Shocks and front end parts advice

[Jeff7]

Hey guys, I'm looking for some input on what shocks to buy and any advice on replacing parts in my front end. quick background on my truck is its a 98 Chevy K1500 ecsb Z71, has 355km and I live in northern Alberta, so we see winters as cold as -40C. There is also a good chance I'll be moving to eastern Canada where they salt the roads at some point (I'm in the military).

First question is for the shocks, are the Bilstein 4600 worth their price (~$100 each at rockauto)? Or would a KYB or something for a cheaper price be just as good? My truck doesnt usually see much weight in the back, and I only tow a double skidoo trailer or a boat, nothing too heavy.

Second thing is I'm replacing pretty much everything in the front end, I had a lot of torn boots and just kept greasing them but now I have time to fix it. pretty much every boot is torn so I plan on replacing inner and outer tie rods with adjustment sleeves, pitman arm, idler arm with bracket, upper control arm (comes with BJ and bushings), lower BJ and bushings, sway bar links and bushings, and CV axles. Aside from the axles I plan on buying Mevotech Supreme, I was told the Terrain Tough is better but that's a big price increase and my truck doesnt see much offroad, nor do I have over sized tires. Anyone have an opinion on this brand?

For CVs I was going to get Cardone Select 661009HD, any opinion on those?

There's no need to replace the center link right? And along that train of though is it worth replacing the adjustment sleeve with the tie rods?

The CVs come with axle nuts, is there any other hardware that I should be buying new for this job?

I was also thinking about replacing the leaf spring bushings and the U bolts, do you guys think that is worth doing?

Thanks for any input, this will be a big job for me and i'm trying to make sure I have everything sorted it out and thought of before I commit and buy the parts.

 

[studigggs]

I just did this on a '90 z71 a few months ago. Used the Cardone HD axle assemblies as well, and while they aren't as robust as the OEM (based on a simple heft test) they haven't made any noise so far. Hindsight, I wish I would have kept the OEM shafts and tried to find someone to rebuild them for me.

On the front end components, I went with Moog for everything, but wish I had done the Mevotech. The Moog seemed to be comparable to OEM as far as the heft test went.

Things I found unexpectedly that may help you:

I put in new hub assemblies, but even if you dont, you may want to get get new outer axle shaft seals (pop on to the rear of the hub) as the rubber seals on mine were shot.

Check your front differential for oil leaks around the axle stubs, and if you see some, get new outer seals for that. Believe they can pop in w/o removing the diff. I discovered lots of play in my axle stubs so went ahead and purchased a rebuilt front diff.

My lower BJ were riveted in...hope you dont have that in a '98 because it sucked. had to drill a hole then pound like hell with a sledge to get those things out (I dont have a fancy air hammer)

Other than that, I did front brake lines (the rubber) while I was in there and new wheel well rubber flaps from LMC

 

[454cid]

First question is for the shocks, are the Bilstein 4600 worth their price (~$100 each at rockauto)? Or would a KYB or something for a cheaper price be just as good?

Unless you really want and can afford Bilsteins get something cheaper. They are easy to change, so I'd rather put money elsewhere int the truck.

Second thing is I'm replacing pretty much everything in the front end, I had a lot of torn boots and just kept greasing them but now I have time to fix it. pretty much every boot is torn so I plan on replacing inner and outer tie rods with adjustment sleeves, pitman arm, idler arm with bracket, upper control arm (comes with BJ and bushings), lower BJ and bushings, sway bar links and bushings, and CV axles. Aside from the axles I plan on buying Mevotech Supreme, I was told the Terrain Tough is better but that's a big price increase and my truck doesnt see much offroad, nor do I have over sized tires. Anyone have an opinion on this brand?

I've gotten two Mevotech items.... hub and upper ball joint. The hub, I returned because the ABS sensor was broken. The upper ball joint I used, but wasn't thrilled with it. I was hoping it would have a sealed boot, and it did not. The Moog upper isn't sealed either. I think I have one lower Moog, and one Lower AC Delco. Tie-rods are all Moog, yes get the adjustment sleeves, too. The Moog tie-rods will have sealed boots. My pitman arm is Moog, but my IDler arm is NAPA... the only NAPA suspension/steering part I'd consider to be any good.

For CVs I was going to get Cardone Select 661009HD, any opinion on those?

If your OEM CV axles are still good, re-use them. All the new ones are cheap Chinese... I installed a new Cardone and it last a year or two before the boots started leaking. Make sure you pad the lower shock mounts when removing/installing the CV shafts to you don't tear a the boots.

There's no need to replace the center link right?

Not unless the a hole is wallowed out. It's not a wear part.

The CVs come with axle nuts, is there any other hardware that I should be buying new for this job?

I like getting cotter pins than are a bit bigger than what comes with the parts. Also have anti-seize handy. Measure your anti-sway bar diameter... there are 3 sizes and you want the right size bushings if you replace those.
If you're going to pull/replace hubs you might want to buy a new bolt set to replace any that are not in good shape.

 

[Jeff7]

I just did this on a '90 z71 a few months ago. Used the Cardone HD axle assemblies as well, and while they aren't as robust as the OEM (based on a simple heft test) they haven't made any noise so far. Hindsight, I wish I would have kept the OEM shafts and tried to find someone to rebuild them for me.

On the front end components, I went with Moog for everything, but wish I had done the Mevotech. The Moog seemed to be comparable to OEM as far as the heft test went.

Things I found unexpectedly that may help you:

I put in new hub assemblies, but even if you dont, you may want to get get new outer axle shaft seals (pop on to the rear of the hub) as the rubber seals on mine were shot.

Check your front differential for oil leaks around the axle stubs, and if you see some, get new outer seals for that. Believe they can pop in w/o removing the diff. I discovered lots of play in my axle stubs so went ahead and purchased a rebuilt front diff.

My lower BJ were riveted in...hope you dont have that in a '98 because it sucked. had to drill a hole then pound like hell with a sledge to get those things out (I dont have a fancy air hammer)

Other than that, I did front brake lines (the rubber) while I was in there and new wheel well rubber flaps from LMC

Thanks for the info man, I'm aware of the lower BJ and how to deal with them lol.

Why do you wish you kept OEM axles? I think mine are original and it's just a torn boot as of now, so could get away with just changing the boot.

Why did you replace the hub?

And what does the outer axle shaft seal actually seal?

I'm pretty sure my outer seal on the driver side is leaking, so I'll be replacing that. I think I might actually have more than that leaking so I need to get some good pictures and see what people think.

 

[Jeff7]

Unless you really want and can afford Bilsteins get something cheaper. They are easy to change, so I'd rather put money elsewhere int the truck.



I've gotten two Mevotech items.... hub and upper ball joint. The hub, I returned because the ABS sensor was broken. The upper ball joint I used, but wasn't thrilled with it. I was hoping it would have a sealed boot, and it did not. The Moog upper isn't sealed either. I think I have one lower Moog, and one Lower AC Delco. Tie-rods are all Moog, yes get the adjustment sleeves, too. The Moog tie-rods will have sealed boots. My pitman arm is Moog, but my IDler arm is NAPA... the only NAPA suspension/steering part I'd consider to be any good.



If your OEM CV axles are still good, re-use them. All the new ones are cheap Chinese... I installed a new Cardone and it last a year or two before the boots started leaking. Make sure you pad the lower shock mounts when removing/installing the CV shafts to you don't tear a the boots.



Not unless the a hole is wallowed out. It's not a wear part.



I like getting cotter pins than are a bit bigger than what comes with the parts. Also have anti-seize handy. Measure your anti-sway bar diameter... there are 3 sizes and you want the right size bushings if you replace those.
If you're going to pull/replace hubs you might want to buy a new bolt set to replace any that are not in good shape.

If you don't think Bilstein is worth the price then do you have a good suggestion of a quality shock to buy instead? Im just not sure what to get.

And like I asked before, I should just replace my CV boots then? And why would I want to replace my hub? What should I look for to indicate they need replacing?

 

[454cid]

If you don't think Bilstein is worth the price then do you have a good suggestion of a quality shock to buy instead? Im just not sure what to get.

It's not so much them being worth the price, it's that they are expensive, and if your funds are limited, then money could be better spent elsewhere. Shocks are easy to change, lower ball joints are not.

And like I asked before, I should just replace my CV boots then? And why would I want to replace my hub? What should I look for to indicate they need replacing?

Is there something wrong with the CV boots? I'm not sure how to replace the boots. I couln't get mine apart.

Your hubs are where your bearings are. If they're loose, or feel rough, they'll need to be replaced.

 

[mistaake]

Don't get Mevotech, I've heard bad stuff about them. I'd stick with ACDelco Professional or Moog if you're going to keep the truck a long time. Make sure you get the Moog that's Made in the USA, some of it isn't. For shocks I'm putting KYB MonoMax on my truck - much cheaper than Bilstein and still really good.

 

[Jeff7]

It's not so much them being worth the price, it's that they are expensive, and if your funds are limited, then money could be better spent elsewhere. Shocks are easy to change, lower ball joints are not.



Is there something wrong with the CV boots? I'm not sure how to replace the boots. I couln't get mine apart.

Your hubs are where your bearings are. If they're loose, or feel rough, they'll need to be replaced.

Ah ok, I think my bearings are fine.

Ya both of my outer CV boots are torn.

 

[Jeff7]

Don't get Mevotech, I've heard bad stuff about them. I'd stick with ACDelco Professional or Moog if you're going to keep the truck a long time. Make sure you get the Moog that's Made in the USA, some of it isn't. For shocks I'm putting KYB MonoMax on my truck - much cheaper than Bilstein and still really good.

And those KYB are supposed to last as well?

I do plan on keeping the truck a long time, that's why I'm replacing all this stuff. I've heard that ACDelco isn't worth the inflated price, and that Moog is mediocre quality now too just coasting on reputation. Mevotech has different levels of quality, did you hear that supreme specifically isn't good, because they also have a very cheap option. I'm just curious because I heard some good things about mevotech, that's why I was planning to go with them on everything.

 

[mistaake]

And those KYB are supposed to last as well?

I do plan on keeping the truck a long time, that's why I'm replacing all this stuff. I've heard that ACDelco isn't worth the inflated price, and that Moog is mediocre quality now too just coasting on reputation. Mevotech has different levels of quality, did you hear that supreme specifically isn't good, because they also have a very cheap option. I'm just curious because I heard some good things about mevotech, that's why I was planning to go with them on everything.

Mevotech's regular stuff is crap. Mevotech Supreme is supposed to be good. I say supposed to be because if you look hard enough there are plenty of people complaining about premature failure.

Moog has different series, just like ACDelco. Moog "Problem Solver" series, is the good stuff. Most of it's still Made in the USA. With ACDelco, the "Advantage" stuff is crap, the "Professional" stuff is good. As for price, oftentimes ACDelco and Moog are very similar in price.

I work at an auto parts store, Moog stuff doesn't come back often. Our generic house brand stuff comes back a lot, a few thousand miles later... definitely don't go cheap LOL. Then again I'm in the process of doing almost the entire front end of my truck with our cheap generic brand of stuff.

You might wonder, "why, Michael, are you putting that junk on your truck when you just told me it sucks?" Well, here's why... when it goes out, and I saw when, not if, I'll return it under warranty and spend the extra to trade up to Moog. I'm just on a very very tight budget right now, and I'm doing all the work myself on my days off so I'm not wasting money on labor. And I have a lifetime alignment package through Firestone so I don't need to pay for another alignment after replacing front end parts again.

So, cheap junk has its uses, but if you only wanna do it once, Moog Problem Solver or ACDelco Professional is the way to go!

As for the shocks, I've sold MonoMax to several regular customers that use their trucks for work, off-road, etc, because we can get them faster and cheaper than they can find Bilsteins online. EVERY single one is happy with them and they hold up. What absolutely doesn't hold up is Rancho. So many warranty returns it's not even funny! I've worked there for a little over two years and we have had the same guy warranty his Ranchos off his F-150 four times so far!! Hmm, I wonder who makes Rancho... oh, it's owned by the same company that makes Monroe. No wonder Rancho is junk!