Ball Joints Went Bad W/ Leveling Kit

Blown03 · June 11, 2009

I have an 07 NBS. Little over 28k miles. I did the truxx leveling kit with roughly 1500 miles on the truck after I bought it brand new. I've been hearing left front end noises for roughly 6 months now. I've taken it in numerous times and the only thing that ever found wrong was a broken sway link. They replaced that and the noise didn't go away. Well upon taking it this morning for inspection, they found both left and right ball joints were SHOT. They said they couldn't beleive I was still driving it, the left side is barely intact. Needless to say, they wouldn't let me leave with the truck, they put me in a rental. They know I did the leveling kit, but they didn't say anything about it causing the bad ball joints. They said they've never seen them go bad or look this bad on one of these trucks. Could the leveling kit have caused this by any chance????

They also asked me if the trucks ever been offroad. It hasn't seen anything extreme. I ride quads every weekend and sometimes I drive deep into the woods with a trailor but it's nothing harse, Hell i don't even use 4x4. It's mostly grass type driving or off beat trails with small rocks, nothing major at all.

Matt_ · June 11, 2009

Yes, leveling kits will cause the balljoints to wear faster than stock. Its mostly due to the increased load angles, especiallly at 2+ over stock height.

1.5" MAX imo.

Edit: I'm actally looking forward to hearing more reviews on gmt900 leveling kits now that people are starting to get up in miles. Although the ride may not be as bad as gmt800s with leveling kits, that doesn't mean the parts aren't stressed. People gave me hell for doing a 3" body lift and said I should've done a 2.5" leveling kit instead.... But being an ex-mechanic I hated the idea of the steep control arm angles

bigdogxx · June 11, 2009

I have an 07 NBS. Little over 28k miles. I did the truxx leveling kit with roughly 1500 miles on the truck after I bought it brand new. I've been hearing left front end noises for roughly 6 months now. I've taken it in numerous times and the only thing that ever found wrong was a broken sway link. They replaced that and the noise didn't go away. Well upon taking it this morning for inspection, they found both left and right ball joints were SHOT. They said they couldn't beleive I was still driving it, the left side is barely intact. Needless to say, they wouldn't let me leave with the truck, they put me in a rental. They know I did the leveling kit, but they didn't say anything about it causing the bad ball joints. They said they've never seen them go bad or look this bad on one of these trucks. Could the leveling kit have caused this by any chance????

They also asked me if the trucks ever been offroad. It hasn't seen anything extreme. I ride quads every weekend and sometimes I drive deep into the woods with a trailor but it's nothing harse, Hell i don't even use 4x4. It's mostly grass type driving or off beat trails with small rocks, nothing major at all.

This is what happens to people who think the torsion bar is a free instant lift kit also, they are set from factory for a reason and are not there to crank 3 times to add 2" of lift.

You altered the original angle for the joint and it is what caused premature wear on it, imo most dealers will void the warranty for these parts if you messed with it. Only right way to get lift is from a lift kit, any other way is hack and will eventually degrade the suspension imo.

blackout07 · June 11, 2009

This is what happens to people who think the torsion bar is a free instant lift kit also, they are set from factory for a reason and are not there to crank 3 times to add 2" of lift.

You altered the original angle for the joint and it is what caused premature wear on it, imo most dealers will void the warranty for these parts if you messed with it. Only right way to get lift is from a lift kit, any other way is hack and will eventually degrade the suspension imo.

Unless it's an HD, he does not have torsion bars. A leveling kit on the 1500's is a perfectly acceptable way to achieve a couple of extra inches. I know guys with 50,000 miles + with 2" spacers and no issues. Sorry for your luck.

Edit- spoke before I thought...I suppose it could be a classic.

Matt_ · June 11, 2009

Regardless of model year, increasing the control arm angles does not have a postive effect on balljoint life.

Some people don't have problems, others will. But premature wear IS a risk you are taking anytime you increase your ride height with any type of leveling kit.

jnpaddison · June 11, 2009

for the good of the forum - what kind of symptoms were you getting ?

Blown03 · June 11, 2009

for the good of the forum - what kind of symptoms were you getting ?

Hitting very light bumps in the road, I got a knocking/pounding noise on the left front end. Also going around tight bends or in parking lots, I got a small thump/pound noise in the left front end. Anything like speed bumps in a parking lot or big humps in a road, would make it pound really hard

MS3DALE · June 11, 2009

Almost 15,000 miles on my 1.5" leveling kit,No issues so far.

Matt_ · June 11, 2009

Dan, what style truck do you have? (GMT900- Coil Springs or GMT800- Torsion bars)

And how much did you increase the height of the front end with the leveling kit?

Matt_ · June 11, 2009

Dan, what style truck do you have? (GMT900- Coil Springs or GMT800- Torsion bars)

And how much did you increase the height of the front end with the leveling kit?

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...c=67073&hl=

Just answered both my questions:

GMT900

2.5"

Might want to consider having them remove the 2.5" kit and toss in the 1.5" spacer instead.... That'd be my recommendation

MS3DALE · June 11, 2009

I agree,I think the 2.5" might be a bit too much

snarkee · June 11, 2009

my old 07 now has 50,000km on it with the skyjacker 2inch front lift - no issues

my 09 had 5,000km on it with the same kit and both ball joints were shot....I think I had a defective batch tho

Matt_ · June 11, 2009

I also don't like how the GMT900 joints are greaseless....

When i traded in my 2005, I had 80,000 miles on it... i ran 33s mud terrains, 35" mud terrains, and then 37x14 all terrains. The truck was offroaded once in a while, was lifted its entire life, etc... at 80,000 miles all of my front end components were original AND in great shape. I greased everything often...now it sucks because i can't put that same 'maintenance' into my new truck

Blown03 · June 12, 2009

I also don't like how the GMT900 joints are greaseless....

When i traded in my 2005, I had 80,000 miles on it... i ran 33s mud terrains, 35" mud terrains, and then 37x14 all terrains. The truck was offroaded once in a while, was lifted its entire life, etc... at 80,000 miles all of my front end components were original AND in great shape. I greased everything often...now it sucks because i can't put that same 'maintenance' into my new truck

I think I'm just gonna remove all the leveling stuff once I get it back from the dealership. I used to work @ the place where it's getting fixed so thats probly why they didn't give me trouble about the leveling. I'll just keep it factory until I can afford to do a real lift. I gotta say though, I love this little cobalt they put me in, 4 door, red w/ the 20's. sunroof, pioneer system, heated leather seats ahahaha...it's a blast. I just took it to my dads (he lives an hour from me) I got 37.2 mpg round trip, alot better then my normal 18-19ish in the truck.

Rons05z71 · June 12, 2009

I would talk to them about removing the lift kit first. They might do an alignmnet and might do something different, you take out the kit and not do another alignment and you might end up having different problems. Also what is the difference or clasification of the terms GMT800 or 900?