Turning and Handling

[Schurkey]

The worst part about Polyurethane bushings is that neither of the two Poly bushing insert kits I'm aware of provides the steel inner sleeve for the upper bushings.

They give you the steel sleeves for the lower bushings, but not the uppers. You're supposed to re-use the original ones, I guess. Mine were so rusty that there was no way they could be re-used. I had to buy steel tubing, then cut it down to the proper OD and length to finish the Poly control arm bushing installation on my '88 K1500.

Another alternative is to buy replacement upper control arms--you get new rubber bushings included, along with new ball joints. The ones I bought for my '97 K2500 were, of course, Asian imports. S. Korean, if I remember correctly.

 

[GMTMark]

Tires are 355 60 r15.

 

[GMTMark]

I did the Jeep joint in mine, and there's no appreciable increase in vibration. Of course, I still have a lot of work to do on tightening up my steering, and if I put polyurethane bushings in my control arms, I suspect I might get a noticeable increase.

Is the jeep joint easy to fit?

 

[GMTMark]

The worst part about Polyurethane bushings is that neither of the two Poly bushing insert kits I'm aware of provides the steel inner sleeve for the upper bushings.

They give you the steel sleeves for the lower bushings, but not the uppers. You're supposed to re-use the original ones, I guess. Mine were so rusty that there was no way they could be re-used. I had to buy steel tubing, then cut it down to the proper OD and length to finish the Poly control arm bushing installation on my '88 K1500.

Another alternative is to buy replacement upper control arms--you get new rubber bushings included, along with new ball joints. The ones I bought for my '97 K2500 were, of course, Asian imports. S. Korean, if I remember correctly.

I’ve looked at those. Do they work ok for you?

 

[Erik the Awful]

Is the jeep joint easy to fit?

It is, but it's not an option for the later GMT400s. It's jointed on both ends, and can cause the steering to bind up on the later trucks. I was just commenting that the u-joints didn't transmit any extra vibration.

 

[GMTMark]

It is, but it's not an option for the later GMT400s. It's jointed on both ends, and can cause the steering to bind up on the later trucks. I was just commenting that the u-joints didn't transmit any extra vibration.

I see. So my truck being a 98 won’t accommodate that. Likely Ill go with a new rag joint. Thanks.

 

[Supercharged111]

I see. So my truck being a 98 won’t accommodate that. Likely Ill go with a new rag joint. Thanks.

You can swap the rag joint for a u joint too.

 

[alignman88]

Tires are 355 60 r15.

That is a LOT of sidewall rolling over. Go to a shorter sidewall tire. I run a 255/60r15 (I think) on front. As stated-replace control arms with quality units (Moog for OEM style). Shorter sidewall tires up front, rag joint, and throw on really good shocks and front/rear sway bars. Junk yard OEM units from SUV for rear and new bushings. Belltech offers a killer shock/sway bar package that you can spec which level shocks you want. Works well.

 

[GMTMark]

That is a LOT of sidewall rolling over. Go to a shorter sidewall tire. I run a 255/60r15 (I think) on front. As stated-replace control arms with quality units (Moog for OEM style). Shorter sidewall tires up front, rag joint, and throw on really good shocks and front/rear sway bars. Junk yard OEM units from SUV for rear and new bushings. Belltech offers a killer shock/sway bar package that you can spec which level shocks you want. Works well.

My mistake. I have 255 60 R15. Fat fingers hit the wrong key.