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Anyone here one? Got a quick suspension question.
Looking for shock replacements. Not looking for anything extreme so with that in mind, is a shock a shock for my use?
Tie rod ends as well? Is one the same as the other for someone looking for OEM replacement? Do I need/want the upper shelf models?
I'll buy it right once if there is a major difference just don't want to spend unnecessary money. Thanks.
What is it mainly used for?
Family carrier. Sometimes towing. front tires are cupping. Shocks and tie rod ends were found to be the culprit.
BuckeyeBOSS
04-07-09, 15:42
Just replaced a ball joint and shocks on my daily driver, stock 98 Trans Am. I don't know if they make products for your vehicle, but Moog for the suspension parts and Bilstein for shocks came very highly recommended for mine. Ride and handling are much improved now.
Just replaced a ball joint and shocks on my daily driver, stock 98 Trans Am. I don't know if they make products for your vehicle, but Moog for the suspension parts and Bilstein for shocks came very highly recommended for mine. Ride and handling are much improved now.
moog makes tie rod ends for it. Almost double to price.
I'm sure blistein does as well. Parts knowledge is out of my lane. I can install them, just don't know what one is better than the next.
Family carrier. Sometimes towing. front tires are cupping. Shocks and tie rod ends were found to be the culprit.
If no special racing or excesive towing needs I'd say almost anything would work. AutoZone sells Gabriel shocks that should work fine but you could get a set that would work at almost and auto parts store. Same with the tie rods. Just look them over very well and check for cracks and other signs that they could be weak.
I'm technically not a certified mechanic yet but should be soon so am only about 95% shure on this.
BuckeyeBOSS
04-07-09, 15:53
moog makes tie rod ends for it. Almost double to price.
I'm sure blistein does as well. Parts knowledge is out of my lane. I can install them, just don't know what one is better than the next.
Yeah, the Moog stuff isn't cheap. I would get some basic replacement tie rods if the price is a concern, but the best shocks you can afford for it. If you drive in it a lot, shocks can really make a difference in ride quality/comfort and quality built ones will last longer.
I'd look on a forum specific to your vehicle, I'm sure they can help you much better for specific shock recommendations.
Yeah, the Moog stuff isn't cheap. I would get some basic replacement tie rods if the price is a concern, but the best shocks you can afford for it. If you drive in it a lot, shocks can really make a difference in ride quality/comfort and quality built ones will last longer.
I'd look on a forum specific to your vehicle, I'm sure they can help you much better for specific shock recommendations.
I generally run things by here first as I trust a lot of the men on these boards.
$ isn't the issue. Value is my concern. I'll gladly drop coin on something that is worth x amount of dollars more, if it is.
Just don't want to spend 300 more than I need to if the parts are the same for my usage.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/OE-BRAND-STEERING-TIE-ROD-END/GP_2019798_N_111+2001+200728474+600003409_10101.jcw
and
http://www.jcwhitney.com/Replacement-Shock-Absorbers/GP_2019394_N_111+2001+200728474+600003409_10101.jcw
or
http://www.jcwhitney.com/EXPLORER-PRO-CAMP-ES9000-PERFORMANCE-GAS-SHOCKS/GP_2020609_N_111+2001+200728474+600012535_10101.jcw
Go with Bilstein.
I'm not a mechanic, but when I needed shocks for my truck a little while back, I did the research and that name kept coming up. They are very durable and will last quite a while.
I have been working on cars since i left high school. I would avoid advance auto parts, autozone and places like that. At my shop that my father and i own we use NAPA exclusively if i remember right the higher priced napa brand tierods and ect. are made by moog at a little cheaper price. For a daily driver i would use some good monroe sensatrack shocks also available at NAPA but get the better monroe shocks they sell. I would also reccomend bilstein and rancho shocks. I have had way to many autozone advance auto stuff come back..
I have been working on cars since i left high school. I would avoid advance auto parts, autozone and places like that. At my shop that my father and i own we use NAPA exclusively if i remember right the higher priced napa brand tierods and ect. are made by moog at a little cheaper price. For a daily driver i would use some good monroe sensatrack shocks also available at NAPA but get the better monroe shocks they sell. I would also reccomend bilstein and rancho shocks. I have had way to many autozone advance auto stuff come back..
procomp?
I stick with OEM parts from the dealer for all but the big things, ie engines, ecu's, etc.
I just installed Bilstein 5100 shocks on all four corners of my 96 Tacoma. It's my daily driver, very nice ride. It sees a few trails and the occasional dump run.
Shocks shouldn't be affecting your tires though. It may be as the mechanic stated the tie rods/ ball joints. Another culprit is worn bushings, saggy springs. Saggy leaf springs should be fine but independent suspension, when you raise or lower causes the camber to go positive or negative(because the ball joints on the upper/lower control arms can't adjust to the new geometry...hence camber kits which are adjustable). That would affect the wear on the inside (neg) or outside (pos) of your tires.
Cupping is usually caused by improper tire pressure. Over inflation wears in the middle, under inflation wears on both inside and outside. Another issue is proper tire size (width). If the wheel is too wide the tire is stretched to far, too narrow the opposite.
It's really hard to diagnose problems over the internet.
Food for thought.
ETA: Bilstein might still have the "Buy 3 get 1 free deal". Funny thing, it's cheaper to buy Bilsteins online than it is to purchase Monroes from a local shop (i.e Midas not shop as in Autozone)...by a big margin.
FromMyColdDeadHand
04-07-09, 21:53
Looks like we need a chart for shocks.
I stick with OEM parts from the dealer for all but the big things, ie engines, ecu's, etc.
I just installed Bilstein 5100 shocks on all four corners of my 96 Tacoma. It's my daily driver, very nice ride. It sees a few trails and the occasional dump run.
Shocks shouldn't be affecting your tires though. It may be as the mechanic stated the tie rods/ ball joints. Another culprit is worn bushings, saggy springs. Saggy leaf springs should be fine but independent suspension, when you raise or lower causes the camber to go positive or negative(because the ball joints on the upper/lower control arms can't adjust to the new geometry...hence camber kits which are adjustable). That would affect the wear on the inside (neg) or outside (pos) of your tires.
Cupping is usually caused by improper tire pressure. Over inflation wears in the middle, under inflation wears on both inside and outside. Another issue is proper tire size (width). If the wheel is too wide the tire is stretched to far, too narrow the opposite.
It's really hard to diagnose problems over the internet.
Food for thought.
ETA: Bilstein might still have the "Buy 3 get 1 free deal". Funny thing, it's cheaper to buy Bilsteins online than it is to purchase Monroes from a local shop (i.e Midas not shop as in Autozone)...by a big margin.
Tie rods were the tire issue. Shocks are to fix a sagging issue on the drivers side. I'm doing all corners because I want to. Ride as is is overly soft. It's just my ride though. I've driven tahoes in my model range and they were stiffer. I took it to 2 different places to make sure I was getting the right things as I considered all the things you mentioned.
Let me ask you this. At 130k miles should I be replacing the ball joints and/or leaf springs while I'm down there?
Looks like we need a chart for shocks.
Paging rob_s.
Springs will be the cause of the sagging. You can replace all the springs (Factory, Aftermarket, Junkyard), Just the fronts possibly (don't know the condition of your rear springs), or another option if it's just a tiny sag (mind out of gutters please), you could buy spacers and shim that side. I wouldn't shim anything more than 10mm or so. Any bigger of a shim and it preloads the spring too much.
If the joints need replacing might as well. Just changing shocks/springs shouldn't warrant an alignment, however any joints changed and it should get aligned. Not sure about GMs but Toyota Tacomas have inner and outer tie rods. Also the steering rack has bushings which go bad and cause play in the steering.
Forgot
It's almost impossible to nail down a certain mileage to do things at. My Dad's '97 T-bird has something like 40,000 miles and had to have all the bushings replaced. It depends on the type of use your vehicle sees, and the climate it's in.
My taco has 197,000 on it. The rear leafs are a little saggy but are still fine. The bushings however are slowly getting replaced. I'm sticking with factory for everything except for the sway bar bushings which are polyurethane.
that 01 tahoe the OE shock is made by bilstein i think
Springs will be the cause of the sagging. You can replace all the springs (Factory, Aftermarket, Junkyard), Just the fronts possibly (don't know the condition of your rear springs), or another option if it's just a tiny sag (mind out of gutters please), you could buy spacers and shim that side. I wouldn't shim anything more than 10mm or so. Any bigger of a shim and it preloads the spring too much.
If the joints need replacing might as well. Just changing shocks/springs shouldn't warrant an alignment, however any joints changed and it should get aligned. Not sure about GMs but Toyota Tacomas have inner and outer tie rods. Also the steering rack has bushings which go bad and cause play in the steering.
Well let me organize the issues and what I've got so far.
Truck sags on drivers side. Both front tires cupping. Truck does not pull. Drives straight. No more play in the steering wheel than any other GM product. When shaken the truck does not rebound and stop it keeps on with at least 1 to 3 more progressively small rocks.
01 tahoe w/ 130k. 2wd. 2 mechanics said same things. Inside tie rods and shocks.
When you say "springs and shocks" are you meaning leaf or coil?
Both. Meant as, "whatever you have".
A suspension kit may be a good option for you to save some money since you're looking for shocks and perhaps springs to fix the sag.
I'm not read up on GM parts but spring manufacturers such as Eibach, H&R, etc usually always have a spring option that retains factory ride height. Match that up with a set of Bilstein or Koni shocks and your golden.
You'll just have to check prices on the parts "a la cart" verses kits that are on the market. I'm piecing mine together because I'm a name brand whore and no kits met my needs.
theJanitor
04-07-09, 23:09
in theory, the spring provides holds up the weight of your truck and the shock controls it's speed through it's range of motion, BUT shocks do provide a little bit of "spring", and it could contribute a small amount to your sag. especially if you're tahoe has a coil sprung front, which i'm sure it does. the springs are also progressive, meaning that they are softer in the initial part of their travel (this contributes to some comfort over small road irregularities). this is how a blown shock can contribute to "sag" (saggy shock and soft, variable coil spring).
my advice: change the shocks yourself. i installed a set of edelbrock shocks on a buddy's durango a while back. the ride is great. a little stiffer and more responsive to steering braking inputs. then take the truck to an alignment shop and have them change the tie rod ends and align it at the same time. you were gonna get it realigned anyway, and most shops do not charge THAT much for the tie-rod end job (they have to adjust these anyhow during the alignment) when they got your alignment job already booked
Wait a minute, do you have torsion bars in the front? That could be the cause of sag also and could be "cranked up" to fix the sag without changing any parts.
theJanitor
04-07-09, 23:11
to add: the WHOLE driver's side of the truck is sagging? or just one corner?
wes, i don't recall 2wd's having a torsion front.
Wait a minute, do you have torsion bars in the front? That could be the cause of sag also and could be "cranked up" to fix the sag without changing any parts.
I typed in as a shot in the dark "2001 tahoe driver side sag" and most of the things I was reading were either torsion bar springs or shocks. Funny you said that.
You'll have to help me out a bit as to what a torsion bar looks like and where it is located and I'll run out and check.
Yeah looks like you do have them(did a quick Google).
They're splined shafts that are connected to the front lower control arms (in line with the frame) and lock into the frame. They are essentially springs that twist. The preload is changed by inserting them with the suspension raised/lowered etc.
I've only worked on one car with torsion bars so I can't really offer any help in this area. I helped a friend install larger bars in his '70 Roadrunner.
wes, i don't recall 2wd's having a torsion front.
Ok, I'm checking again. I think I found the specs for the Police Tahoe package which is 2WD, just need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader real quick (fresh OS install last week).
No coil overs up front. Thanks a lot guys for helping me. If the torsion bar fixes the sag problem, what about the over rebound issue?
It looks as if the entire left side is leaning but, the front drivers side is def more pronounced, therefor, the rear could just be being dragged down. What I'm saying is, it might just be a front drivers side lean after all.
No coil springs in front? Shocks should fix the rebound issue. My truck would bounce after pushing down on it. Now I push down and it rebounds and stops.
No coil springs in front?
Correct.
Cool, hope you get it sorted out.
BTW, I just scrolled through a Tahoe forum's suspension section(2WD), and it appears that the two most common shocks used are Bilsteins and the Factory Autoride shocks which require a compressor/ control module $$$.
At 130K it's a great idea to replace all the Ball Joints on the front end as well, they are probably well worn.
To go back to parts discussion, Napa's Fleet series is the best out there as far as ball joint and tie rods. Moog used to be up there, but had really tapered off a bit lately. Made the switch to Napa Fleet series stuff on most of the race cars I've built/worked on and logged thousands of off road miles with great results.
Looks like Bilstein has already been recommended... to be honest they are the best stock replacement dampener on the market.
The sag could be the springs sagging more than the passenger side as a result of the driver being there more than any other passenger, or could just be because the battery and fuel tank are usually on that side (not sure where they are on a Chevy, but Ford trucks are notorious for leaning because of the tank), which makes it lean all the time.
- Brian
Ok. So, tie rods for cupping, shocks for rebound issues, torsion bar adjustment for ride height? Sound light?
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