I got my truck back from the shop last night. I've driven it about 70 miles since and I'm VERY pleased with the results.
I took the truck into my mechanic's shop because: ball joints were popping when making turns, I could see one of the torsion bar links were broken, and the truck was all over the road, especially at highway speeds.
I bought the truck 3 years ago, put 30k miles on it since and it's an oil burner. It was VERY sludged up when I bought it. It makes all kind of ticking and knocking noises, especially at start up and hot idle. But, a replacement engine is fairly cheap for this truck, the body and interior are nice, so I decided to throw money at the truck, and thus, making the decision that when the engine dies, I'll be repowering her with a new motor.
The truck got the following:
-Raybestos Professional Grade Upper and Lower ball joints
-Moog outer tie rod ends (inner ends were just fine)
-Raybestos Service Grade Pitman and Idler Arms
-Raybestos Service Grade Sway Bar Links (both sides)
-Front brake lines (the flexible section for the fender well to the caliper)
-Monroe Magnum Gas Shocks all the way around
-Tightened the steering column (previous owner used the steering wheel to hoist his butt into the seat, so there was about 3" of play either way on the steering column).
All the parts I bought at Rockauto. He installed. Total bill was $860. Very pleased with the price, even more so with the results.
Next up on the list, some new rubber. My rear tires are probably fine for a bit (10k miles), but my fronts are SHOT. I'd like to get all new rubber though. All tires are showing signs of cracking at various stages.
I found a local shop who will install 4 new Mastercraft (Cooper's) 265/70-16's with a front end alignment for $600 out the door....should I go for it?
I took the truck into my mechanic's shop because: ball joints were popping when making turns, I could see one of the torsion bar links were broken, and the truck was all over the road, especially at highway speeds.
I bought the truck 3 years ago, put 30k miles on it since and it's an oil burner. It was VERY sludged up when I bought it. It makes all kind of ticking and knocking noises, especially at start up and hot idle. But, a replacement engine is fairly cheap for this truck, the body and interior are nice, so I decided to throw money at the truck, and thus, making the decision that when the engine dies, I'll be repowering her with a new motor.
The truck got the following:
-Raybestos Professional Grade Upper and Lower ball joints
-Moog outer tie rod ends (inner ends were just fine)
-Raybestos Service Grade Pitman and Idler Arms
-Raybestos Service Grade Sway Bar Links (both sides)
-Front brake lines (the flexible section for the fender well to the caliper)
-Monroe Magnum Gas Shocks all the way around
-Tightened the steering column (previous owner used the steering wheel to hoist his butt into the seat, so there was about 3" of play either way on the steering column).
All the parts I bought at Rockauto. He installed. Total bill was $860. Very pleased with the price, even more so with the results.
Next up on the list, some new rubber. My rear tires are probably fine for a bit (10k miles), but my fronts are SHOT. I'd like to get all new rubber though. All tires are showing signs of cracking at various stages.
I found a local shop who will install 4 new Mastercraft (Cooper's) 265/70-16's with a front end alignment for $600 out the door....should I go for it?
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