2000 Tahoe front end help?

[bigstick1973]

First let me say Hi and this is my first post to this forum.
I really dont know where to start with the problems im having.
Ok my truck rides total CRAP! It feels like im riding on the rims. i can feel every pebble in the road. I replaced both front shock 3 weeks ago thinking this was the problem. didnt help at all! Ball joits look fine upper and lower. no play with a 2 1/2 inch pipe under the wheel lifting up and down. there is some left to right play in the front wheel witch it looks like i may need to repalce the pitman arm and idler bracket and arm. but i dout that would cause the bad ride. i looked at where my Tork rod fits into the lower control arms and i can see light around the rod its torking the arm on the edges/tips of the rod not the flats of the rods? could the bad ride be my control arm bushings? i really am just sick of driving the dam thing like this. HELP!!!

 

[clkelley]

Welcome to the nieghborhood!

Yes, it is possible that the poor ride has a little to do with the control arm bushings. How many miles on the truck? It could be that just about all of your bushings are bad. You checked the ball joints, how about the hub bearings? I figure you did, but thought I would ask anyway. What about the tires, have they been balanced lately? Have you inspected them for signs of the beads/belts separating? And last but not least, how much air is in them? I know it sounds simple, but too much air in the tires can make them bounce like crazy.

 

[bigstick1973]

The tires were just ballanced and are all good on air. the truck has 170,000 on it. it just feels like im i have no front suspension. if i hit a bum it really bangs and i dont mean like a bang like something is loose. i mean like it would sound if you were bottoming out on the bump stops and the suspension couldnt compress any more. the shocks are new. its not a rattle.

 

[bigstick1973]

i wasnt sure about the tork rods because there not seated in the control arm on the flats there seated on edge and i dont know if they should. also the jack bolt on the drivers side key is bottomed out and the one on the pass side key has a bunch of threads left. maybe a inch inch and half.

 

[clkelley]

I bet the tortion keys and rods are worn out.

 

[bigstick1973]

idk.. i wouldnt know how to check that.

 

[bigstick1973]

ill take a photo tomorrow of the rod in the control arm and post it for ya to look at maybe that will help.

 

[clkelley]

That'll work...

 

[bigstick1973]

PASSANGER SIDE

DRIVERSSIDE

 

[clkelley]

Does the front of the truck ride level? Those tortion bolts should be dang near the same, yeah, I bet the control arm bushings are gone. That probably is the problem, no doubt.

 

[bigstick1973]

Yes its level. but do you see how the rod is in the control arm? it not sitting on the flats. you can se light around the out side of it. almost like its striped. i was just wondering fit it would get looase then tite again when i hit a bump.

 

[clkelley]

Yes, it could even be broken inside there. The control arms are "spring loaded" to provide support, they work in conjunction with and in direct proportion to the tortion bars. When the control arm bushings begin to wear out the front of the truck will drop a little on that side. This "droop" can be adjusted out by playing with the tortion bars to relevel the truck. But the farther away from even on the bars you get, the worse off your control arms become/wind up. From what I see, you couldn't adjust it out much further

 

[bigstick1973]

no there isnt any ajustment left ion the drivers side. also in the photo of the one with out oil on it you can see the rubber bump stop and how its pretty mushroomed from the arm slaming it.

 

[clkelley]

Yeah, I hate to say it but you have some work ahead there...

 

[bigstick1973]

so what are ya thinking ? new arms,rods and bump stops?

 

[clkelley]

That or rebuild the old stuff, you may be able to rebuild the old control arms, etc and save. If it were mine and I was planning to keep it until the wheels fell off, I personally would go with all new.

 

[clkelley]

You'll also need new tortion bar keys, etc. If you ever thought about going aftermarket now would definitely be the time to.

 

[clkelley]

Ou know what, contact "NORCAL SS" here on the forum, he is a forum vendor but also works with suspensions and kits regularly. He will be able to clarify your best options for stock or aftermarket replacement.

 

[bigstick1973]

im thinking more like after crash then after market. ill see what i can dig up in the local junk yard first. then il grab the new stuff.
Thanks!

 

[clkelley]

Lol, well put...