Few Questions On 03 Suburban 5.3 4x4 Lt Model

bry21317 · December 10, 2008

I have a 2003 Chevy Suburban with the LT package and 4x4. I purchased the car used with 60+ K on it, and I now have about 95k on it. It seems that the steering is really loose, and you have to constantly adjust the steering wheel to keep the car straight. I just noticed today, that when in Auto 4wd and I got on the gas the steering wheel went back and forth pretty hard, I had to really drive it to keep it straight. I only put it in Auto 4wd when its wet out or it will spin the wheels without trying.

This problem is not the Intermediate Steering Shaft, for sure, as I had that noise in the past and replaced it and it has not messed up since it was replaced.

The tires that I have on the Truck are Michelin LTX, they probably have 30k on them and still have good tread. I also have the car aligned about every 6 months and it was last done about 1 month ago.

Is there some parts that could be worn out, that could cause this? It really feels pretty unsafe on the HWY.

Thanks for any feedback you guys can give on this.

Bryan

bry21317 · December 12, 2008

Bumping up to see if anyone know any answers on this.

Bryan

Draenor · December 12, 2008

Do you rotate your tires regularly?

If the tires are wearing fine, I would rule out the ball joints. It is possible that this is the problem. I assume the 'burbs went to R&P steering. The only other thing to check for wear and tear are the tie rod ends. Worse case is the steering rack itself.

If you go to a good alignment shop, they should be able to spot problem areas like these. It is a possibility that they need to re-adjust the caster.

Zembonez · December 12, 2008

I'd have the alignment checked by a GOOD alignment shop. They should be able to spot any worn items or it might simply be out of alignment. (even if it was aligned recently) Things can and do move or something might not have been tightened correctly when it was last aligned.

bry21317 · December 30, 2008

Sorry about the delay in posting back, I got busy and forgot about this post.

The car is still doing the same. The tires are wearing funny on the driver side Front tire. I have noticed this, it is wearing more on the inside edge than the rest of the tire. Only this tire seems to be wearing funny. I will get them to check the alignment again. I also noticed that my front sway bar bushings seem to be worn, so I plan to replace those later this week, when I am off work.

How can I tell if there is a worn out ball Joint?

Bryan