I'm Fecked

[BigDaddy13440]

Knew my alignment to be messed up, took it to the "best" shop in the area to have them do their magic. What I learned....

Upper control arms should be replaced, at least the bushings and hardware kits.
Lower ball joints are shot (just replaced them in December!).
Inner tie rod ends need replacing (did the outers in December).
Pitman and idler arms are shot (again, December).
Steering gearbox has play. may not be able to be tighten it up.
Need pads and rotors on the front, rear brakes are close to the end.

And.... ******* assholes at Sears tried to align it a month ago, never told me all my shit was ****** up.... and never fully tightened the front bolt on the upper control arm on the passenger side! I could push the mount in and out over 1/4" by hand!

 

[Brandon X]

Damn that's a lot of money you're gonna have to spend.

 

[SunlitComet]

who made the parts you got in december?

 

[AtomicHoe094]

alignment places are always a fawking joke. They tell you to replace stuff thats just been replaced like you said, or they leave bolts loose just like you said resulting in clunking and all kinds of crap.

Happens to every person. ******** too

 

[sparg93]

yeah - what did you buy in December AND what kind of setup (tires, rims, lift) are you running on that front end???

 

[ChiTahoe]

I would go look for a second opinion. Maybe a relative referral?

 

[sumo]

Ok lets say you do need parts, ive seen kits on ebay for good price. Feedback is 99.9%

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BALL-JOINT-Tie-Rod-Idler-Pitman-Arm-KIT-Tahoe-1996-1999-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem45fa739f5fQQitemZ300554624863QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[SunlitComet]

Absolute junk. Period.

 

[sumo]

Have you tried this? They dont say any name brand

 

[SunlitComet]

If they are good parts they would have stated it's manufacturer to boast about it. The idler arm upper bracket mount is $95 by it self from moog and it is has the maintenance problem solver parts with it. The idler arm itself is another $85. At A $180 already, tell me those are quality parts that you are comfortable with putting on a suv when you add 4 tie rods ends and sleeves, 4 ball joints, pitman arm, sway links and keep the cost down to $229 with free shipping. They are junk plain and simple. Import junk at an auto store in California costs more then the ebay kit you show.

I would never recommend that stuff to any body. You risk damage and safety as well as increased long term costs.