amazon for about $35. You only need one set to do both bushings on the vehicle. (note - everything says these do not fit the 00-06 tahoe's but they do. That part number is actually for the 2500, but don't worry they fit and are correct.)
First I removed the torsion bar crossmember by using the GM torsion bar tool to take the tension out the torsion keys and remove the retaining bar and bolt that holds the key in place. ( I picked up the tool from amazon for $30, but you can rent them from most auto part stores. ) Then you can push the torsion bars forwards. You might have to "slide hammer technique" to free them from the keys. Once the torsion bars are pushed forwards out of the way you can remove the the bolt on each side of the crossmember that mounts the crossmember to the bushing. Then push up on the crossmember and slide to the left or right to remove.
The factory bushings are "staked" in to the bushing mount. There are three staked spots on the outer metal housing of the bushing that need to be addressed so they can be removed. Don't focus on the rubber part of the bushing, you need to work on the outer METAL housing of the bushing. I used a metal chisel and punch to cut the staked parts off and then the punch to push the metal inwards a little bit. Then I grabbed a propane torch to gently heat the actual bushing mount itself. Don't need to be crazy hot, just some heat. probably 30 or 45 seconds. Should be able to punch the spots of the metal housing you bent inward and see that the bushing is coming out. Make sure to clean up with a file if the actual bushing mount got a bit chewed up.
Now for the Energy suspension bushings, the directions show them squeezing in the bushing with a pair of big adjustable pliers. Yea freaking right. Just get some all thread and washers to squeeze them into the mount. Much less cussing involved.
If you notice, the original bushings have an oval shaped inner hole. This allows some wiggle room to mount the cross member back in place. The Energy suspension inner pins are perfectly round and fit the bolt very well. This is a bit of a problem because I needed about an 1/8 of an inch more width to get both bolts back in. What I did was I used a round file to make the cross member bolt hole just a bit wider. No big deal.
After that just re install everything. If you are worried that the Energy Suspension bushings might cause some noise and harshness, as harder bushings tend to do, don't be. The ride is not harsh or noisy at all. The vehicle handles bumps so much better now. It felt sloppy before and I didn't realize how bad it was until I replaced them.
Note - if your bushing mounts are bolted or riveted it might be easier to just install the factory bushings. Either way it's not a hard job.
Here is a picture of the Energy Suspension 31134R.
I was chasing down a clunking sound which seemed like it was coming from the front end of the vehicle when going over bumps at slow speed, but not over 10mph.
Checked everything in the front end and as I was crawling out from under the vehicle, I grabbed one of the torsion bars to help pull myself out. It moved! Traced the movement back to the bushings that hold the torsion bar crossmember in place. Yours might not move, even if the bushings are worn out because of the tension on the bushings from the weight of the vehicle. BUT if you put the vehicle on jack stands and get the front end off the ground, if those bushings are bad you should be able to visually see a gap in the rubber where it has separated from the metal part of the bushing.
There are a few solutions to replace the bushings. There are 3 oem type bushings available and they are all a unit of the bushing and mount. 3 variations because some of these vehicles either had the mounts welded, riveted, or bolted to the frame. Mine was welded so I optioned to use after market bushings - Energy Suspension part number 31143R. I got mine from amazon for about $35. You only need one set to do both bushings on the vehicle. (note - everything says these do not fit the 00-06 tahoe's but they do. That part number is actually for the 2500, but don't worry they fit and are correct.)
First I removed the torsion bar crossmember by using the GM torsion bar tool to take the tension out the torsion keys and remove the retaining bar and bolt that holds the key in place. ( I picked up the tool from amazon for $30, but you can rent them from most auto part stores. ) Then you can push the torsion bars forwards. You might have to "slide hammer technique" to free them from the keys. Once the torsion bars are pushed forwards out of the way you can remove the the bolt on each side of the crossmember that mounts the crossmember to the bushing. Then push up on the crossmember and slide to the left or right to remove.
The factory bushings are "staked" in to the bushing mount. There are three staked spots on the outer metal housing of the bushing that need to be addressed so they can be removed. Don't focus on the rubber part of the bushing, you need to work on the outer METAL housing of the bushing. I used a metal chisel and punch to cut the staked parts off and then the punch to push the metal inwards a little bit. Then I grabbed a propane torch to gently heat the actual bushing mount itself. Don't need to be crazy hot, just some heat. probably 30 or 45 seconds. Should be able to punch the spots of the metal housing you bent inward and see that the bushing is coming out. Make sure to clean up with a file if the actual bushing mount got a bit chewed up.
Now for the Energy suspension bushings, the directions show them squeezing in the bushing with a pair of big adjustable pliers. Yea freaking right. Just get some all thread and washers to squeeze them into the mount. Much less cussing involved.
If you notice, the original bushings have an oval shaped inner hole. This allows some wiggle room to mount the cross member back in place. The Energy suspension inner pins are perfectly round and fit the bolt very well. This is a bit of a problem because I needed about an 1/8 of an inch more width to get both bolts back in. What I did was I used a round file to make the cross member bolt hole just a bit wider. No big deal.
After that just re install everything. If you are worried that the Energy Suspension bushings might cause some noise and harshness, as harder bushings tend to do, don't be. The ride is not harsh or noisy at all. The vehicle handles bumps so much better now. It felt sloppy before and I didn't realize how bad it was until I replaced them.
Note - if your bushing mounts are bolted or riveted it might be easier to just install the factory bushings. Either way it's not a hard job.
Here is a picture of the Energy Suspension 31134R.
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