Getting ready to chase down bad wheel bearing.

[loondog33]

I know Ive done it that way. But since you said it was a little bit of a pain. What i normally do is just remove that one bolt that holds the upper ball joint, and you can access the 3 bolts so much easier. It adds another 30 seconds of work, but it saves in the end. just my 2 cents

Ok, I got what you're saying. No, I didn't do that but I think I will when I have to tackle the left side. Also I forgot to turn the wheel to give me a little more room to get the back three.

I know, I know. It's work smarter not harder, but I must've had a brain fart when doing this work.

 

[loondog33]

Was going to start a new thread but figured since it's all front end work just to add on here.

Living in the rust belt of Northern Illinois, my front suspension is rusted and aged so I figure the Envoy could use a front end overhaul. I'm new to suspension so I'm not familiar with all the parts but I'm reading up the best I can. Just curious if/what I'm missing from the list or other things I should check during work. I will not be doing work for a month or so Ill have time to figure out what needs to be done. I only use truck for commuting and minor towing, no off-roading.

Left side wheel bearing -Timken
Upper Control Arms w/bushings x2- moog
lower arms/ complete x2 w/ ball joint- dorman
upper ball joint x2-moog
inner/outer tie rods x2- moog (or are delco oem professional grade the way to go?)
stabilizer/sway link x2- moog
front struts w/mounts - not sure what struts I'll get, but want a comfortable ride versus a stiff ride. Also not sure if I'll man up and compress spring or shell out
dough for complete ac delco strut assembly. Anyone tried KYB strut/shocks?

I think I'll also order rear shocks at the same time, since there so easy. I also want to get rear control arms, rear sway bar links and trailing arms soon after I pony up the dough for the front end. All the parts, including the rear, is roughly $960+ range from rockauto.

 

[Sparky]

My input:

Moog is generally good, but frankly their sway links for these trucks suck. The boots aren't sealed well so they wear faster.
Inner tie rod ends don't wear near as often as outers... Any reason you want to replace yours? I wouldn't bother unless they are bad.
My past experience with KYB on another car has been "ok" but not great. I wouldn't buy them again. They were a harsh ride.

Are your rear control/trailing arms really bad? They are simple enough to replace (do one at a time so the axle stays put) but again I wouldn't bother unless they are bad.

As you can tell I'm a fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" - particularly on the stuff that is simple enough to replace later when it does break. Spend the money on those rear arms later if/when they need it.

Doing all 4 shocks at the same time is a good idea however for the balance of the vehicle. I didn't find the Bilstein HD overly stiff, but definitely are firmer than OEM stuff. I prefer that but I could see where some may not. That said, my parents borrowed my truck (before it was lifted) to tow a uhaul trailer a couple years ago and my mom said she liked how it rode, and she doesn't like really stiff rides.

 

[loondog33]

I'm sure the rear components are fine, so I probably won't get to those for quite a while, just listed those parts for reference I guess.

As for the front, I'm not sure what all I'll need to replace for sure, just want to be prepared for what may come once I start pulling stuff apart. I've taken a look at my sway bar links and they're looking pretty worn out, the control arms are rusted up and bushings look rough, I still have to inspect the outer tie rods, ball joints aren't torn or leaking grease but might as well do upper if I do replace lower CA. I just figured a lot of the parts are getting worn out pretty well from the 11 years of salty winters this truck has endured. So, I just want to get a familiar idea of what parts are related and what brands are bust.

I'm on the fence about moog parts. I think I'll just go delco on sway links. Are moog ball joints descent? If not I'll just go with delco. Also I'm leaning towards oem or HD's for front strut, was just curious about the KY's.

Thanks for your input, I welcome the suggestions.

 

[Sparky]

Moog's ball joints are fine. I have them on my TB (over 80k on them now), and I put them on my Camaro as well.

I hear you on the control arm bushings. My front lowers look sad, and have been creaky for a while now (passenger side especially) but they were still tight so I haven't screwed with them. And what's funny is after I lifted the passenger side quieted down but yeah, 202k on the original front lower bushings is a bit much...

 

[loondog33]

Moog's ball joints are fine. I have them on my TB (over 80k on them now), and I put them on my Camaro as well.

I hear you on the control arm bushings. My front lowers look sad, and have been creaky for a while now (passenger side especially) but they were still tight so I haven't screwed with them. And what's funny is after I lifted the passenger side quieted down but yeah, 202k on the original front lower bushings is a bit much...

That 200k mark must be common because my buddy's 04 with 194k just had to replace lower/ upper CA, sway links and ball joints along with his orig. wheel hubs too.

I don't think mine will make it to the 200k mark but we'll see.

Glad to hear moog ball joints are good.

 

[IllogicTC]

... my buddy's 04 with 194k just had to replace ... along with his orig. wheel hubs too.

What did I just read? ORIGINAL!?

Back on subject, so far I am happy with my Moog outers.

 

[loondog33]

He bought the truck with 74k on it and he never change hubs till just two week ago. I don't think the hubs had been replaced before he got it. To be fair though he was driving 200+ miles a work day for a while so he put like 100k on it in two years-ish. He also drove truck with bad hubs for a while, so they probably failed thousand of miles before the 194k change.