Front End Rebuild-K2500 Burban

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1952Chevy

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Hey, I just wrapped up doing this myself. I ended up not going with the Mevotech kit, only because I wanted TTX ball joints, and tie-rod ends. Everything else I went with blue boot Mevotech.

I had 0 issues getting the LCA's off the torsion bars, or back on for that matter. I do recommend measuring the torsion key bolt length before hand. I did not, but one had a clear line where at the point it stopped in the bracket. When re-installing I put that one to where it was, and measured to make the other side the same. Worked out perfect.

For the LCA bushings, make sure you order the correct ones, I accidentally ordered the wrong ones, and it was too late to return them. They should be rubber only on the outside for our rigs.

For the upper ball joints, if they are still rivited instead of bolted to the UCA, be prepared for a nightmare. Grind down the flat side of the rivit(or whatever side is on the UCA and not the ball joint). Then use an air hammer to chisel between the ball joint and UCA to pull the rivits out of the control arm at the same time. I didn't do this on the first one, and spent quite awhile getting the rivits out of the control arm. Also one of my TTX upper balljoints showed up without threads on one of the studs, Rockauto took care of that and sent me a new one. That was my only complaint about the Mevotech or TTX stuff that I had.

I ended up ordering a couple extra parts on accident, such as sway bar bushings that came in packs of 2. I was only able to utilize the rubber part of the bushing, not the brackets. My old brackets were in good shape though so not an issue. The new brackets didn't line up properly, despite the bushing being correct.

Make sure to clock the lower ball joints correctly. 1 of mine is installed incorrectly and the grease fitting points toward the front diff. It's really hard to lube that ball joint, but I figured it out. There is a notch in the LCA where the lube point should be(toward the rear of the truck IIRC).

If you're doing pitman arm and idler arm as well, the pitman arm is a little difficult. I had to unbolt the steering box so it was free floating in order to be able to get a pitman arm puller on it. Didn't undo any of the lines, just needed a little wiggle room. Once the old one was off, I bolted the box back down and had no issues on install.

I also did, shocks, bearings/hubs, brakes and CV shafts while I had everything apart. The brake rotors are held onto the hub by the wheel studs. You have to press the studs out in order to replace the rotors(I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find a hub assembly with studs already attached). New calipers are fairly cheap from O'Reilly, cheaper than buying the parts to rebuild them, so I went that route(I had a hanging caliper).

I think that's all my advice at the moment, I'll add more if I think of anything, and feel free to answer questions. This ended up taking me quite a bit of time, because I found issues as I went and had to wait for parts, and took a 3 week vacation in the mix as well. If I had the correct LCA bushings from the start, and didn't run into the issue with the Upper ball-joint stud I wouldn't have had to wait for parts, and could have probably gotten this done in a weekend. Took me about 3 months :confused:
 
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BBslider001

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Hey, I just wrapped up doing this myself. I ended up not going with the Mevotech kit, only because I wanted TTX ball joints, and tie-rod ends. Everything else I went with blue boot Mevotech.

I had 0 issues getting the LCA's off the torsion bars, or back on for that matter. I do recommend measuring the torsion key bolt length before hand. I did not, but one had a clear line where at the point it stopped in the bracket. When re-installing I put that one to where it was, and measured to make the other side the same. Worked out perfect.

For the LCA bushings, make sure you order the correct ones, I accidentally ordered the wrong ones, and it was too late to return them. They should be rubber only on the outside for our rigs.

For the upper ball joints, if they are still rivited instead of bolted to the UCA, be prepared for a nightmare. Grind down the flat side of the rivit(or whatever side is on the UCA and not the ball joint). Then use an air hammer to chisel between the ball joint and UCA to pull the rivits out of the control arm at the same time. I didn't do this on the first one, and spent quite awhile getting the rivits out of the control arm. Also one of my TTX upper balljoints showed up without threads on one of the studs, Rockauto took care of that and sent me a new one. That was my only complaint about the Mevotech or TTX stuff that I had.

I ended up ordering a couple extra parts on accident, such as sway bar bushings that came in packs of 2. I was only able to utilize the rubber part of the bushing, not the brackets. My old brackets were in good shape though so not an issue. The new brackets didn't line up properly, despite the bushing being correct.

Make sure to clock the lower ball joints correctly. 1 of mine is installed incorrectly and the grease fitting points toward the front diff. It's really hard to lube that ball joint, but I figured it out. There is a notch in the LCA where the lube point should be(toward the rear of the truck IIRC).

If you're doing pitman arm and idler arm as well, the pitman arm is a little difficult. I had to unbolt the steering box so it was free floating in order to be able to get a pitman arm puller on it. Didn't undo any of the lines, just needed a little wiggle room. Once the old one was off, I bolted the box back down and had no issues on install.

I also did, shocks, bearings/hubs, brakes and CV shafts while I had everything apart. The brake rotors are held onto the hub by the wheel studs. You have to press the studs out in order to replace the rotors(I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find a hub assembly with studs already attached). New calipers are fairly cheap from O'Reilly, cheaper than buying the parts to rebuild them, so I went that route(I had a hanging caliper).

I think that's all my advice at the moment, I'll add more if I think of anything, and feel free to answer questions. This ended up taking me quite a bit of time, because I found issues as I went and had to wait for parts, and took a 3 week vacation in the mix as well. If I had the correct LCA bushings from the start, and didn't run into the issue with the Upper ball-joint stud I wouldn't have had to wait for parts, and could have probably gotten this done in a weekend. Took me about 3 months :confused:
Wow, it definitely sounds like a job. It is looking like I will have to pay someone because I no longer have a shop and it can't sit on jacks at my rental house for more than a weekend. I have heavily considered doing it myself, but I don't see how with the time issue. I have another truck, so that's no problem. I appreciate your insight though. How did it drive after all of that? I have a serious vibration form the front end that I am 95% sure is ball joint related. I have had the same issue on a previous truck.
 
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1952Chevy

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Completely Understand, by the time I realized it would have been quicker to hire it out, it was already on jack stands in the driveway.

I only drove up and down my road because I still need to do the rear brakes, and haven't bled the front yet. But I would always rub while backing out of my driveway and I no longer rub. I believe the rub was due to my control arm bushings being shot. The passenger tire didn't seem to sit properly in the wheel well.
 

BBslider001

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Completely Understand, by the time I realized it would have been quicker to hire it out, it was already on jack stands in the driveway.

I only drove up and down my road because I still need to do the rear brakes, and haven't bled the front yet. But I would always rub while backing out of my driveway and I no longer rub. I believe the rub was due to my control arm bushings being shot. The passenger tire didn't seem to sit properly in the wheel well.
Sounds like the work did you well then. If you think about it, report back and let me know. I'll bet it drives pretty darn nice!

Here's the funny thing. I called 3 different shops today for appts and an estimate. They act like they don't want the work, so here goes the hunt for a decent garage to do the work. I do want to use TTX ball joints. The rest can be Moog or Mevotech Supreme. I'll report when I have a place to take it.
 
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1989GMCSIERRA

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Forget Mevotech. I did a neighbors 2001 Silverado abd he wanted the Mevotech stuff. Ijust checked it all over avd it’s wearing out. So far he got three years out of it. It may go another 1/2 before he needs new Ball joints And tie rod ends.
if you can find Dana Spicer fir your application get those.
 

BBslider001

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Appreciate the info. I think you are right. I keep reading/hearing hit or miss with Mevotech...even the TTX stuff. So, small update....I found a really cool little shop local to me. It's kind of a hidden gem. The guy is younger than me, owns 5 acres with his house and his shop is out back. It's very reminiscent of how Texas was 15-20 years ago. Just guys making a living on their own property with a shop and a wrench. I pulled up, 2 Heelers came out to visit and there was some Reckless Kelly playing at a decent volume. He got a flashlight and a creeper and looked at the entire front end. I don't need lower BJs but we will do them anyways. Gonna do everything else and a gearbox. I cannot believe how bad mine is. He said he would try to save me as much money as he could but he is big on doing it right the first time. I had a good feeling about him and I have learned to trust that. He's the kind of dude I have as friends and would have a beer with. His work area is full of diesel trucks and work trucks and he says he does a good amount of GMT 400 front ends. This platform was so popular in Texas years ago and there are still many left on the road, so he works on them quite a bit to keep them going. We are keeping it simple and going with Moog parts that have a lifetime warranty. He says he has good service out of them and he uses them only unless a customer wants something different.Oh, he also had a '67 Camaro parked at his personal one bay shop. Sold me LOL I'll report back. Should go in Monday or Tuesday.
 

HotWheelsBurban

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Appreciate the info. I think you are right. I keep reading/hearing hit or miss with Mevotech...even the TTX stuff. So, small update....I found a really cool little shop local to me. It's kind of a hidden gem. The guy is younger than me, owns 5 acres with his house and his shop is out back. It's very reminiscent of how Texas was 15-20 years ago. Just guys making a living on their own property with a shop and a wrench. I pulled up, 2 Heelers came out to visit and there was some Reckless Kelly playing at a decent volume. He got a flashlight and a creeper and looked at the entire front end. I don't need lower BJs but we will do them anyways. Gonna do everything else and a gearbox. I cannot believe how bad mine is. He said he would try to save me as much money as he could but he is big on doing it right the first time. I had a good feeling about him and I have learned to trust that. He's the kind of dude I have as friends and would have a beer with. His work area is full of diesel trucks and work trucks and he says he does a good amount of GMT 400 front ends. This platform was so popular in Texas years ago and there are still many left on the road, so he works on them quite a bit to keep them going. We are keeping it simple and going with Moog parts that have a lifetime warranty. He says he has good service out of them and he uses them only unless a customer wants something different.Oh, he also had a '67 Camaro parked at his personal one bay shop. Sold me LOL I'll report back. Should go in Monday or Tuesday.
Sounds good, where is this guy located? He sounds kinda like my guy in Conroe, but I know it's not him cause he doesn't like Camaros lol. He's more into old school stuff; building hot rods and vintage cars. 30s, 40s, 50s stuff.
 
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