Questions - Suspension rebuild & 2" lift - the good, the bad and the ugly

[Erock1970]

I found a 95 5.7L K1500 extended cab and purchased it for $2K. Now for the details;

The good - the seller replaced the entire drive train from a donor Suburban that was in a accident. The seller seemed honest and still had the carcass of the donor in a field behind his house. He says the drive train has 80K miles on it. There are no fluid leaks, ticking, or anything else that would suggest this isn't true. The engine pulls hard and the transmission shifts well. The 4 wheel drive works as well. This is a southern truck so it has no rust. The seller even replaced the interior at one point, the dash, door panels, carpet and seats all look good. Surprisingly there are only 3 dents, all smaller than a quarter.

The bad - the clear coat is shot. The seller lives in GA. The sunakes its toll on paint. The truck also needs new tires, but I see that as an opportunity.

The ugly - it was used to pull a wood chipper for a tree service company. It has 370K on the body. The front suspension is shot. It's going to need a complete rebuild. I can drive the truck, but there is about 1" of slop in the steering wheel.

Here's my questions;

Does anyone know of a good website to buy a complete rebuild kit for the front end? I found some online but I am not familiar with the company's'. I was told to avoid Moog by a coworker.

Would you recommend I replace the coils and leafs? The truck sits even and measures 35" to the wheel well with stock tires. Either the springs are good or they all wore evenly (front and back).

Anyone install this kit on their truck? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfy-12933kn
I'm hoping I can use 255/85r16's, 285/75r16's or 305/70r16's with this kit and the stock wheels. I read a few threads where people did manage to use these tires without a lift kit, so I'm hoping the 2" kit will give me some extra assurance.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

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[mtl111]

I disagree 100% with your co workers opinion about Moog. All of their parts have very well made and reliable. I rebuilt the front end of my 99' 2 Door Tahoe with all Moog parts, she drives like new.
I went to Moogs website, got the part numbers I needed and searched Amazon for the cheapest price.
Your truck has leafs in the rear and torsion bars in the front.
No idea about the lift kit.

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[Hipster]

I found a 95 5.7L K1500 extended cab and purchased it for $2K. Now for the details;

The good - the seller replaced the entire drive train from a donor Suburban that was in a accident. The seller seemed honest and still had the carcass of the donor in a field behind his house. He says the drive train has 80K miles on it. There are no fluid leaks, ticking, or anything else that would suggest this isn't true. The engine pulls hard and the transmission shifts well. The 4 wheel drive works as well. This is a southern truck so it has no rust. The seller even replaced the interior at one point, the dash, door panels, carpet and seats all look good. Surprisingly there are only 3 dents, all smaller than a quarter.

The bad - the clear coat is shot. The seller lives in GA. The sunakes its toll on paint. The truck also needs new tires, but I see that as an opportunity.

The ugly - it was used to pull a wood chipper for a tree service company. It has 370K on the body. The front suspension is shot. It's going to need a complete rebuild. I can drive the truck, but there is about 1" of slop in the steering wheel.

Here's my questions;

Does anyone know of a good website to buy a complete rebuild kit for the front end? I found some online but I am not familiar with the company's'. I was told to avoid Moog by a coworker.

Would you recommend I replace the coils and leafs? The truck sits even and measures 35" to the wheel well with stock tires. Either the springs are good or they all wore evenly (front and back).

Anyone install this kit on their truck? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tfy-12933kn
I'm hoping I can use 255/85r16's, 285/75r16's or 305/70r16's with this kit and the stock wheels. I read a few threads where people did manage to use these tires without a lift kit, so I'm hoping the 2" kit will give me some extra assurance.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

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Skip the kit. First, you don't need the kit to get 2 inches, Secondly 99% of people are not happy with the bone jarring ride torsion bar cranking results in.

There is plenty of info on this site if you look around about those types of kits and the problems they can create.

 

[alpinecrick]

Your truck has torsion bars in front rather than coils. What I have been told and everything I've read is the keys provided in various lifts are the same as the factory keys. Simply cranking up the torsion bars with the factory or aftermarket keys isn't good for steering. Some guys get away with 285 tires without (much) rubbing with stock ride height, some don't.

Stay away from Moog ball joints on IFS trucks, the rest of the Moog steering parts seem to be good. I would recommend MevoTech TX for bj's and steering parts.

To get good steering:
MevoTech TX ball joints, MevoTech TX, or AC Delco, or Moog, or Proforged tie rod ends, adjusters, pittman arm, idler arm, idler arm bracket for starters.
Newly manufactured steering gear box (not rebuilt) or Redtop, BlueTop, AGR, and one or two other premium rebuilt gear boxes.
New rag joint.
Your control arm bushings may/probably need replaced. Differential carrier bushings may need replaced. Sway bar bushing and links probably need replaced.
Possibly the PS pump.
Possibly the hub bearing assemblies.
The above just killed off roughly a 1200-1500 dollar bill and a very long weekend to do it correctly, IF everything goes fairly smooth with the right tools and buddies in hand (don't let them start drinking beer until after 5).

Also, new Bilsteins have helped the steering.

Are the leaf springs 3/1 or 4/1 springs? If they are 4/1 you probably have the F44 heavy duty chassis or they have already been changed. The truck appears to be sitting well, so the rear leafs may be fine.

The existing tires appear to be serviceable, I strongly recommend you get the truck steering correctly BEFORE diving into a lift--which will bring it's own challenges to you and your bank account..........

 

[alpinecrick]

I disagree 100% with your co workers opinion about Moog. All of their parts have very well made and reliable. I rebuilt the front end of my 99' 2 Door Tahoe with all Moog parts, she drives like new.
I went to Moogs website, got the part numbers I needed and searched Amazon for the cheapest price.
Your truck has leafs in the rear and torsion bars in the front.
No idea about the lift kit.

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My Moog uppers on my 96 showed movement within 10k, the lowers within 15k. Talking to my alignment shop and others, the Moogs do not hold up with IFS front ends.

MevoTech TX lowers did as much to tighten up the steering, significantly reducing the tires following ruts in the pavement, than all new Moog bj's, steering parts, bushings etc.
The 96 has been in the family since new and I drove it on occasion, it drove EXCELLENT, so I have a reference point to go from. I have been chasing the original quality of steering in this truck for over two years. I have finally come very close.

 

[mtl111]

I have never used any MevoTech parts, actually I had never heard of them before. We've used Moog balljoints and all other suspension parts for years. We've racked up ALOT of miles and have never had a failure. I'm not going to bash some brand I have no experience with but if you use Moog's upper level line of parts my opinion and the opinion of many other people/shops swear by them. I'm not concerned with price when it comes to parts, i want the ones that fit exactly as GM intended and I want them to last. I googled a comparison between Moog and MevoTech, there are many out there but below is an excerpt.

“Metallurgical analysis of ball studs utilized in Centric, MAS, Mevotech Supreme and MOOG ball joints showed that only MOOG parts met or exceeded the characteristics of the original equipment ball studs”.

The research also points out that Mevotech Supreme was the first to fracture during simulations. Testing involved chemical composition, heat treatment trials and shot peening in ball joints.
Keep in mind that the test was performed on only three applications – 07 Silverado, 13 Ford F-150 and 07 Toyota Camry.

Everyone has there favorites and thats fine, everyone has an opinion, buy what you want.

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[alpinecrick]

Although you didn’t cite the source (Moog?) or age of the test the Supreme is a previous line, the TX are a newer heavy duty line.

The Moog bj’s are not holding up in IFS trucks. It’s not just me, others are having the same complaints. The alignment shop I use has stopped using Moog ball joints in IFS trucks because they have had too many comebacks the last couple years. Although we have to have a critical eye about stuff posted on the internet, there has been a lot of complaints recently.
And the rumor is some Moog stuff has been outsourced to China in the last few years.

 

[mtl111]

In the article above the text I copied it said this

Here’s a quote from an independent testing study from 2016

It also said Moog's upper level line is made in Japan and the lower level "white box" parts are made in Mexico/China. It stated Mevotech was made in China.
Unfortunately you can't buy parts made in the US anymore but I'd rather have a Japanese made part than one made in China. Most of our vehicles are IFS GM vehicles and no issues with Moog. If others have problems with them, then get what works for you. I only stated MY opinion first, i did not intend to get into a contest about brands. Good luck OP with whatever parts you use.


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[alpinecrick]

mtl, do you have a link to that study? I'd be interested in reading it.

 

[mtl111]

https://toolingfun.com/mevotech-vs-moog-suspension-replacements-ball-joints/

Just one of many comparison articles, this just happens to be the one I clicked on.

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