2020 Silverado Lt Front Axle Replacement with Trail Boss Axles

andrewb24 · January 5, 2021

GM looked at my truck and said I needed new cv axles and that they were replacing them under warranty until I brought it back after they received the axles that were on back order and then said they couldn't do it under warranty after looking at it closer. They quoted me $1400 to do the repair but that included replacing my leveling kit I have on it now which is a 2.5" motofab upper strut spacer. I tried calling and arguing saying motofab made this kit for this truck and really all that needs to be done is add some new clamps and pack some more grease on the ones I have but couldn't reach them yesterday so I went ahead and just ordered a front axle off of a trailboss since they are longer to accommodate for the lift since it was only about $175 and I will try and replace my self and if that goes smooth I will go ahead and order a 2nd one for the other side. So if anyone has any info on removing and reinstalling cv axles it would be appreciated. Im not sure what all I will have to disconnect just to remove the axle as far as the upper control arm, sway bar, struts, etc.??

Gangly · January 5, 2021

Its relatively easy and quick.

Remove the wheel speed sensor from the Knuckle.

Remove the Axle Nut from the Front Axle at the Knuckle.

Remove the Rotor from the Knuckle

Remove the nut connecting the Upper Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the nut connecting the Lower Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the Knuckle

Remove CV Axle

Installation:

Reverse removal procedure.

newdude · January 5, 2021

2 hours ago, andrewb24 said:

I tried calling and arguing saying motofab made this kit for this truck and really all that needs to be done is add some new clamps and pack some more grease on the ones I have but couldn't reach them

Its an aftermarket kit. Its not a GM kit, therefore no warranty if something fails as a result of installing the aftermarket kit.

IF you did the GM 2 inch factory lift and had a problem, then yes you'd have warranty.

andrewb24 · January 5, 2021

1 hour ago, Gangly said:

Its relatively easy and quick.

Remove the wheel speed sensor from the Knuckle.

Remove the Axle Nut from the Front Axle at the Knuckle.

Remove the Rotor from the Knuckle

Remove the nut connecting the Upper Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the nut connecting the Lower Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the Knuckle

Remove CV Axle

Installation:

Reverse removal procedure.

is it easy removing the axle from the differential?

Gangly · January 5, 2021

2 hours ago, andrewb24 said:

is it easy removing the axle from the differential?

Get a large flat screwdriver, or preferably a flat prybar, slip it between the axle bushing (cup) and differential then work it right off.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Gangly

andrewb24 · January 5, 2021

4 hours ago, Gangly said:

Its relatively easy and quick.

Remove the wheel speed sensor from the Knuckle.

Remove the Axle Nut from the Front Axle at the Knuckle.

Remove the Rotor from the Knuckle

Remove the nut connecting the Upper Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the nut connecting the Lower Control Arm to the Knuckle.

Remove the Knuckle

Remove CV Axle

Installation:

Reverse removal procedure.

can you not work the axle out without removing the rotor or lower control arm knuckle? I dont have to disconnect the sway bar do i?

Gangly · January 5, 2021

Removing the rotor gives you more room to work with, but I don't know that its absolutely necessary.

The bolt connecting the Lower Control Arm to the Knuckle is required to remove the Knuckle, so yes it needs to be removed according the the service manual.

The sway bar is connected to the Lower Control Arm and is not required to be removed.

Its a very simple and easy procedure that you might be overthinking or overly concerned about, but don't worry. Its a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult, and disconnecting the Knuckle from the Upper Control Arm and Lower Control Arm is the easiest and fastest way to accomplish the task.

Once the wheel is off, removing the Knuckle to pull the CV literally consists of removing 4 nuts:

Axle Nut, UCA to Knuckle Nut, LCA to Knuckle Nut, and Tie Rod to Knuckle Nut. It should take you 2 minutes to accomplish once you have the wheel off.

andrewb24 · January 12, 2021

On 1/5/2021 at 5:43 PM, Gangly said:

Removing the rotor gives you more room to work with, but I don't know that its absolutely necessary.

The bolt connecting the Lower Control Arm to the Knuckle is required to remove the Knuckle, so yes it needs to be removed according the the service manual.

The sway bar is connected to the Lower Control Arm and is not required to be removed.

Its a very simple and easy procedure that you might be overthinking or overly concerned about, but don't worry. Its a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult, and disconnecting the Knuckle from the Upper Control Arm and Lower Control Arm is the easiest and fastest way to accomplish the task.

Once the wheel is off, removing the Knuckle to pull the CV literally consists of removing 4 nuts:

Axle Nut, UCA to Knuckle Nut, LCA to Knuckle Nut, and Tie Rod to Knuckle Nut. It should take you 2 minutes to accomplish once you have the wheel off.

I got the driver side completed and was pretty easy. I took my time on the first side but the next side should go pretty easy. Little harder to get axle through hub than I thought and the part I worried most about was the easiest (removal of the axle at differential)

I do have a rubbing noise when driving and it’s the same noise it made after I installed my leveling kit a few months ago but it went away after tightening the upper strut nuts but this time I checked everything and all seems tightened up. Didn’t get time to go back in and look but I believe It has to be the shield or whatever it is behind the rotor or the thin plate on the outer cv axle that’s right behind the hub. It’s a metal grinding or rubbing type noise.

andrewb24 · January 13, 2021

I fixed the rubbing noise on the driver side last night. It was just a bent dust shield behind the rotor from when I set the hub assembly on the ground. Thank goodness that was an easy fix. I didn't feel good yesterday so I didn't start the passenger side yet but it should go twice as fast being I know exactly how to do it now and I took it real slow and easy on the first side. I did overthink this mainly from watching a guy on youtube who kept stressing about how bad it would be to bust a boot or clamp while he was installing a lift kit on a 2019 silverado but this was easier than installing the leveling kit itself.

Also I thought about just re-greasing and fixing the boots on the driver side axle I took off and move it to the passenger side then take the other one back which would leave me with 1 spare axle or just go all new and have 2 spares which I will try and restore anyway or I could sell them.

Gangly · January 13, 2021

It really is a simple task that I think most people over think and worry endlessly about, definitely not worth spending $1400 on. I'm glad you got it worked out and don't worry about the bent dust shield, your not the first to do it . I did the same thing when I replaced a front diff in another vehicle last year and as soon as I rolled down the road I started hearing a rubbing noise and freaked out. Turned out I bent the dust shield up against the rotor as well. I pulled it back and everything worked perfectly.

Also, what you have done is significantly more than what is done to raise a vehicle using aftermarket shocks and springs. If you had a lift kit you could have installed it in the process of putting everything back together and gotten rid of that 2.5" spacer :).

I would keep the old two CV's as spares, you never know when you might be off-roading, or even on-roading, and snap one by accident.

Again, I'm glad you got it done and now hopefully you have the confidence to attack some bigger truck projects if you ever want to.

andrewb24 · January 13, 2021

2 hours ago, Gangly said:

It really is a simple task that I think most people over think and worry endlessly about, definitely not worth spending $1400 on. I'm glad you got it worked out and don't worry about the bent dust shield, your not the first to do it . I did the same thing when I replaced a front diff in another vehicle last year and as soon as I rolled down the road I started hearing a rubbing noise and freaked out. Turned out I bent the dust shield up against the rotor as well. I pulled it back and everything worked perfectly.

Also, what you have done is significantly more than what is done to raise a vehicle using aftermarket shocks and springs. If you had a lift kit you could have installed it in the process of putting everything back together and gotten rid of that 2.5" spacer :).

I would keep the old two CV's as spares, you never know when you might be off-roading, or even on-roading, and snap one by accident.

Again, I'm glad you got it done and now hopefully you have the confidence to attack some bigger truck projects if you ever want to.

i really thought about getting new control arms and having them ready to install at the same time but I had been wanting to get this done for awhile so I was patient enough to find some and then wait for them.

andrewb24 · January 14, 2021

I finished the other CV Axle last night. Feels good to have this project complete and while I was in there I cleaned up all the grease from the boots on the other axles. When I rolled under to put the skid plate back on I looked at the angles of the axles and to me they do not look that bad so I am wondering when the dealer had it if they just looked at the angle while the truck was on the lift because the whole front suspension is drooping so the angle looks really bad on the axles but on the ground I think they are fine.

viperdad · March 6, 2021

On 1/13/2021 at 6:42 AM, andrewb24 said:

I fixed the rubbing noise on the driver side last night. It was just a bent dust shield behind the rotor from when I set the hub assembly on the ground. Thank goodness that was an easy fix. I didn't feel good yesterday so I didn't start the passenger side yet but it should go twice as fast being I know exactly how to do it now and I took it real slow and easy on the first side. I did overthink this mainly from watching a guy on youtube who kept stressing about how bad it would be to bust a boot or clamp while he was installing a lift kit on a 2019 silverado but this was easier than installing the leveling kit itself.

Also I thought about just re-greasing and fixing the boots on the driver side axle I took off and move it to the passenger side then take the other one back which would leave me with 1 spare axle or just go all new and have 2 spares which I will try and restore anyway or I could sell them.

I messed up the bottom boot when replacing the coilover on my 19 trail boss so not sure if its possible to just replace the boot or just order the whole axle. The dealership obviously wants to change the whole axle. Do you by chance have a part number of the axle? I want to make sure its the one I’m looking at and Even though the diagram on gm parts website shows everything separate, I assume its assembled and sealed and ready to instal right? Also do you think its possible to just change the bottom boot? When you disconnect the hub is there a way to take the joint off so the slim side of the boot can slip in?

andrewb24 · March 6, 2021

39 minutes ago, viperdad said:

I messed up the bottom boot when replacing the coilover on my 19 trail boss so not sure if its possible to just replace the boot or just order the whole axle. The dealership obviously wants to change the whole axle. Do you by chance have a part number of the axle? I want to make sure its the one I’m looking at and Even though the diagram on gm parts website shows everything separate, I assume its assembled and sealed and ready to instal right? Also do you think its possible to just change the bottom boot? When you disconnect the hub is there a way to take the joint off so the slim side of the boot can slip in?