Lowered Tahoe issue

[Danielgreig]

Hey guys. So, When I first bought my Tahoe it had a very mild bump steer but not really that bad. I could have easily lived with it. I now have Tony's ultimate handling package 3/5 drop kit installed along with a kyb steering stabilizer. After the install which was a about 8 to 9 months ago, my Tahoe drove great. I am very happy with how it rides and handles. However, about 2 weeks ago, it really started wondering all over the road. It's now almost un drivable. I don't think it has anything to do with the kit but before I take it in to the shop, I was hoping to get some opinions and ideas of what could be the issue. I'm guessing maybe steering rack, tie rods, or maybe wheel bearings? I'm very new to suspension so I don't know what to look for.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ninety5PoloZ]

Check tire pressure first of all. And its getting colder out and the roads are shifting a little bit and I have noticed a few places where my Yukon wanders worse than normal. Then if tires look normal check to see if anything is loose. Could be lots of things but its hard to pin point something over the internet.

Best advice is to look everything over and make sure nothing is loose or wobbly

 

[magicbus]

to check wheel bearings and ball joints, jack the truck up and try to move the wheel back and forth from the top and bottom of the tire (push on top, pull on bottom and vice versa) if you have any play at all, then you have a problem. If you try and move the wheel back and forth from the sides of the tire and it moves without moving the other wheel, you could have some steering issues. In a previous truck I owned, you could hit the brakes hard and see the wheel move slightly, the truck had a bad wheel hub/bearing assembly.

 

[Danielgreig]

Yea, I figured it would be hard to diagnose online but I'm trying to get some ideas of what to look at myself and to try to prevent some unnecessary parts being fixed at the shop before I take it. I'm new to suspension so they would be able to blow smoke up my ass and I would believe them.

Thanks guys for the tips. I did check the tire pressure when I first noticed a problem because it did just all of a sudden pull badly in one direction on the freeway where I thought I had a flat. All my tires were at a good tire pressure and as I was driving back home, I noticed it was doing it on and off. Sometime it would drive perfect and straight as an arrow and then all of a sudden it would want to wonder all over the road. I will jack it up and look for anything loose and try the wheel bearing trick. Thanks for that Magicbus.

 

[magicbus]

Any time. That's what most of us are here for, to give and receive help. With having it in the air you might be able to find exactly what is wrong. You can also check the upper control arms for any loose nuts, especially where they set the camber(where the upper control arm mounts to the frame). The front suspensions on these trucks are very basic and simple. Aside from torsion bars, they have the exact same setup as my 69 GTO. I've owned about 10 of these vehicles in the 00-06 body style, so I've run across just about every problem they can have.

 

[Ninety5PoloZ]

When you jack it up, place jackstands on the lower control arms. That way it simulates a loaded suspension. Reason being is sometimes when you jack it up and unload the suspension the balljoints can bind and "feel" tight when they could be worn out.

Good luck finding your issue or issues

 

[NORCAL SS]

as above stated also make sure the bolts on arms didnt back out.

 

[magicbus]

When you jack it up, place jackstands on the lower control arms. That way it simulates a loaded suspension. Reason being is sometimes when you jack it up and unload the suspension the balljoints can bind and "feel" tight when they could be worn out.

Good luck finding your issue or issues

Agreed, I thought the balljoints on the burb were good, figured it roadwalked due to alignment. While installing the drop we found that the balljoints were worse than bad.

 

[Ninety5PoloZ]

Agreed, I thought the balljoints on the burb were good, figured it roadwalked due to alignment. While installing the drop we found that the balljoints were worse than bad.

Yup, same thing happened to me with my OBS Tahoe. Everything felt great, took it to the alignment shop and they told me they were SHOT. Drove it home and changed them out and they were terrible.