06 Sierra Front Suspension Issues

Dilatory · July 29, 2012

I've got an 06 Sierra SLE Ext Cab w/ standard 4WD

Friday I noticed really odd sounds coming from the front drivers side wheel; Sounded like a seized caliper but I drove to where I was headed anyways as it was maybe 5 minutes away

Ended up having my cousin whom is a mechanic look at it and he noticed said wheel was leaning in. We jacked it up and the wheel rocked back and forth (Holding the 12 and 6 position) about 2-3 inches. He said it was the upper ball joint. Long story short I couldn't get it fixed where I was so I babied it home as she now sits in the driveway.

Oh.. did I mention it's got 45,000 km / 28,000 m on it... What the flying **** is a suspension part doing failing at 45k km? My old man has a 1997 1500 with 300k on it w/ 100% original suspension(This truck has also tried to kill me recently.. Brake line popping in the far left of 6 lanes on the highway is great fun). The brakes have been serviced twice since I acquired it at 28k km one of which was last week. I'm not sure how they didnt notice the tire rocking like a cradle but hey I guess that's what you get for going to Canadian Tire (Sidenote: Never again. The gouging has gotten to the point of laughable).

But all in all this just has my faith kind of shaken up. I've suddenly gone from really happy with having bought it to questioning whether or not I want to keep it... If my cousin is accurate in his assessment the tire is not far from falling off and that just seems really damn shady to me.. I'm extremely gentle with it.. It's never been offroading. It doesn't even have the trailer hitch covers punched out. Never been in ANY kind of incident of any kind.

So with all that said my question is is this just a fluke lemon part or is this the sort of quality I can expect and having this sort of stuff to continue happening? It's going in Tuesday to pull everything apart and see what is for certain actually broken..

I was considering having aftermarket control arms and all associated parts upgraded with Moog or something equivelant or should I just return it to factory and let it be?

Sorry for the rather open ended question, Just kind of running through the thought processes in my head as I can't decide on anything.

Thanks for any help/reading/suggestions it really is appreciated.

00Silverado4x4 · July 29, 2012

Be sure to check out the hub bearing as well. They are known to fail pretty commonly on these trucks. Sorry for the bad luck glad you got home safe and sound.

KMGZ400 · July 29, 2012

yeah definatley sounds like a hub. common problem on these trucks

that shouldnt be a reason to be scared of the truck, these trucks are very solid safe and reliable. many people have taken them well over 300k miles

Dilatory · July 29, 2012

And.. you guys would be 100% correct.. I got impatient and pulled it apart myself.. Wheel hub is completely and totally fudged. The ball joint is rock solid. any recommended brand with which to replace it? and if I'm going through the trouble should I do the passenger side as well?

txab · July 29, 2012

Timken

ruggedlife · July 29, 2012

you have to remember something... its still a 6 year old truck, and sitting is worse than being driven with those low miles.plus you dont know the past history of how its been driven or anything. the past owner could have curb checked the tire every time he pulled into a parking spot and put extra strain on it. who knows. i wouldn't be that worried about it...

Dilatory · July 30, 2012

All fair points. Should I just knock in a couple Timken Wheel Hubs and call it good or while I have it ripped apart are there any worthwhile modifications to consider undertaking? Thanks for all the responses.

ruggedlife · July 30, 2012

check your pitman arm, idler arm, inner and outer tie rod ends. I personally do not like aftermarket wheel hubs, i've never had any good luck with them at all. but the OEM ones are twice as much usually...

Mckenzie · July 30, 2012

Timken makes good stuff. Don't be afraid to drive your truck, even though it has low miles it is like 6 years old stuff is gonna go bad every now and then

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