2007 Avalanche Front End Rebuild

woyster_00z71 · February 15, 2018

Howdy guys! It has been awhile since I've posted anything as life has been crazy and the 2007 Avalanche 1500 2WD has been good. However, with almost 150,000 miles now, the front end is starting to feel loose and noises abound. I think it is time for some maintenance. I'm trying to determine what all I should replace. Might as well do it all while it is apart. All work will be performed by me in my garage.

I know I've gotta replace the ball joints and tie rod ends. Upper ball joints aren't replaceable alone, have to replace the entire control arm. Going to get the control arms complete with ball joint and bushings. Might as well do the same for the lowers and make it easy on myself.

What else should I replace? Pitman arm? Any other steering components? I was all bearings, joints, bushings to be replaced, I just don't know what all is down there.

I'm also having some squeaking/squealing and I'm wondering if I should replace the front hubs. Maybe a front brake job while I'm at it?

GhostWriter · February 17, 2018

On ‎2‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 1:39 PM, woyster_00z71 said:

I'm trying to determine what all I should replace. Might as well do it all while it is apart. All work will be performed by me in my garage.

You're on the right track, when it comes to getting the complete control arms. You can still replace lower ball joints, but, if lower control arm is aluminum, bushings aren't serviceable.

Assuming you have rack & pinion steering, so a pitman arm wouldn't be necessary.

So, adding wheel bearings, tie rod ends, stabilizer bushings , stabilizer links, and front struts should have everything riding like new (and, squeak free.)

In the rust belt, hardest part of this whole job might be the removal of the stabilizer bushing bolts.

woyster_00z71 · February 18, 2018

Thanks...yeah I had some time to dig into it further and determined just about what you stated. I do have rack and pinion, therefore no pitman arm, idler arm, steering gear, etc.

Looks like upper and lower control arms come complete with bushings and ball joints. I'm then looking at inner and outer tie rods and new rack and pinion bellows. I have replaced the hubs (wheel bearings) in the past, but I need to check how long ago that was. And the stabilizer links and bushings were also replaced.

Just over $500 from RockAuto for the parts above. Add either hubs or brake pads to that and I should be good.

GhostWriter · February 18, 2018

When you take it apart, it will be clear what's loose.

Don't believe I've ever had to change an inner tie rod. Must be lucky.

Good luck.

e_schott · February 24, 2018

My school of thought is if you're gonna try to set it up so that you don't have problems down the road, just do it all. And do it with good quality parts as well, do not use the cheap parts store junk. I noticed you mentioned RockAuto. While their quality has fallen over the years, I still think Moog is decent for the price point. I usually order Moog suspension parts. Look at the control arm bushings, and based on wether you have steel or aluminum arms, you can decide what you want to do. But I usually do not see the lower bushings having issues on these trucks very often at work (I'm an auto tech). But if it were me, I would be doing: Lower BJ, Upper control arms, inner and outer tie rod ends, stabilizer links and stab bar bushings, front hubs and front rotors/pads. The parts are usually pretty cheap. I just usually recommend to do it all at once if some things are loose. It doesn't make sense to save $30 or 40 bucks on some tie rod ends, then 3 months later have one get loose, then not only do you have to do work all over again, but then you're gonna pay another c-note for an alignment.

woyster_00z71 · February 24, 2018

16 minutes ago, e_schott said:

My school of thought is if you're gonna try to set it up so that you don't have problems down the road, just do it all. And do it with good quality parts as well, do not use the cheap parts store junk. I noticed you mentioned RockAuto. While their quality has fallen over the years, I still think Moog is decent for the price point. I usually order Moog suspension parts. Look at the control arm bushings, and based on wether you have steel or aluminum arms, you can decide what you want to do. But I usually do not see the lower bushings having issues on these trucks very often at work (I'm an auto tech). But if it were me, I would be doing: Lower BJ, Upper control arms, inner and outer tie rod ends, stabilizer links and stab bar bushings, front hubs and front rotors/pads. The parts are usually pretty cheap. I just usually recommend to do it all at once if some things are loose. It doesn't make sense to save $30 or 40 bucks on some tie rod ends, then 3 months later have one get loose, then not only do you have to do work all over again, but then you're gonna pay another c-note for an alignment.

woyster_00z71 · March 22, 2018

Completed the work a couple weeks ago. Replaced Upper and Lower Control Arms (lower were aluminum, hence ball joints were non-replaceable), and Inner and Outer Tie Rod Ends. Then had it aligned. Feels a lot better driving now, tighter, more solid. No more creaking and slop. Ready for another 150,000 miles.