3/4 Ton GM Steering/Suspension Refresh

[Jacobm]

Hey guys,

I plan to refresh the steering on my 2001 Yukon XL 2500 this spring and I'm trying to decide which path to take. I'd like an upgrade over OEM for durability and steering feel, but I'm not sure where I'd like to put my money and effort. I think a full Kryptonite kit might be more than I want to spend, but I'd also like to not have to worry about parts breaking or wearing out anytime soon, and I'd like to improve the feel on the highway. Right now it wanders quite a bit at speed, but that's mainly due to worn out idler/pitman arm and likely tie rods. Would replacing with all stock parts and some stainless sleeves be fine, or should I look at Kryptonite or Cognito or PPE parts? Any other options I should be considering?

I'd also like to do a torsion key leveling kit at the same time. I see the Maxxcam keys seem to come highly rated, but are they worth the 2.5x premium over the other leveling keys on the market? That's the only suspension modification I plan to make at the moment, as my control arms/joints and shocks are all in good shape and I can upgrade when those wear out.

I don't bash on my truck, so I'm not too worried about snapping parts in the middle of nowhere, but having tight, durable steering is something I'd like. I'd hate to go with all OEM parts and only get a marginal increase in stability, but the steering was worn out when I bought the truck some I'm not sure what OEM feels like on these trucks. Please chime in with your experiences and thoughts.

 

[RyanPartridge]

Go Kryptonite heavy duty.
Bite the bullet, spend the dough, and you’ll be happy.

 

[Burb One]

If you are keeping the truck or more than a year or two or go places where failure is $$ or "not a fun time"- just buy the Kyptonite parts. You don't need the straight center link but I would do- all the rest of them (and have done on my 1500 - and actually even did it on my street driven 3500 dually tow rig). Their lifetime warranty is no joke. It's buy once- cry once forever. It's all worth it.

If you aren't sure you will keep the truck forever, then maybe I'd consider some HD pitman idler arm and sleeves to get me through owning the truck.

 

[Climber Rob]

The Kryptonite tie rods are excellent. If those have failed on your truck, you likely need to do the ball joints too. The Kryptonite UCAs are also excellent, but you can just press new ball joints into the LCAs and UCAs that are already on the truck if they are solid. If you're going to crank the torsion bars, you shouldn't need new keys. 2500+ trucks generally have plenty of room to go on the stock keys unless your torsion bars are sagging. However, once you crank the front end up, you'll want new UCAs and longer shocks. The pitman and idler arms are a PITA to replace. I think the MOOG stuff is good for pitman and idler. The work is the pain there, and the MOOG pitman/idler are pretty inexpensive.

 

[Jacobm]

Sounds like upgrades are in order. I think my parts list is as follows:

• Kryptonite tie rods
• Moog Pitman/Idler arms
• Kryptonite support/brace kit
• Possibly ball joints
• Possibly UCAs and longer shocks

My shocks are good so I may just get some of the extender brackets for now, and upgrade later. I don't intend to crank my keys too much, and I haven't built out my storage yet which'll bring the rear down a bit. When I had the PPI done about 3000 miles ago the ball joints seemed okay so hopefully that's still true. I plan to have my mechanic do the work as his rates are reasonable and he's familiar with these trucks.

I don't intend to abuse the truck but I do prefer to travel solo and living in Idaho, any recovery is an expensive recovery. Should I still carry an OEM tie rod or two just in case? My plan for storage includes a 24"wx36"Lx10"h drawer for recovery gear/tools/parts though I can always find someplace to tuck something I might really need. I plan on owning this truck until they don't make gas for it, or I can afford to buy an AEV Prospector XL with cash, whichever comes first. Thanks for the input!

 

[OllieChristopher]

Going HD on parts is good except for tie rods. Always use OEM tie rods and keep a spare. It’s cheaper and easier to bend back or replace a tie rod in the field. Heavy duty tie rods lead to other components breaking.

 

[twodollars]

Second that on the tie rods. Keep an assembled set for each side, length already adjusted so they can be changed in the field. Mail order quality will do, they are easy to swap if already assembled to correct length. It all wears out, and changing them gets faster as you do it. The bolt in ball joints are cake after the factory rivets are gone, if that what gm used on that vintage. I'd buy good parts, but not the most expensive I could get my hands on. And keep them greased.

 

[mmp3823]

I had used tie rod sleeves previously on my 3500. With road grime and salt the sleeve essentially fused themselves to the tie rods. I now run Kryptonite tie rod. I went ahead and did the whole kit.

Cranking up the torsion bars can give a harsher ride and be hard on ball joints. For lifting it a little you might look at Zone's 3" adventure kit. I ran this on a previous truck and it keeps everything in good alignment and not very expensive. Zone 3" Adventure Lift

 

[Jacobm]

Thanks everyone for the input. Sounds like I need to decide between keeping the tie rods as the weak link or going with the pricier parts. Good point on having the rods already adjusted - that might be cheap insurance versus spending 10x more on the expensive rods. Luckily we don't salt our roads here, just sand and beet juice deicer when it gets icy, so I'm thinking stainless sleeves are still an option. I'll chat with my mechanic and some of the local clubs and see what others are running on similar rigs.

As far as ride quality with cranked bars - I actually think I want a smidge firmer ride. I'm not sure if it's the bars themselves or the adjustment but the front seems to be pretty soft compared to what I thought a 3/4 ton would feel like. I'll adjust them a bit and see how I like it, and if it's too harsh I'll put it back down and/or consider some different keys.

 

[RyanPartridge]

Just a little something I found that greatly improved the ride after making the adjustments you're thinking about...

A while back I realized that my jouncer/bump stops were pretty much deteriorated, non-existent. I got some new Z-71 style bump stops which brought back great handling/ride. They make contact with the lower arms while sitting at normal ride height as part of the progressive suspension.

Later...I started making adjustments to the torsion bars to slightly raise the front to fit larger tires.
There was now a 1/4" gap between the bump stops and lower arms. I immediately felt the ride quality fall. Slight sway in corners and an overall rougher feel.
I started kicking around the idea of shimming my bump stops so they'd drop down lower and make contact, then I did a little digging and found that Kryptonite sells a "tall" bump stop that is shaped just like the tapered Z-71 style specifically for this reason.
I pulled the trigger, swapped em out, and everything improved!
With my torsion bars adjusted the taller jouncers make constant contact and feel great again.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Not an expert by any means but I ponder about the same things on my ‘02. I’ve mulled over the aftermarket tie rod issue and have decided to stick with stock: 1. I bought the truck from my in-laws who hauled an overweight Lance camper in the bed and towed a two bay horse trailer for 60k miles, including over rough roads. The tie roads are holding up at 105k miles and I don’t plan on doing any rock crawling...but that’s no guarantee of future damage. 2. I, too, am no great mechanic and I worry about being stranded in a remote town waiting for FedEx to show up with aftermarket parts. A quick check with my local O’Reilleys and the drivers side is in stock and the passenger side is available in 4 hours. With these trucks I’ll bet a NAPA has both in stock. I do like the MOOG problem solver pitman/idler solution. Agree with RP...I replaced the bump stops (MOOG) and it made a BIG difference in ride quality. My truck came with the next to stiffest torsion bars and with the new bump stops and a modest crank on the stock keys and the ride is very comfortable. Bilstein 4600s with no extended mounting bracket. I’ll be following your progress ?