Upper Rear Control Arm/Track Arm

[lamerem]

I am beyond annoyed at this point.

2011 Tahoe, LT, 4WD with stock suspension components.

I am replacing the upper control arms/track arms (whatever you choose to call them). The issue I am having is there are apparently 2 different iterations of them. One that is straight, and one that is dog legged. I ordered the straight one, and the dog legged one was shipped to me.

The one on my vehicle is currently the straight arm. Now, on the GM Parts Direct website it says one pictured as the dog legged arm says "2nd Design", and when I click on it the picture of the straight arm pops up, lol.

Now, that being said the dog legged one is a dime a dozen, and the straight a little harder to find. Are they interchangeable?

 

[Doubeleive]

these from rock auto will work, they are stamped steel straight

 

[lamerem]

Yeah, the Mevotech is actually the one I have pictured above.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

I am beyond annoyed at this point.

2011 Tahoe, LT, 4WD with stock suspension components.

I am replacing the upper control arms/track arms (whatever you choose to call them). The issue I am having is there are apparently 2 different iterations of them. One that is straight, and one that is dog legged. I ordered the straight one, and the dog legged one was shipped to me.

The one on my vehicle is currently the straight arm. Now, on the GM Parts Direct website it says one pictured as the dog legged arm says "2nd Design", and when I click on it the picture of the straight arm pops up, lol.

Now, that being said the dog legged one is a dime a dozen, and the straight a little harder to find. Are they interchangeable?

View attachment 261511 View attachment 261512

@lamerem As you can see here for the rear: the lower control arms are straight and the upper control arms have the bend in them. Are you saying that on your Tahoe your rear uppers are straight?

Are you talking about the track bar? It runs parallel to the rear axle from the driver side axle to the passenger side body mount.
View attachment 262233

 

[OR VietVet]

I just changed all four arms on my 2005 Z71 and the upper arms were dog legged and the lowers were straight. I call them "locating arms" because it locates the axle to the frame and the track bar is there to control the track of the axle from side to side. At RA they are called control arms but identify as rear instead of front.

As I look up the arms for my rig and yours, the part numbers are the same. The AC Delco lower straight arm is 45D10160 and the AC Delco upper dog leg arm is 45D10231

 

[lamerem]

@lamerem As you can see here for the rear: the lower control arms are straight and the upper control arms have the bend in them. Are you saying that on your Tahoe your rear uppers are straight?

Are you talking about the track bar? It runs parallel to the rear axle from the driver side axle to the passenger side body mount.
View attachment 262233

Yes, my uppers are straight as the one on the right of the pictures I attached. I climbed under the truck last night and verified, and was told by the dealer that some trucks came with straight, and some dog legged. There is a design one, and design two. Not sure which one is which.

I ended up ordering the Mevotech straight arms, and will install this weekend. I have a small clunk in the rear right, and the uppers are the only thing not new. Here's to hoping...

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Yes, my uppers are straight as the one on the right of the pictures I attached. I climbed under the truck last night and verified, and was told by the dealer that some trucks came with straight, and some dog legged. There is a design one, and design two. Not sure which one is which.

I ended up ordering the Mevotech straight arms, and will install this weekend. I have a small clunk in the rear right, and the uppers are the only thing not new. Here's to hoping...

@lamerem I hope everything works out man. I too am chasing a clunk with this new adjustable track bar I installed. Truck is out of commission until I get it resolved.

 

[lamerem]

I purchased the truck with the clunk already installed, lol. It had 75k on it and replaced the panhard bar with no relief. Now I am getting around to replacing the entire suspension and bushings, control arms, etc. Everything is brand new under there at 147k miles. The last thing to do is these damn upper track arms. That being said, it rides like a new truck, and was worth every penny to replace these components. I'll post back when I determine if this was the fix.

I've learned in life its always the last thing that you do that fixes the issue... HAHAHA

 

[OR VietVet]

I purchased the truck with the clunk already installed, lol. It had 75k on it and replaced the panhard bar with no relief. Now I am getting around to replacing the entire suspension and bushings, control arms, etc. Everything is brand new under there at 147k miles. The last thing to do is these damn upper track arms. That being said, it rides like a new truck, and was worth every penny to replace these components. I'll post back when I determine if this was the fix.

I've learned in life its always the last thing that you do that fixes the issue... HAHAHA

I learned that little tidbit of knowledge years ago. Sometimes you just have to keep plugging away at something till it finally bends to your will.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@lamerem When does your truck clunk? I have 2 clunks; 1 when taking off from a stop and the 2nd track bar clunks when my tahoes rocks from side to side.

 

[OR VietVet]

Sway bar/stabilizer bar links can also cause that noise.

 

[lamerem]

Ok, well here is the feedback after installing the new "straight" upper track bars. The clunk has gone away, and the ride has improved even further.

What did I learn? Well I learned that I can use either the dog legged track bar, or the tubular "straight" track bar. Upon inspection the ends of the tubular bar are welded at an angle, where the dog legged one is designed, well.... with a dog leg. Now, that being said.....I am very pleased. It seems that GM designed the dog legged part after the inception of our body style. My guess is that it was a cost savings event that drove to the new revision. Cast parts are cheaper to create and supply, than manually welded tubular steel. The tubular unit weighs more than the cast dog leg, and the bushings appear to be of better quality. I am pleased with my decision, and the Mevotech part seems like very good quality, solid construction. The dog legged part was $42 on Amazon, and the Mevo straight bar was $60 on Amazon. I hope this helps, if you have the same decision to make.

 

[ls1frc]

I have the Moog RK series new in box, but was considering returning them since the RK series is the budget series. I noticed there are no quality OEM replacements anymore. Can you even get bushings for these? I saw the trackbar has separate bushings you can buy, which I have, so I will stick with OEM on that.

Are the trackbar bushings the same?

 

[Dustin Jackson]

I have the Moog RK series new in box, but was considering returning them since the RK series is the budget series. I noticed there are no quality OEM replacements anymore. Can you even get bushings for these? I saw the trackbar has separate bushings you can buy, which I have, so I will stick with OEM on that.

@ls1frc I would return those to get the CK series, they are the real deal. Just redid my front with CK series

 

[ls1frc]

@ls1frc I would return those to get the CK series, they are the real deal. Just redid my front with CK series

Just realized my post wasn't clear I was talking about rear.

My entire front was redone with the CK series, but there is no CK series for the rear. Just RK.

 

[Doubeleive]

@lamerem When does your truck clunk? I have 2 clunks; 1 when taking off from a stop and the 2nd track bar clunks when my tahoes rocks from side to side.

the solution to the track bar clunk is to tighten the bolts down more and/or replace it with a new bar and tighten the new bar up real good, if it still clunks then it's not tight enough.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

the solution to the track bar clunk is to tighten the bolts down more and/or replace it with a new bar and tighten the new bar up real good, if it still clunks then it's not tight enough.

@ls1frc You are totally right, that's strange they wouldn't make premium parts for the rear also. I have heard good things about Mavotech, might be worth a look.

@Doubeleive I ended up finding that my adjustable rear track bar wasn't getting tight enough on the mounting bolts. I went and got some heavy duty ass washers from ACE hardware and reinstalled my adjustable track bar and tightened the shit out of it when I reinstalled it. Now it only clunks when the joint hits the body mount, much better than before. I am not sure why the kit didn't include washers - without the washers the trackbar was wallowing out the track bar mounts.

 

[ls1frc]

https://www.mevotech.com/part/CMS501172

Mevotech look identical to the moogs

 

[Doubeleive]

@ls1frc You are totally right, that's strange they wouldn't make premium parts for the rear also. I have heard good things about Mavotech, might be worth a look.

@Doubeleive I ended up finding that my adjustable rear track bar wasn't getting tight enough on the mounting bolts. I went and got some heavy duty ass washers from ACE hardware and reinstalled my adjustable track bar and tightened the shit out of it when I reinstalled it. Now it only clunks when the joint hits the body mount, much better than before. I am not sure why the kit didn't include washers - without the washers the trackbar was wallowing out the track bar mounts.

probably time for a new one it shouldn't do that

 

[Dustin Jackson]

probably time for a new one it shouldn't do that

@Doubeleive It's brand new https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/aftermarket-trackbar-for-lifted-tahoe.122073/