Recall Alert: Chevrolet, GMC Trucks

Some of you asked about my recent work on my 2002 Silverado 1500 2WD.

I had front springs and front shocks for it sitting around (the rear springs were replaced by me when it belonged to my nephew. He is now Florida Man and drives a Ram but that isn't important right now). The non-stock tires and wheels that were on it before I changed them (also when he owned it) had done a number on the suspension, plus I often like to replace struts/springs on my used cars when I acquire them.

I had also purchased a new set of coil spring compressors because my other set of coil spring compressors works great on my other vehicles but won't handle the heavier truck springs. When I was 17 and changing the front springs on my first car which was a Ford but my one and only Ford, I 'rented'/borrowed the spring compressors from the car parts store but now that I am older and rich I don't like borrowing tools or loaning tools. Northern Tool says "Borrowing is for the Weak," Polonius told Laertes that borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry, whatever that means, Benjamin Franklin said “If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing, as Poor Richard says; and indeed so does he that lends to such people, when he goes to get it in again” and I say that one never knows what those 'rental' tools have been through and this is a case where it matters, because I like my face and head and hands.

Anyway, the weather was nice and I decided to get into the front springs and struts but then I was looking at the bushings on the upper and lower control arms and thinking how I always wanted to change them out and see if the people who say that those parts wear out with time know what they are talking about. So I ordered upper and lower control arms, and sway bar links, because why not.

And then when the weather was nice again and I was motivated again, I was working on it again but the lower ball joints are a weird design (according to me) and and I remembered that I'm not poor so I went ahead and ordered new knuckles and really at that point why not go ahead and get new hubs with the bearings and the ABS sensors because the little plastic connectors kind of deformed and ok fine we'll get new tie rod ends too.

It drove weird so I adjusted the toe-in, just a rough adjustment, I'm no expert, and I'm waiting for the springs to settle a little more before getting an alignment.

I suppose I could change the front sway bar bushings, but I was watching a thing on the youtube the other day about how sway bars are actually torsion springs and I'm not sure I buy into the whole sway bar idea, I need to think about that some more.

One of the new front springs I installed is longer than stock which is supposed to help correct the condition where the truck kind of leans to one side, and I marked and measured the height of the four corners over the wheels before and after the job, but there's a lot that affects that. It is closer to even now but it would be hard to say by how much exactly. (Engineering is hard, in the real world.)

When I was looking into the bump steer I was experiencing with the new parts and no good alignment yet, the internet recommended a book by Milliken and Milliken on Race Car Vehicle Dynamics which is supposedly the authoritative text on the subject and even used in some engineering schools, if you believe in that sort of thing. Well that book isn't cheap, and I had to ask myself, "Self, are you an Automotive Enthusiast or just Surface Level Like Many Automotive Journalists?" and then at that point the decision was clear.