Front end refresh - am I missing anything?

[Sintek]

'02 Tahoe LT 5.3 4x4

I've had most of these parts for two years because I dread the hell that installing them will be. I've also been hitting all the fasteners with penetrating oil every day during that time so hopefully that will help with the inevitable frustration.

I'm just now doing inventory in preparation of installation and can't help but feel I'm missing something. Any help is appreciated.

Parts are mainly Moog (C-series for arms, whatever their second up from budget line for others) and ACDelco Pro

Currently have:

Left and right upper and lower control arms
Inner and outer tie-rod ends
CV Axles
Idler arm
Idler arm bracket
Pitman arm
End links
Strut bumpers
I replaced shocks and all brake parts recently

 

[Carolina Brown]

unfortunately the most expensive part....the steering gear. And the cheapest, easiest parts...the jounce bumps.

With the truck running move your finger back and forth gently. If steering wheel moves side to side without moving the front wheels then there's play in the steering gear box. You can't get a perfect alignment without having a tight gearbox, you can get close but not perfect.

 

[BoatyMcBoatface]

unfortunately the most expensive part....the steering gear. And the cheapest, easiest parts...the jounce bump

I would also possibly add torsion keys. In case your front end is sagging from age. Since you have it all apart. Good thing is you'll be good for a long time.

 

[BoatyMcBoatface]

Although the gear box contributes a bit to the wander. Your alignment with the new components will be good. The alignment is set by the center link , inner and outer tie rods.

 

[OR VietVet]

Sway bar frame bushings. Check for leaks and replace as needed where the stub shaft seals are. Alignment bolts and plates and control arm attaching bolts. If you are in a salt on roads state you will need and want these. Maybe even bolts that attach the idler arm bracket. The steering gear is a great recommendation.

When the alignment is done, post the pics of the print out of before and after readings.

 

[89Suburban]

Sway bar frame bushings. Check for leaks and replace as needed where the stub shaft seals are. Alignment bolts and plates and control arm attaching bolts. If you are in a salt on roads state you will need and want these. Maybe even bolts that attach the idler arm bracket. The steering gear is a great recommendation.

When the alignment is done, post the pics of the print out of before and after readings.

Beat me on the sway bar bushings.

 

[Alex_M]

Get this style ball joint tool (pictured at the bottom). $15-20 at harbor freight, way better than a pickle fork in most situations. Also handy because it doesn't destroy ball joint boots if you need to separate a joint that you don't want to replace.

New alignment plate bolts has been mentioned. Have a sawzall, some lubricant such as wd40 for the blade, and I recommend a Diablo Carbide blade which can be found at home depot. Pricy, but worth it, just in case they're so rusted in place they can't be hammered out.

A 3# or 4# hammer depending on your level of comfort. Most often the cam plate bolts are only a little rusted and can be hammered free with a heavy hammer. If you aren't in a salty area, probably won't be an issue, but if you can hammer them out then you can reuse them and return the new "just in case" set you bought.

And finally, grease or antiseize to go on the alignment bolt shank so that it does not rust into the bushing sleeve going forward. Will make your job considerably easier in the future.

 

[Carolina Brown]

Although the gear box contributes a bit to the wander. Your alignment with the new components will be good. The alignment is set by the center link , inner and outer tie rods.

Alignment is set but when you're driving down the road the tires can be tracking straight but if the steering gearbox is worn, then the steering wheel will have play in it from side to side without steering the truck...to keep truck in the lane and tracking you'd have the truck's toe, camber, caster being in alignment but steering wheel movement side to side lagging input to actually change direction of truck.

Ask the technician if you can get a wandering truck from just a sloppy steering gearbox. He will affirm what I'm saying.

 

[Carolina Brown]

also...more I thought on it...If your upper and lower control arms are worn out and your inner/outer tie rods, etc, etc...then how are the wheel bearings? Once you get the steering knuckle released from the control arms then you'll need to transfer it and the old wheel bearings onto the new control arms. When I did mine my bearings were still good but the ABS sensors didn't like my transfer work and so I had to replace them. Just check for wheel bearing play before you take it apart...hopefully they're still good!

 

[nonickatall]

I can only confirm what Carolina writes. The correct alignment of caster, camber and toe is extremely important. My front axle is in good condition, but I didn't like the handling at all.

When I turned the steering wheel all the way and took a tight turn, I noticed that my front wheels were kind of blurry.

I built myself a diy allignemet tool and made the allignememt with it.

self made Wheel Alignment Tool

I nearly finished my self made wheel alignment tool for my Escalade to measure caster, camber and toe. Will do my first alignment with that, next week and look foreward that it works like it should...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

Now the truck drives completely differently, it is almost light-footed on the road and when I turn in tightly, I no longer have the feeling that there is tensing in the steering.

The original alignment retainers were still in my allignememt plates. However, as I have read, the caster and camber of our cars were often not correct during production, because they were not measured, but simply adjusted with retainers.

I would also exchange the wheel beering hubs as well, because you don't feel wear very good, but it makes a big difference. And the cost at rockauto or other supplier are 50 bucks per side.