Common suspension wear points?

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cfmistry

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Hi all,

So my Tahoe has 170k miles and has had 3 owners (it has lived well!). Even with new wheels/tires that were Hunter Road Force balanced I have a slight vibration over 70mph that is driving me nuts. It's nothing terrible, but I drive at that speed for 60+ miles a day so it wears on me. So far I can tell:

Front lower ball joints were replaced 50k miles ago
Front sway-bar end-links are blue so they must've been replaced as well
Rear shocks are new (were leaking so I replaced them)

So my question: What are the other commonly worn parts at this mileage? I wanted to get an alignment since I'm pretty sure that's the issue, but just in case it's not I don't want to have to do it twice.

Thanks,
Cyrus

Tahoe 2.jpg
Tahoe 1.jpg
 

Foggy

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At that mileage, you could have almost anything worn...
Since you did the rear shocks, Do the front struts. I would also do
the outter tie rod ends for sure & possibly the inners too.. You can
feel for those.
At least you'll knock out that stuff before the alignment.
Ball Joints probably needed too.. You'll have to check those for play

If you are just experiencing a certain speed vibration that you can drive out
of ... then it's usually a wheel balance issue... You may have a rim with
a bend or hop in it that they put enough weight on it to "balance", but that
won't necessarily cure a vibration if the wheel is bent
 

Doubeleive

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if they haven't already been done I would take a close look at the tie-rod's, tie-rod end's those are a common thing to just plain wear out.
 
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cfmistry

cfmistry

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I noticed my lower control arm bushings and ball joints are in great condition. Unfortunately the upper arm bushings and joints look original, as does the tie-rod end. One of the upper control arm ball joints has a small tear in it as well.

So I ordered (all Moog):
Upper control arms
Tie-rod ends
Front sway bar bushings (end-links have already been replaced)
Rear sway bar end-links and bushings

All of the above only ran me about $260 shipped. I did have to order another $120 in tools for the job, but I'm sure labor would've been $300 or so. And there's the satisfaction in knowing it's done right.
 

swathdiver

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I have AT tires on mine and when I get the air pressure in all tires to within 1/2 pound of one another, she rides smooth as silk once they're warmed up.
 

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