Price for replacing front end parts

[Big D]

same as you... Energy Suspensions. Ive used them on my other rides, never had a problem with them.

 

[Coveman]

On my 99 k1500 OBS Burb (120k miles) I did (Moog unless otherwise):

2 Upper ball joints (with control arms) -$40 ea
2 Lower ball Joints ( I had also purchased the LCA bushings but the originals seemed fine and would have needed pressing off/on so I skipped them) $30 ea
2 inner Tie rods $21 ea
2 outer Tie rods $21 ea
1 centerlink (they can wear out but my old one seemed fine) $40
1 pitman arm $32
1 idler arm $98 (includes bracket) (this is a major contributor to front end slop)
2 sway bar end links (Polyurethane) $18
2 sway bar Bushings (Polyurethane) $12
I also did the sway bar bushings and links for the rear $27 and $24 ea
New shocks all four corners $70 fr / $95 rear

I did the NBS brake swap (New 14.5" AC Delco Rotors - $65ea, Dorman Knuckles -$95ea, AC Delco reman calipers $48ea, AC Delco brake lines $19ea and AC Delco master cylinder -$90) I went to a 1 3/16" pepboys wheel cylinder in back to balance the front out $13 ea.

New hubs (Timken Bearings) $111ea and CV shafts $96/pair while I had everything taken apart. The old hubs were just starting to show some wear but needed to be upgraded to the NBS style to fit the NBS knuckles; the CVs still looked / sounded fine so I could have driven on them for awhile longer yet.

As for special tools, The LBJs need to be pressed in, the Pitman arm nut takes some serious leverage (I piped over a breaker bar), and I purchased a reamer for the ball joint holes on the knuckles. Had a shop align it for me (although my eyeball alignment had the toe nearly spot-on)

Took me most of the weekend to do it all. Truck drives better than new, and brakes like it should now. I purchased most everything online from Amazon, Summit and Rock Auto.

 

[SkyHighColorado]

On my 99 k1500 OBS Burb (120k miles) I did (Moog unless otherwise):

2 Upper ball joints (with control arms) -$40 ea
2 Lower ball Joints ( I had purchased the LCA bushings but the originals seemed fine and would have needed pressing off/on so I skipped them) $30 ea
2 inner Tie rods $21 ea
2 outer Tie rods $21 ea
1 centerlink (they can wear out but my old one seemed fine) $40
1 pitman arm $32
1 idler arm $98 (includes bracket) (this is a major contributor to front end slop)
2 sway bar end links (Poly Urethane) $18
2 sway bar Bushings (Poly Urethane) $12
I also did the sway bar bushings and links for the rear $27 and $24 ea
New shocks all four corners $70 fr / $95 rear

I did the NBS brake swap (New 14.5" AC Rotors - $65ea, Dorman Knuckles -$95ea, AC reman calipers $48ea, AC brake lines $19ea and AC master cylinder -$90) I went to a 1 3/16" pepboys wheel cylinder in back to balance the front out $13 ea.

New hubs (Timken Bearings) $111ea and CV shafts $96/pr while I had everything taken apart. The old hubs were just starting to show some wear but needed to be upgraded to the NBS style to fit the NBS knuckles; the CVs still looked fine so I could have driven on them for awhile yet.

As for special tools, The LBJs need to be pressed in, the Pitman arm takes some serious leverage (I piped over a breaker bar), and I purchased a reamer for the ball joint holes on the knuckles. Had a shop align it for me (although my eyeball alignment had the toe nearly spot-on)

Took me most of the weekend to do it all. Truck drives better than new, and brakes like it should now. I purchased most everything online from Amazon, Summit and Rock Auto.

Hey! where in Boulder are you located? I am dating a girl who lives down there. My truck is hated in that area because its not a compact battery powered POS. I got in an argument with a liberal hippy lady who got mad at me for idling my truck when I went to get a redbox movie. I told her my truck has done less harm to the environment in its 320K miles of existence than her Prius while it was being produced. I told her my truck is made of lots of recycled parts.....she was furious!!!! hhaahha must be fun living there.....sorry that was way off topic.

 

[michael hurd]

Figure in around $ 600 ish for parts if you want to put premium parts in it, don't forget what a wheel alignment costs... If you plan on doing the labor yourself, figure on a good 8-10 hours yourself.

I took 2 days, basically 8 hours a day, but I cleaned, primed and painted all the components while they were new, as well as cleaned and painted the lower control arms. I did not attempt lower control arm bushings at that time, since I was doing this in my work place after hours with no other vehicle around to drive, and I could not tie up our unloading area during open hours.

I set the toe with a tape measure, but haven't gotten an alignment yet.

You will save yourself a bunch of time if you buy new upper control arms with bushings and ball joints. The lower ball joints require a tool to press in and out, this was a major PITA on my truck, I had the I beam on the press flexing, and a 3/4 inch impact on the forcing screw, plus beating on the LCA to get it to move.

You can certainly spend a bit less to use 'generic' or white box parts, but do you really want to do the job over in the future when they fail? I certainly don't.

Remove the knockouts in the upper control arm slots if they haven't been removed prior.

Also, buying new sleeves for the tie-rods makes adjustment silky smooth and easy. Use a liberal amount of nickel based anti-seize on all the bolts, and the face of the camber washers, and inside the tie-rod sleeves.

I spent around $ 65 on chemicals alone, brake cleaner, primer, paints, a new can of Permatex nickel based anti-seize, not to mention a couple of flap wheels, wire wheels, and other incidentals.

 

[michael hurd]

Also, forgot to mention, if your shocks are suspect ( rusty can, or damp around the rod, or simply bouncy ) it would be a lot easier to install them when you are doing this job, than later.

With new shocks, bushings and a tight front end, the truck should ride and drive like it is supposed to, assuming the alignment is set correctly. It won't eat tires for breakfast, and will pay off in increased economy.

 

[michael hurd]

I just checked Rock Auto for your C2500, and they show a complete kit with new loaded upper and lower control arms, tie rods and sleeves. They don't come with an idler arm, pitman arm and an idler arm frame bracket though.

I am assuming that yours is an 8600 GVW, then these would be your kits: they ship in one box, so the shipping costs may be less than choosing your own parts. Once you have a 'kit' in your cart, you can see which idler and pitman arms will ship from the same warehouse.

Raybestos KIT45: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5691723&cc=1440689

Mevotech KIT 236: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5735037&cc=1440689

The Mevotech kit is a bit less expensive and does not come with tie-rod sleeves. I would suggest grabbing some locally, since it may not be cost effective to ship them, especially if they come from a different warehouse.

You still should do the idler and pitman arms, and idler arm bracket, if you go this route. Sway bar end links would also be a good idea, and like I mentioned if the shocks are suspect, it's a good time to change them out.

 

[Coveman]

Hey! where in Boulder are you located? I am dating a girl who lives down there. My truck is hated in that area because its not a compact battery powered POS. I got in an argument with a liberal hippy lady who got mad at me for idling my truck when I went to get a redbox movie. I told her my truck has done less harm to the environment in its 320K miles of existence than her Prius while it was being produced. I told her my truck is made of lots of recycled parts.....she was furious!!!! hhaahha must be fun living there.....sorry that was way off topic.

Woo...that's Boulder all right. I live up the canyon a-ways, but travel a lot for work. Always keep an eye on the Prius and Sube crowd, they've often got an axe to grind!

 

[SkyHighColorado]

Woo...that's Boulder all right. I live up the canyon a-ways, but travel a lot for work. Always keep an eye on the Prius and Sube crowd, they've often got an axe to grind!

nice, I ride carnage canyon on my yz250 its pretty fun.