Front End Rebuild-K2500 Burban

[BBslider001]

Do you feel the shake in the steering wheel, or in the seat?

Steering wheel = Probably the front end
Seat = Probably somewhere else

When my Trailblazer had a shake that would make the rear view mirror useless, starting at 68 mph, worst at 73 mph, and gone by 80 mph, it was the rear U-joint of the rear drive shaft. Twice. The second time, I replaced the driveshaft. That Trailblazer now has nearly 270K miles on it, and I think it's just taken-out a front wheel bearing/hub assembly. I mostly hear the moaning/howling; but there's some shake in the steering wheel, too.

Even if the tires are balanced, brake drums or brake rotors might not be. As the drums/rotors rust away, the balance changes. Excess brake rotor runout can cause a shake even when the brakes are not applied...although it's usually worse when the brakes are applied lightly.


Skidding the tires wouldn't change anything in the "front end" that wasn't already worn-out. Flat-spotting the tires could cause a shake. But if he did this in his driveway, there probably wasn't enough speed to make a long-enough skid to flat-spot the tires.

Variations in tire sidewall stiffness is another possibility; but that would be consistent from the time the tires were installed. Also tends to be worst on low-profile "rubber band" tires rather than the taller-sidewall tires like the trucks use.

Very much appreciate the input. The shake is definitely in the front end. The steering wheel and entire dash shake at 75. The seat shakes a little, but I think it's residual from the front end coming loose. I don't think the tires have flat spots. My first guess is something broke loose in the front end. It was already on the list to get replaced, but maybe his action brought it along quicker. I don't know at this point. It has the same tires since I bought it back in January. It drove 9 hours form Colorado Springs super smooth and always was until the rear brakes were worked on.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I would also consider the SuperSteer Idler Bracket and Cognito Pitman/Idler Brackets. If your going in, spend a little more.

I'm not a fan of heim joints on a daily driver. They require regular inspection, and on high strength applications you have to be careful to get true steel heim joints. There are lots of nylon-lined poseurs out there. A good, new, stock style idler and pitman are low maintenance and work fine.

 

[BBslider001]

I'm not a fan of heim joints on a daily driver. They require regular inspection, and on high strength applications you have to be careful to get true steel heim joints. There are lots of nylon-lined poseurs out there. A good, new, stock style idler and pitman are low maintenance and work fine.

I already have the AC DElco parts anyways. While I appreciate the suggestion, it was too late for me to consider it. I agree though. Heim joints are not my preference in this application.

 

[Caman96]

I’ve never seen any negative review on either of those parts. And my front end still feels awesome!

 

[BBslider001]

I’ve never seen any negative review on either of those parts. And my front end still feels awesome!

That's good to hear. Like I said though, if you saw my previous post before you siggested the other ones, I had already purchased everything. Glad they have worked for you though!

 

[Caman96]

Was just throwing it out, that’s all. With parts you got, you’ll still be fine. I should’ve mentioned earlier that I had bought Acdelco idler, bracket and pitman. I need to sell, probably at a discounted price. Still new and wrapped!

 

[BBslider001]

Was just throwing it out, that’s all. With parts you got, you’ll still be fine. I should’ve mentioned earlier that I had bought Acdelco idler, bracket and pitman. I need to sell, probably at a discounted price. Still new and wrapped!

I'd be interested in that pitman arm if you could get it to me soon. I cancelled the other one because it gave me a Nov 20th delivery date.

 

[BBslider001]

What rotors are you guys using? I ordered a Powerstop drilled/slotted kit as I have really good performance on my Ford diesels, but I know the brakes on the GMT 400s are usually a problem area.

 

[Schurkey]

What rotors are you guys using? I ordered a Powerstop drilled/slotted kit

I'm not a fan of drilled/slotted rotors. Usually, they're the same cheap-junk Chinese rotors as you can get from any parts store, but someone threw 'em on an automated high-speed milling machine, carved a pretty pattern into them, and then put 'em into a four-color box, with the decimal point on the price tag moved over one place. They're "marketing" not "Performance".

I know the brakes on the GMT 400s are usually a problem area.

The brakes on 1500 pickups (254mm leading/trailing shoe drums) (JN3, JN5, JB3, JB5) are a problem area; and in the early years, the regular-cab pickups got JN/JB3 brakes--the smallest caliper pistons and the smallest vacuum booster ever used on a GMT400. Most everything else is pretty reasonable except for folks not bleeding the ABS properly.

 

[Caman96]

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