Maybe thats why my GMT900 clanked during a turn from time to time. Even at 5k miles it was doing that. Well within warranty but they couldn't replicate it on test drives so it never got fixed. Probably a shitty front end...

 

Yeah the solid axle trucks were nice. For lots of reasons I wish they never got away from it but since the vast majority of people who own newer 4 wheel drive trucks (at least that I know) very rarely even get engaged. Around here if you need a 4 wheel drive you get an older truck you don't have to worry about.. My truck is 2wd by the way.

I've seen these things with less than 10K need upper ball joints.

I really hope the Moog "problem solvers" do what they advertise...

 

Well I finished it last night late... And remembered why I got out of the auto tech business. Didn't have any problems but just despise doing that kind of work nowadays.

I basically did a 2/4 drop while I was there. After driving it everything feels 100% again. Front end is tight, no bumps, clunks, or noises and the thing rides and handles 100000x better than it did. Not to mention no more road noise than a 4 door full size car. I'm really digging the Belltech Struts and Cooper tires. I would imagine this setup with some away are would really drive nice. Best part is my prego wife can get in and out of it and it's easier to drive, not to mention the fuel mileage should come back.

Over all, still not super crazy about the way the truck is built but I put on better parts than what came on it so hopefully it holds together and stays driving this nice.

 

I haven't had any issues with tie rods,steering and such that you've had but I have had to replace 2 front hubs because they broke.

 

THIS TIMES A MILLION!!!

 

lol don't even get me started on the front ends of these trucks.

although mines a 2000 NBS tahoe, i'm about to finish replacing the last part in my entire steering system. so far i've got moog inner/outer tie rods, pitman/idler arm, idler assembly, timken hubs, moog upper control arms and bjs, reman gear box, and about to finish up with a reman power steering pump and full royal purple power steering fluid. LOL still doesn't steer straight but i blame the alignment shop was full of tards. i've also got a 6" lift cranked up a little. but i'm about to go to a 7" so i can run stock angles. also 2wd so no other crap under there to cause problems.

 

I have a 2011 2wd. Had a 15" FTS lift with 38s on 20x12s and 2" spacers. Never once had a problem with the front suspension except when I broke a hub because of the 2" spacers.

The truck is now bagged front/rear and sitting low and I don't have any problems with any kind of sloppy steering or a loose feeling front end. My truck has 23K somewhat hard miles and not one issue.

 

Can you list what you replaced? I'm looking at doing the same thing and looks like for lower Ball Joint I can do only the BallJoint or the Control Arm with Ball Joint and then upper is only available as a full control arm from what I can see on MOOG's website.

I'll be doing the same thing changing these at the same time as putting in my drop.

 

If you want a real long life out of these parts, try greasing them bi-weekly on a schedule and give them a quick greasing after going through sand/mud/dirt/water/snow/salt/etc.

You should be able to see many more miles out of these things before they fall out of spec, but they are only so strong to begin with, so this is only for longevity, not strength (obviously).

 

you can get the single ball joints without the control arms from the gm dealer for about 30 bucks for both sides.