How do I rebuild the front end? (order of operation?)

[redfishsc]

Ok gents, Ive never done more than shocks, swaybar links, and brake pads/calipers on a front suspension.

I am going to be replacing most of the suspension/steering consumables on the front of my 99 Suburban C1500 (rwd). Most of them are worn, especially the ball joints

Help me decide what to do first, especially on the steering.

I have coming from Rockauto, a bunch of Moog.
All 4 ball joints
All 4 tie rod ends
Shocks (all 4 corners)
Idler arm
Idler arm bracket
Pitman arm
Sway bar links
Brake stuffs.
A couple pickle forks
Air hammer (admittedly an impulse buy)

I already have a ball joint press, and a puller that should do the pitman arm.

Wheel bearings are good, i checked those last month, repacked.

Truck has 220k miles, oil pressure drops to about 22psi on the hottest days. Should i yank the oil pan and service it in any way? Upgrade to a high flow? New o ring?

Thanks all!

 

[RichLo]

For the suspension, do it all in one big job if possible rather than a bunch of weekend projects. Now would be a good time to also add upper and lower control arm bushings as well. Poly bushings is the easiest IMO, just burn out the rubber ones with a propane torch and slide in the new poly ones. Some people dont like the stiffer ride and the occasional squeak going over bumps but thats up to you. You may also need a pitman arm puller to get that off, luckily its 2wd so you won't have to pull the steering box to do that.

For the oil pressure, unless the oil pan is leaking leave it alone, 22psi on hot days is plenty fine for an engine that old.

 

[redfishsc]

Yeah my other Sub is a 4wd lol. Luckily the steering on it is FAR tighter than my 2wd. Hopefully it will go a few more years before needing a swap.


I do intend to do this all at once (this weekend) and then get an alignment at a shop.


Once I jack the front up, should I do the stuff on the center link first (idler arm, pitman) and work my way out? Or start at the ball joints and tie rod ends and work towards the center?

Im trying to avoid reinstalling everything in such a way that my drive to the mechanics for an alignment isn't a white knuckle seat-biter lol.

 

[RichLo]

I would pull the drag link and both tie rods off and measure them end-to-end before replacing them. And if you remove the upper control arms for bushing replacement, take a picture of where the cam washer is before removing it. Other than that it'll just be remove and replace for the rest of the suspension.

 

[whiteboyslo]

I rebuilt the whole front end, but the thing that tightened up the steering more than anything else was eliminating the rag joint on the steering shaft. There are a bunch of options, but I ended up going with a new unit from Derek's Steering Shafts. Pricey, but it made a 'night and day' difference. No more constant adjustments to the steering wheel going down the road.

On mine, I had a shop do the idler and pitman arm stuff, only because they were doing a bunch of other work and offered to do it as well on the cheap. For the ball joints, I replaced the entire UCA instead, which was a really easy job and saved me the hassle of grinding the rivets on the ball joint. I TRIED to do the same with the LCAs and to replace the springs at the same time. It didn't end well, and I put the blame square on Moog since it was all their parts. Story here: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/c2500-suburban-new-front-springs-installed-fun-new-noises.41787/

So, while I cannot comment on how the idler and pitman arms affect the job, I would recommend the following sequence:

1. Remove caliper
2. Remove sway bar end links
3. Remove tie rod end from knuckle
4. R&R ball joints
5. R&R the rest of the tie rod assembly (I would recommend picking up new center links for the tie rods. They're cheap and then you can build the new one to the exact length of the old one by laying them next to one another)
6. Install new sway bar end links
7. Install new pads in caliper before re-install

Shocks can be done at any time independent of this sequence. On my C2500, I didn't even need it in the air to do it, but a C1500 might be tight for ground clearance.

Mike

 

[Urambo Tauro]

Here in Michigan, I like to save brakes for last, so that if it becomes an extended project for some reason, the rotors that I just cleaned the shipping oil off of (or just had resurfaced) won't have an opportunity to start rusting. I want to be able to drive it ASAP after doing brakes. This also lends more freedom to touch things while doing other stuff underneath the vehicle, like if you're rolling around on a creeper, and happen to grab the rotor to pull yourself along. Also, while you're pumping fresh grease into the new joints, it won't matter if you accidentally get a little grease on the old brake parts since you can take care of that while doing brakes later.

It sounds like you're not actually removing the rotors, but the point about only having to clean them once at the end of all the work still stands. They're a lot easier to clean without the calipers on.

 

[redfishsc]

I rebuilt the whole front end, but the thing that tightened up the steering more than anything else was eliminating the rag joint on the steering shaft. There are a bunch of options, but I ended up going with a new unit from Derek's Steering Shafts. Pricey, but it made a 'night and day' difference. No more constant adjustments to the steering wheel going down the road.

On mine, I had a shop do the idler and pitman arm stuff, only because they were doing a bunch of other work and offered to do it as well on the cheap. For the ball joints, I replaced the entire UCA instead, which was a really easy job and saved me the hassle of grinding the rivets on the ball joint. I TRIED to do the same with the LCAs and to replace the springs at the same time. It didn't end well, and I put the blame square on Moog since it was all their parts. Story here: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/c2500-suburban-new-front-springs-installed-fun-new-noises.41787/

So, while I cannot comment on how the idler and pitman arms affect the job, I would recommend the following sequence:

1. Remove caliper
2. Remove sway bar end links
3. Remove tie rod end from knuckle
4. R&R ball joints
5. R&R the rest of the tie rod assembly (I would recommend picking up new center links for the tie rods. They're cheap and then you can build the new one to the exact length of the old one by laying them next to one another)
6. Install new sway bar end links
7. Install new pads in caliper before re-install

Shocks can be done at any time independent of this sequence. On my C2500, I didn't even need it in the air to do it, but a C1500 might be tight for ground clearance.

Mike

I definitely ordered new center links on the tie rod ends, forgot to put it in the list above.

This post is super helpful Mike, thanks! I will look into replacing the rag joint.

 

[RichLo]

I put a Flaming River u-joint on mine after rebuilding the front end and noticed a big difference also.

 

[Schurkey]

A couple pickle forks
Air hammer (admittedly an impulse buy)

I already have a ball joint press, and a puller that should do the pitman arm.

1. Pickle forks are NOT the proper tools for separating joints. Yes, they work. Yes, you're ****-canning the old parts anyway so it doesn't matter that they're damaged. I've used pickle-forks, but I quit when I found a KD (now Gearwrench) puller set. I've watched guys knock the pickle fork into the brake rotor when separating lower ball joints. I've seen the damage to the steering knuckle when the pickle fork distorts the iron the joint is taper-fitted to.

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https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-4...CCHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538067557&sr=8-1

2. Air hammers can be wonderful tools. You want one that hits HARD, and most of them hit FAST. Lightweight, inexpensive air hammers are useless for suspension work. They can be OK for cutting exhaust pipes, or beating panels. I hope you bought a hard-hitter.

3. I agree about the Polyurethane control arm bushings. Great upgrade. Poly bushings are much easier for the D-I-Y installer, as no press is needed. The only "special tool" is the propane torch. The rubber will spit, smoke, and burn. Do this outside, with a garden hose near by.

4. I need to stuff a rag joint into my truck--or replace the rag joint with a U-joint. Common problem.

 

[454cid]

I usually end up using pickle forks.... I hate it because they destroy the old parts, and shock the steering box, or don't fit on/around the knuckle. I need to buy some pullers/press/whatever to do it better.