88-98 Chevy K1500 front end rebuild with Mevotech TTX ball joints and tie rods
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2021
- *Reposted for some edits*
Finally putting the front end back together on the 1990 GMC K1500 GMT400
CV axle rebuild by www.cvsource.com/
1988-1998 Chevrolet Truck Tie Rod Sleeves from Cunningham Machine: www.cunninghammachine.com/pro...
Lower control arm bushing: www.napaonline.com/en/p/PCC12532
Knuckle seals: www.napaonline.com/en/p/OSN27...
Mevotech parts and part numbers:
TTX Upper ball joint: TXK6292
TTX Lower ball joint: TXK6291
TTX Outer tie rod end: TXES2836RL
TTX Inner tie rod end: TXES2838RL
Control arm and ball joint assembly - Left: CMS50120
Control arm and ball joint assembly - Right: CMS50121
Alignment camber kit: MK6302
Center link: MDS1407
Wheel Bearing and Hub assembly: H515002
Stabilizer bar bushing kit: MK5248
Stabilizer bar link kit: MK6428
I reposted the video for some edits, sorry about the mess with the comments
Where did you get the lower control arms? I can't find them.
@Rachel Loth Got them from a junk yard in Oregon. They don’t make them new so you have to search junk yards.
@Rachel Loth We do have a passenger side one that we will sell that's stripped down and ready to go. Here's some pics: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-16MqHqspLVI_4Igp24gBecQUOv-1vk-?usp=sharing
How much did all those parts run you?
@G John Burke Gave a great answer "I just made another pretty big order on rock auto with the same parts except for the lower control arms. All mevotec parts, including ball joints upper and lower, upper control arms, pitman and idler arm with idler arm bracket, inner and outer tie rod ends with sleeves, also had to get a new power steering pump and steering intermediate shaft. Everything was around 1200. And definitely worth it on every obs I build
i love this. as a obs owner please please please share everything you do to this truck. liked this video and was a sub already.
I went through three oil pan gasket changes, because the major auto parts stores have a miscategorised part.
Same I have a obs fresh 5.3 swap recently got into the ons gang 🎉
Go follow me I'm rebuilding one now!
Excellent video! I love that you do things the right way, paying attention to the details throughout the rebuild process.
Thank you for putting together all these videos on the K1500. Just picked one up and I’ll will be taking on many of these projects either wrenching on it or taking it in. This is definitely top of my list of to dos.
Love how you showed the greasing of the ball joints. Never seen some one show it before. I always wondered how I would know when they were full. Now I do.
Great video. Appreciate you sharing the torque specs, peace of mind knowing things were done right.
Thanks.
Absolutely love your videos. You make very easy to understand and follow. I had so many questions, you've no doubt answered most of them by watching your videos. 🍺
My old man passed in April and left me my grandfather's 89 z71. Gramps was at a dealership when the first order of z71s were delivered and bought it before it was unloaded. 😂 Glad I found your channel so I know to order those beefmaster ball joints when I do this to my truck.
Love this video! Very detailed and easy to understand! Please keep them coming
Best series I've ever seen. I have a '96 Tahoe 4x4 and this is exactly what's been on my heart to get done the rig...the Lord works in mysterious ways :) Bless you brother!
I agree!! So glad I found this video. Looking to do the same on my 99 Tahoe 4x4. Almost makes me think I can do this myself (maybe)
looks great love the new parts,I think I will go that route myself.
great video. ive had the TTX tie rod ends on my gmt800 for two years with no issues yet.
Running same ball joints and tie rods. Definitely built well.
Absolutely outstanding!
I've enjoyed all the videos I've watched from yall. Very easy to follow/understand. Thanks for the great quality video series.
You did a nice job both with the work you did and the video. Thanks
I love mevotech products. They were the only company (aside from the dealership) that made my coilover caps. I could of used the OEM caps but I was worried about wear and tear.. honestly the parts weren't that expensive for the piece of mind i have. But I have a 06 Acura TL which has a ridiculous 20in rim (I went down to 18x9.5 +35mm) but my suspension felt way too bouncy and they were stock struts and shocks. After putting in some newer coilovers and getting my alignment I was stunned that I didn't even need a front or rear camber kit. Now my acura doesn't bounce like crazy (I also replaced a few bushings) it's a solid ride.
Good job..enjoyed it...cotter-pins were done right...some people loop both legs under the bolt head...both are acceptable bends & locations.
Thank you for the great video. Both Great job and appreciate the information about Mevotech. I have purchased Mevotech TTX all steering components for my 96 Chev K1500, and am installing. Just thought that i would share. If one does not have a reason to pull the torsion bars (like painting, adjusting, or replacing), one does not need to. I was able to pull the torsion bars sideways (down didn't work) by pulling the lower control arm out, then blocked (2 - 4x4s + 1 - 2x4 worked) between the torsion bar and exhaust, then I pulled the lower control arm forward, off of the torsion bar. I left the blocks in place and after updating the upper & lower control arms, it went right back into place without any adjustment.
Update: My apologies, I recognized that I forgot to mention that I let the lower control arm all the way down (while truck was still on jack stands), releasing all tension in the torsion bar before I starting this step.
I have an 03' F150, and I just did all this work using the same componants, and I installed a set of Bilstein 4600's......drives like new also. Loved these componants so much that I am buying a front end rebuild kit for my father in law's 98' Silverado that we use for hunting/fishing trips. It gets a fair amount of abuse in the fall when we drive on disked up cornfields hunting geese/waterfowl. I was worried the TTX line might ride too harsh, but in my FX4 they improved the handling and really woke up the tired front end of my truck with over 200K on it.
one of the best videos I've seen.
most videos are splotchy and don't really show as much or tell as much detail as you do in this video.
I love it. keep it up man your videos are great!
I will definitely be using this video when its time to do mine!
I installed these ball joints 3 mo months ago. I have been about a total of 50-75 miles on dirt roads and about 3,500-4,000 miles in total of street & highway driving and they are already making popping noises and causing my tires to wear funny 🤯 I'm done with these crappy front ends in these years. SAS SWAP here I come!
Currently planning to install 4x4 into my 97 C1500 please make as many videos on the entire front drivetrain, your awesome
Thanks for your hard work with the video. You Did good job
Talking about the job at hand . a lot of videos of drag and drag before they even get started.
Just so you know, you don't loose torque with an extention on a torque stick, only with air or electric tools you loose torque, but great informative video! Love this brand stuff!
Man I went years not knowing what a spud wrench was and it is my favorite suspension tool
Your videos came up on my feed just in time when i was going to do this on my truck
Thank you so much! So cool video
Excellent instructions, TY. I have read all the comments trying to see if you have a review of the Mevotech products you have used here. I have an 02 Avalanche with 260K miles and I need to replace pretty much everything like you did. Mine is 2wd so it will be a little less complicated. I have been reading up on OEM parts and Moog, Kryptonite, and Cognito, etc. The reviews on all are from one end of the spectrum to the other. I'm almost 70 but still very active and I don't see myself buying anymore vehicles. I also own a 98 3500 dually, with only 150K miles. I'm the second owner on both vehicles, owned them both for 18 years. At this point I like em both and don't want to go cheap on replacement parts, I just can't afford to shell out 3K on hi end front end suspension parts. I'm above Atlanta and the weather here is good for the undercarriage. Both vehicles are rust free. What brand would you recommend?
@bill parker I really don’t think you can go wrong with Moog, ac Delco, or Mevotech.
@@SuburbanRanch Thx very much.
Great video! love it!
Awesome video Great work !
Very nice work good sir 🤩
Thank you for this video!!!
John is a buddy of mine and he has done axles for me for years. The last one he did was also from an '89 K1500.
I had him rebuild my axles, they look brand-new! He does great work, and was cool to talk with on the phone.
ty for my new go to video
These videos are dangerous, got me thinking “Yeah, I could TOTALLY do that!” Lol. Great video very informative.
You CAN do it. I rebuilt my whole 97 Tahoe Z71 front end. Rides incredible now. I did use Moog parts but potato/patato.
Mevotech and Moog are both better than OEM in my opinion
I need to do this on my 95 . At 193k nearly everything stock all round.
Fantatsic video man!
Great videos!
I think that a Kryptonite center link would have been a nice touch here but excellent build. Very nice
those angled grease fittings are usually 2 piece. If that's the case, usually a 7 or 8mm socket to take off the zirc and then the main part you can use the appropriate socket on.
Loved your video and I’m now a subscriber
I am wanting to do this with my 2000 Chevy suburban. It would be so nice to have everything you done on this, done to mine. Next project.
You would never make as a flat rate tech. With all that torqeing. Not rocket science!
Very nice 👌
Lower ball joints (4 bolts) - 45 ft pounds
Upper ball joints (4 bolts) - 18 ft pounds
Upper ball joint main - 84 ft pounds
Bottom ball joint main - 94 ft pounds
6 bolts for cv axle - 59 ft pounds
Main cv nut (36mm) - 173 ft pounds
3 bolts for wheel hub - 133 ft pounds
Shock bolts - 48 ft pounds
Sway bar bolts - 13 ft pounds
Sway bar mounts - 24 ft pounds
Inner/outer tie rods - 40 ft pounds
Lower control arms - 135 foot pounds
Upper control arms - 88 ft pounds
Torsion bar cross member bolts - center bolt is 18 pounds
Edge bolts are 46 ft pounds
@DeletedDevil "How much did all that cost you?"
All of the part numbers are in the description. I would check rockauto, they typically have good prices.
@john burke Gave a great answer "I just made another pretty big order on rock auto with the same parts except for the lower control arms. All mevotec parts, including ball joints upper and lower, upper control arms, pitman and idler arm with idler arm bracket, inner and outer tie rod ends with sleeves, also had to get a new power steering pump and steering intermediate shaft. Everything was around 1200. And definitely worth it on every obs I build"
Great video only thing I would do differently is to put sway bar link bolt threw the control arm first threads up
Very very good video
Love it
@ערן תומר"are you sure that the torsion bars go with the arrows and R and L signs to the front?" That's how they came out of the truck
I did some research on these parts. They are "just get buy until you can afford better parts" parts. I wound't rely on these if you take your truck on logging roads, forest service roads, or off road roads in general.
Wish I had companies just giving me upgraded ball joints and steering shaft bearings and whatnot 😂
Mans rock auto cart was filled up before he checked out
I highly appreciate the effort this man puts into making these incredibly awesome videos
What paint did you use for the chassis? Is there a video for that?
@Boss Mode We used Rustoleum primer and paint after sanding and prepping the surface. Sorry no video!
@john burke "For the control arm knock out, there is a control arm knock out tool. For they people without a hammer. Anyone can find it on Amazon."
Thanks for the comment, We didn't know that tool existed! I'll leave out the other part haha
When adjusting for camber which direction do you go to get positive or negative camber?
Wish i had the time and money buddy must be nice. 98k2500 rust free
Sway bar links bolts are much easier if you go thew lower control arm first
Getting my frame redone on my lifted 93 c1500
I’m currently trying to fix up my 94 k1500 I got last year. But if only my torsion bars came out as easy as they did for you lol. I have been doing everything to get them out of the lowers but they will not come budge.
@Joey Robbins I’ve seen someone on TH-cam us a jackhammer…
@Suburban Ranch
Thank you for these videos. Just finished up an engine rebuild/upgrade and got my truck back from the tranny shop with a rebuild/upgrade on that as well.
Time to do this job. I do have some play in the steering and the truck does get a little squirrely on uneven pavement at cruising speed.
I can see rotted grease boots on ball joints, leaked grease, missing long bolt bushings on the driver's side end of the sway bar, and at least one CV boot is split in half. Pretty sure all this stuff is 30 years old.
Power steering system seems to be working fine.
My questions: What part should I be checking/replacing on the steering shaft for play? And will that along with what you did in this video most likely get my handling issues corrected?
@Four-Eight-Zero Sounds like you need to do what we did in the video. As for the steering shaft, check out our video on the steering coupler assembly th-cam.com/video/uITkNkFmlAk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the video, great work. what coating/paint are you using on the frame and parts? I'm working on cleaning up my 96.
@JFOutdoor We used Rustoleum primer and paint.
@Sea Snake "What paint did you use??"
We used Rustoleum primer and top coat
Thanks looks great
Checkout kryptonite suspension...👊🏻😎
Very good detailed video! Watched it about ten times now. Quick question. Is all this stock suspension and stock torsion keys? I ran into a roadblock with my Tahoe. Had a 3 inch RC lift installed about 12 years ago and now tearing it apart to rebuild it and thank god I’m doing it. All my ball joints were done and my upper control arms were riding the top bump stop causing crazy preload on the torsion bar and keys. Were those keys stock keys?
@Marco Limon Yes, this truck has stock keys.
Super awesome video thank you so much I've been having a lot of trouble trying to find some of the right torque specs.
Don't know if you'll see my comment but by chance what size were the torsion torsion bar bushing spacers?.
@Gary Wyckoff Sorry, not sure on the spacer. I assume you are talking about the spacer that goes in the rubber bushing for the crossmember. We just cleaned it a put it back in the truck.
Curious what opinions are on Mevotech vs say AC Delco Gold/Professional suspension parts?
What paint did you use???
Turn the bolt upside down to pass it through the lower control arm. It is next to impossible to start a nut while holding the washer up against the bushing inside the lower control arm. I am sure the GM assemblers were laughing as they installed those bushings, washers, and nuts inside the lower control arm, wondering how long it would take us idiots to figure out all we have to do is install the bolt with head down when it comes time to replace them.
That's what I finally did after 10 minutes of struggling
Great video! do have on question the part #'s for the upper control arms CMS50120 and CMS50121 match but don't match according to the product picture the ball joint doesn't look like it can be removed with out grinding down the rivets. Is it maybe just not the actual pic?
@Christino Griego The ball joint on the control arms we received were just bolted in. I just checked a few retailers and they still appear to be bolted in.
Awesome video! Where did you find the lower arm? I have 97 K1500, and I cannot find a new arm anywhere.
@Scott Rankin We just had to search junkyards across the country eventually found some in Oregon. Then got them blasted and painted. Here’s one it might fit, I would compare it to yours to make sure. www.ebay.com/itm/324811972183?mkevt=1&mkcid=16&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
I noticed you did not show the lower control arm bushings being replaced. Did you replace those yourself or have a machine shop swap them out? Now that you've had some drive time, what is your impression of the TTX parts?
@Frank Sikorski Had a shop swap them out. It is a tough job! Haven’t had much drive time, we have moved on to the interior!
What kind of paint did you use on the steering knuckle? It looks a little glossier that the paint you used on the rust repair on the rest of the body of your suburban.
I had the steering knuckle sand blasted and painted by a local shop. I think it was equivalent to a gloss black rustoleum
Nice truck. I have a 94 that needs the same treatment with the painted frame. Did you do a cab lifted off the frame project? Looks nice!
@jay dee Never lifted the cab! There is a little space between the cab and the frame to paint.
@suburbanranch When you install the toraion bars , do you leave the fron knuckles and parts jacked up on boards? If so do you lower them after you put the key in and get the adjusting bolt in? I cant seem to get them to stay tensioned or lower with tire on?
There would be more tension on the bars with the weight of the truck on the suspension. I’m guessing you have the bars off an entire flat if you have no tension with weight on the front suspension.
@@SuburbanRanch im sorry , im confused witb the entire flat thing ? ,
There are 6 flats on the torsion bars (like a hex), are you indexing the key at the correct spot?
How are those ttx parts holding up? I'm on the fence about getting some lower ball joints and outer tie rods. Have read so many mixed reviews.
TTX parts are fine so far, but not a ton of miles on them
Nice video. You didn't show or mention that you tightened the hub nut after lowering the vehicle. Hope you did!
Thanks. And yes we tightened the hub nut.
What kinda paint did you use to jazz up that frame looks good
@James Dodson We used Rustoleum primer and top coat. Tried another didn't go so well as you can see in our other video.
Fenomenal video man. Is it the same process for the c1500? Some kits for the c1500 had one style control arms . I’d prefer this style you put on.
@izzy arias The C1500 has coil springs, totally different suspension
So you had to grind the ball joint to fit the control arm? I wish that it was shown. Thanks for the video.
@MrSarge99 We did some grinding to the bolt carrier to better fit the contours of the control arm.
I'm looking to replace my front suspension with Mevotech. I've seen several complaints of fitment being off and overall quality of some of the components being low and wearing out quickly (after less than 15k miles).
Have you had or experienced any of these issues?
@Jseen Fitment yes, we had to modify a bracket, I believe we mention it in the video. No comment on the longevity of the parts as of yet as we haven’t driven it much since the install.
I had the same problem with painted threads on my inner tie rods, and also used a die grinder with wire brush to clean the paint off.
Thanks!!! I use your videos to replace all my suspension and steering. And your parts list (ALL OF IT) . Everything worked great, but the hub assembly. The flange with the studs is 1/6" to thin, my rotor rubs the dust shield and won't turn. Did you have this problem? I have a 1990 k1500 Silverado.
@Tommy Heist I did not have any problems with the hub contacting the dust shield. Does your truck have the heavy duty suspension option? If so, the hub has a different part number (H515001).
Can't tell no code sticker in glove box. It does now after all the new mevotech parts. I'm getting grades from bumper to bumper! Keep your awesome videos coming!
question, where did u get the torque specs for the 4 bolts on the lower ball joint to the lower control arm? you torqued them to approx 100 ft lbs, but the Haynes Repair manual says 17 ft lbs for K1500/k2500 and 52 ft lbs for k3500, which is a big difference. just curious.
We got the torque specs from the chilton 28624 repair manual for GM full size trucks 88-98. In the video we say 45 ft lbs not 100.
Just before I traded my 2009 Ford Escape Limited I rebuilt the whole front end using Mevotech components. I was really happy with those parts but now I own a 2016 Ford Escape Titanium 2.0ecoboost and I needed stab link ends so once again I bought Mevotech stabilizer link ends and what a mistake that was. They are not even 6 months old and they are making a horrible noise when I turn my wheels in either direction. It started off with the left side and now 2 weeks later both sides are horrible. Now I have to change them again but it will not be with Mevotech parts.
@Mark K Sorry to hear that. Let us know if new links fix the problem or if it’s something else
Great video. Can you post the torque spec on that 36 mm nut for the cv shaft. Thanks.
@brad lambert Sure, it’s actually in the video at the top of the screen at 23:48. We torqued it to 173ft lbs, that’s for an 88-91.
How did you go about removing the factory lower ball joint from the control arm? I have beat, drilled and grinded on the rivets and they just will not move.
@Austin James We actually made a video on that. Here is the link. th-cam.com/video/Q97TVSpFQ8s/w-d-xo.html
They are a pain. I used an air hammer to chisel off the heads, then drilled the rivets about 2/3 the depth, then used a punch to drive them out (still had to use a bit of heat from a torch, but didn't heat them up too much - you don't want to heat it so much that it's glowing red).
A parts break down or where you bought the parts would be nice to know. But all in all I love the video.
@RCP Pop Check the video description for all the parts and part numbers.
I know this video is quite old but what was the process for removing and replacing Lower Control Arm Bushings? I picked up some poly lower bushings for simplicity and longevity so install will be slightly different than rubber bushings.
@James Barnhart The lower control arm bushings are tricky. You need a press and you need to be careful not to bend the ears that hold the bushing in place. We took ours to a shop to be pushed out.
What paint did you use for the frame? Also how did you restore and paint the lower control arm?
@Peter Connolly We used rustoleum primer and paint on the frame. The lower control arm was sand blasted and painted as well.
For the torsion bars. They are labeled left and right. Which is passenger and which is driver side? Also, which way does the labeled left and right labeled side go( lower AArm or torsion key)? Thanks
Hey Suburban Ranch. What are your opinions on swapping out to a 5.3 and 6L80 tranny into my 97 Tahoe 2door Z71 sport?
I want just a smidge more power and with a 6spd transmission, gas mileage should improve as well.
Would love your opinion. Thank you for taking the time to teach us gmt400 owners how to work on our trucks.
Nothing is more satisfying than when my wife's Tahoe has an issue, I can fix it now from fuel sender, to suspension, to ac work.
You make me look good to my wife and daughter and for that beer and steak is on me if you come to Orlando.
@Just Passing Through Glad you are enjoying the content! I love the idea of a 5.3 swap, but it’s not going to be cheap or easy!
What kind of lower control arm is that in the video? I'm trying to find it online with the bolt on ball joint but not having any luck.
@Diauhbeetus These are the original lower control arms to the truck. We just cleaned them up and gave them a coat a paint. They do not make new lower control arms you will have to look at junk yards to find a good pair of yours are rusted out.
May be a dumb question but do you have to remove the Torsion bars to replace the rest of the front end parts?
@Husq450 S The torsion bars only need to be removed if you want to remove the lower control arms. If you don’t remove them, you have to support the lower control arm when you split the ball joint
@@SuburbanRanch Thanks! All the gmt400 videos are very helpful. Thanks for sharing.
what did you use for black chassis paint you've done a very nice job it looks clean and OE
@Chevyguy 83 Thanks. Rustoleum primer and paint.
Great video. Would these part fit a 95 2 door Tahoe 4x4? Looking to up grade my front suspension.
I assume they would work on a 1995 Tahoe, but I’d go to the Mevotech website and double check.
Looks like you’re using a 99 front lower control arm do you know if it’s a direct fit?
@LIFE OF DANIEL The lower control arm we used is the original to the truck. The 99 probably looks similar but I doubt it’s a direct fit
when I look on rock auto the control arms ball joints are riveted not bolted?
It looks like they may have changed the design. You would have to drill out the rivets.
thank to the good video !
i have a one question !
the torsion bar position R to the ride side and L to the passenger side ? is correct?
thanks
@Carlo Corradini Right to the passenger side would be my guess, it’s been a while since we did it.
Wonderful video. I have a chevy suburban year 1997, C1500, meaning two wheel drive, several parts of the suspension were replaced, but I'm not sure if the technician made a good job when replacing the entire steering assy. On this video on the minute 31:00 shows the entire steering assy , showing that the nuts of the inner tie rod faces to the bumber, and the outher tie rod nut faces to the hood, however on my car the nuts of the inner rod faces to the engine. Wonder if the inner tie road has to be placed on the other way around because that my truck is two wheel drive and on your video shows a four wheel drive chevy or perhaps my technican made a mistake Wonder wich problem could ocurr by placing the inner tie rod on the wrong position. Any comment will be very welcome.
@NEMIAS MEJIA I would suggest you look for pictures of a 2wd suspension and compare your setup
where did you get the torsion key unloader I used my c clamp and it twisted under pressure
@rudi murga Rented it from autozone.