Questions About Gears And Lift

havok88 · November 3, 2010

well today I had a set of yukon 4.10s installed to replace my factory 3.42s. After having this done my traction, stabilitrak, and trailer brake service lights as well as my abs came on. when I got home I plugged my superchips flashpaq in to change the gear ratio and it didnt get rid of the lights.

now my other problem

The other day I installed some coilovers and UCAs. i put these control arms on seen here. when i got it aligned they cranked down on the bolts so hard that it sucked the mounts up against the controll arms. i took it to another shop to get it fixed. all was well for a while until this morning and it seems like the control arms shifted and are once again resting against the mounts and are creaking like a mother ****er. any ideas how to fix this? these ucas are becoming more of a pain in the ass then they are worth.

oldschool327 · November 3, 2010

Sounds like shop #1 need to pay to replace some parts after goobering it up.

After the gear change in superchips did you clear DTC codes?

havok88 · November 3, 2010

if i can move the mounts back into place then everything will be good. at the time the only thing I was worried about was getting the truck fixed. i didnt pay them any money, just took it to another shop and had them do it. and it was fine after they were done, until this morning everything seemed to shift.

didnt clear codes. didnt even think about it. figured it would go away on its own.

jimmyboy8301 · November 3, 2010

you need to try to clear the codes, it WILL NOT go away on it's own. however from most of what i've read, (and when i first got my truck i did extensive research on this) the regular handhelds most of the time CAN NOT get the lights to go off with a gear change above 4.10 on the GMT 900's. you need EFI Live or HP Tuners. again this is what i've read and seen, but it's not held true 100% of the time, just the majority.

do you mean the uca's are resting on the bump stops?

Matt_ · November 3, 2010

Throw up some pics of your control arm issues. It sounds like there's an issue with the control arms more than the installation process. There a metal sleeves in the bushings of the control arms that should fit snug into the mounts and the bolts should be torqued putting the metal sleeves in compression- this keeps the UCA in place.

If control arm mounts are being "sucked in" then you may be missing the internal sleeve. Loosening the bolt won't help since it'll allow the alignment to shift and the arm to move.

Did they cut off your droop stops? This will also severely weaken the control arm mounts.

Aristone · November 4, 2010

Wow so sorry to hear about your issues. At least take comfort in that you have some great guys that know thier stuff... and im certain they can point you in the right direction.

Im also going to replace my 3:42 gears for at least 4:11 or 4:30. Wish you the best and good luck

havok88 · November 4, 2010

you need to try to clear the codes, it WILL NOT go away on it's own. however from most of what i've read, (and when i first got my truck i did extensive research on this) the regular handhelds most of the time CAN NOT get the lights to go off with a gear change above 4.10 on the GMT 900's. you need EFI Live or HP Tuners. again this is what i've read and seen, but it's not held true 100% of the time, just the majority.

do you mean the uca's are resting on the bump stops?

my flashpaq has the option to clear DTC codes, but it didnt do anything. they are 4.10s that I put in it.

they werent resting on the bumpstops, the sides where the bolt goes through were squeezed against it. I put the factory ones back in. It looks like the bushing was just to small for my truck.

Throw up some pics of your control arm issues. It sounds like there's an issue with the control arms more than the installation process. There a metal sleeves in the bushings of the control arms that should fit snug into the mounts and the bolts should be torqued putting the metal sleeves in compression- this keeps the UCA in place.

If control arm mounts are being "sucked in" then you may be missing the internal sleeve. Loosening the bolt won't help since it'll allow the alignment to shift and the arm to move.

Did they cut off your droop stops? This will also severely weaken the control arm mounts.

droop stops werent cut. Didnt need to with these. They have the metal sleeve in them. A guy on gmfs said he had the same problem, and found a bigger bushing that solved the problem. I put the factory ucas back on and I still have some clearance with them if I dont lift it any more.

havok88 · November 5, 2010

well it looks like all the lights are coming on because of a broken abs line on my right rear tire. im guessing they jacked it up and it somehow maxed itself out and snapped. It looks like it runs up and over the frame? Is this something that I can fix myself? I dont know where those lines go.

herkdriver007 · November 6, 2010

mine has a connector on the top of the framerail for each side...if they broke it between that plug and the axle, you should be able to get a replacement.

havok88 · November 9, 2010

got a replacement and everything is good. still a little squeak in my control arms on big bumps. any ideas how to get some grease or something in there without taking it all back off? i guess I wore off the coating that was on the frame.

havok88 · November 14, 2010

bump

still have no idea what to do about this squeak.

Matt_ · November 14, 2010

Throw up some pictures of the control arms and where you think the squeak is coming from.

havok88 · November 14, 2010

here you go. you can see how the alignment shop bent the brackets in. it doesnt look like the bushing sits flush on one side and i might can get some grease in the gap and let it work itself in. what do you think?

Matt_ · November 14, 2010

That actually doesn't look much worse than some trucks come from the factory (one of my mounts looks like that too and its all factory aligned) Did you try applying some torque to that nut to see if its fully tight? I forget what the torque spec is but they're posted in a sticky on this site.

I would make sure that the bolt has the proper amount of torque on it. Ideally, the metal part making contact with the control arm mount shouldn't be moving... only the control arm/bushing interface should be rotating. So if that metal section is moving/rubbing/squeaking, then that's your issue; it needs to be tight.