1500 vs 2500 Front End Reliability

[meade01]

I currently own an 05 Silverado 1500 and it goes through ball joints, hubs, and idler arms like candy. It appears to not like the off road. I was kicking around the idea of getting a 2500 series. I was wondering if the 2500 front end is any better than the 1500. I have always been a Ford man and I still have some Fords. I tried a Chevy and so far I have liked it other than it doesn't like the off road. I never encountered these issues with the Fords and the off road issues. If the 2500 series trucks aren't any better I guess that I will stick to Fords. Any info will be appreciated.

[Btuggle88]

I have a question first, what kind of parts are you putting on it, quality such as moog etc or like auto zone bargain bin cheap stuff. The 2500 front end will be a little more heavy duty than the 1500 about the same as comparing an f150 and a f250.

[sdeeter19555]

Also, what kind of grease are you using? Some is not as water resistant as others.

[dewfpo]

I owned an F150 and never had any trouble with the front end. This 2005 SIlverado 2500HD has had issues with the front end. I only have 19K miles on it and the front end needs work. It can't seem to handle decent sized pot holes without needing an alignment and doesn't like dirt roads, maybe I got a lemon. Mine has been re-aligned 4 times, had the tie rods replaced by the Chevy dealer and it rattles every time I make a left hand turn. And, I am not hard on my truck.

DEWFPO

[meade01]

I have been using Moog ball joints. I put the best hub that NAPA sells which was an (SKF Bearing)in the last time and it has lasted 2 years knock on wood. All the previous hubs lasted about 1 year. I assume that my mechanic used a Moog idler arm but this will be the third idler arm in 18 months because the truck is in the shop as we speak

getting ball joints, an idler arm and a pitman arm. 3 idler arms in 18 months is kind of gross.

[SouthernSilveradoGuy85]

I owned an F150 and never had any trouble with the front end. This 2005 SIlverado 2500HD has had issues with the front end. I only have 19K miles on it and the front end needs work. It can't seem to handle decent sized pot holes without needing an alignment and doesn't like dirt roads, maybe I got a lemon. Mine has been re-aligned 4 times, had the tie rods replaced by the Chevy dealer and it rattles every time I make a left hand turn. And, I am not hard on my truck.

DEWFPO

 

Being that it's just an '05 with only 19,000 miles on it, part of the problem could be that it sits a lot. My 98 1500 only had ball joints changed once, pitman arm replaced once and 1 or 2 other parts in the linkage changed once and I was hard on it on and off-road. I didn't take care of it other than changing the oil when you're supposed to, other things i was lazy and just let it mess up before fixing it.

[Btuggle88]

Next question what about lift or level, how far are the torsion bars cranked and the rims are they stock or custom with a lot of backspacing? Just trying to figure it out, extreme or over cranking the torsion bars will cause premature ball joint wear and a lot of + backspacing will cause you to prematurely wear hub bearings and will help wear the idler arm. Not saying you have these things or abuse your truck you may have just got a bad apple just throwing some things out there.

[meade01]

I have a Pro Comp Leveling Kit that is modest (not over cranked). I have a set of wheels that I run during hunting season like you are talking about that are 9 inches wide but they are on for about 2 months and then they come off. The largest tire that has been on the truck is a 285/70/17 and when they wore out I got a set of 255/80/17 BFG's. I run 265/70/17 on stock wheels for 10 month's of the year. I have carried it to a couple different places for alignment, but it is hard to keep aligned. It wears tires on the inside. I replaced a front axle about 3 weeks ago but that was the first one of those that I replaced.

[Btuggle88]

Do you get a print out spec sheet when they align it, I've had a couple of places just do a toe and go they don't check the camber and caster and that possibly and I mean possibly not positively could contribute to these things if the caster and camber are out and definitely contribute to tire wear.

[kstruckcountry]

My 2006 is still on mostly original front end parts at 121k. One wheel bearing went bad so I replaced both.

 

It wore tires on the inside last tire rotation. Got the alignment done and they could hardly get it any closer to perfect, impressive since it had been about 2 1/2 years. I figured my tire issue was due to running 7k without rotating, I usually rotate at 3-4k

[KMGZ400]

I've had quite a few GMT800 1500's with over 150k and the only thing I replaced was a few tie rods and hubs which is normal on them

[sdeeter19555]

Two things I have experienced on other trucks.

 

As I previously mentioned, the type of grease you use will make or break the life of your suspension components. I ran "premium" grease from different places and found a lot of it absorbs water which translates to rust which accelerates wear. The grease I currently run is water proof and my issues went away when I started using it in the previous truck.

 

As someone else pointed out, alignment can actually kill suspension components. I installed a new trackbar and didn't get an alignment...it was toast in less than a month. Replaced with the same brand trackbar and had the truck aligned, put another 100k on that bar without a hint of wear.

 

Just the simple fact you have worn so many components leads me to believe there is an underlying issue.

 

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