Dustin Gebhardt
Full Access Members
I replaced all of my stock shocks with 4600's about 18 months ago. It took me the better part of a weekend and I needed to rent 2 sets of spring compressors. I also needed to upgrade my (weak) impact gun with a better unit and a set of larger sockets, which took a few hours of driving around to do, and some folks won't need to do that, obviously. When I then took it in to get re-aligned, they told me that the tie rod ends were worn. I replaced those and it passed alignment. A few months ago I noticed that the steering wheel angle was off so I took it in for an alignment again (I purchased the lifetime alignment originally). They told me that the upper and lower control arms/ball joints were shot. I purchased a whole new set of UCAs, LCAs, sway bar bushings, and camber bolts. I haven't done this job yet, but this past weekend I noticed that the rear passenger tire was loose, but the suspension seemed tight, so I figured a hub was shot. I replaced both rear hubs yesterday and my steering wheel angle problem was fixed.
If I had to do this all over again, I'd replace the UCAs when I was doing the front shocks, since the strut assembly has to be off to get at the UCA bolts, and the UCAs are a common wear component. I'd also do the inner and outer tie rods, since these are super easy if you have the front suspension already apart (and cheap). The LCAs seem to be robust, but the bushings tend to rust to the camber bolts, preventing a camber adjustment when aligned.
If I had to do this all over again, I'd replace the UCAs when I was doing the front shocks, since the strut assembly has to be off to get at the UCA bolts, and the UCAs are a common wear component. I'd also do the inner and outer tie rods, since these are super easy if you have the front suspension already apart (and cheap). The LCAs seem to be robust, but the bushings tend to rust to the camber bolts, preventing a camber adjustment when aligned.
