High mileage suspension/steering refresh.

[Epik]

I just posted about doing the ebay front end kit on my '04 with 195K miles. I had the 4600 shocks you had and went to 5100s as the old ones had done 100K miles and owed me nothing. See my post but overall I am thrilled with the $120 ebay kit.

Thank you! I will check out your post. I’m not opposed to the Ebay kit, I guess I’m just a little concerned with longevity, and don’t want to do the job twice. How would you compare the 5100’s to the 4600’s, ride quality wise?

 

[Epik]

I hope it feels amazing; parts arrived today. View attachment 190438

Awesome, what brand are the parts? Also, what is the “steering dampen and link kit?” Not familiar with that part, unless you mean center link?

 

[Toomanyhobbies]

Thank you! I will check out your post. I’m not opposed to the Ebay kit, I guess I’m just a little concerned with longevity, and don’t want to do the job twice. How would you compare the 5100’s to the 4600’s, ride quality wise?

I would say that the 5100's are a stiffer ride than the 4600's, but I am doing the 4600's on my 2 door and overall I am a big Bilstein fan so I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[Epik]

I would say that the 5100's are a stiffer ride than the 4600's, but I am doing the 4600's on my 2 door and overall I am a big Bilstein fan so I don't think you can go wrong.

Yeah I’ve always been a fan of Bilstein’s, I’ve ran them on all my Mustang’s, so it was a no brainer to put them on the Tahoe. I think the HD are already pretty stiff though, so maybe I should stick with them.

 

[MCAT069]

Name Number SD Parts Amazon Ebay
FRONT CASTER CAMBER BOLT KIT 45K5012 26.56 28.91 29.83
Lf Lower control arm 45D2466 156.54 147.7 153.17
Rt Lower Control arm 45D2465 156.54 143.98 153.17
Upper Control arm 45D1083 74.82 66.27 70.39
Idler Arm 45C1121 74.46 73.78 69.49
Idler Arm Bracket 45C1123 61.53 66.68 57.64
Pittman Arm 45C0075 71.66 71.78 65.83
Steering link shock absorber 509-25 62.66 68.00 68.48
Outer tie rod end 45A0834 48.99 42.92 43.79
Inner tie rod 45A1311 37.04 30.02 34.39
Link kit 45G2019 35.11 36.78 77.90

@Epik These are the parts that I bought and will install soon. I went with AC Delco Professional over others based on research vs the other brands and cost. I went with the all in one kit originally; however, I was not impressed with the items when they arrived and changed my mind on spending 10 x as much for the parts individually. Will I get ten times the milage from these? I have no idea, but at least there is a lifetime warrenty should I need to replace any of the above again and I perceive that I went with better quality parts. It is a massave job and pain in the ass so I hope that AC Delco serves me well. As far as going with Moog or another "good" brand, I believe its the same argument as blonde vs redhead - just personal preferance.

 

[MCAT069]

I attempted to copy the Excel book that I made when researching parts and where to get them However; I did not adjust the formatting which is why the above post is somewhat difficult to read; my apologies.

 

[Epik]

I attempted to copy the Excel book that I made when researching parts and where to get them However; I did not adjust the formatting which is why the above post is somewhat difficult to read; my apologies.

No problem at all, I appreciate you providing all the part numbers. I totally agree, I only want to do this job once and hopefully I won’t have to think about it again until my dash has 100k more miles on it than it does now lol. I think AC delco parts should be just as good as moog, or at least as good as what came factory on the car?

 

[Epik]

Ok, so I took a quick peek at the ball joints and stuff real quick, and definitely noticed that all 4 ball joints are starting to crack at the boots, and looks like a have a blown shock on the passenger side. I’m assuming this residue on the shock isn’t from something else. My truck does have some pretty significant oil leaks, but I couldn’t see it making its way over to the shock. Better add new shocks to the list again, can’t believe this went bad after 50k

 

[Epik]

Wait, maybe not. It says this is normal on Bilstiens site.

 

[Rocket Man]

I replaced pretty much everything that @MCAT069 did at around 150k. I went with Moog Problem Solver except the Pitman arm was ACDelco Professional due to supposed problems installing the Moog. Truck drives like new again. I figured do it once, and since I paid to have it done, the labor was a big factor. No cheap parts that need to be replaced anytime soon.