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Slight drift

Chris_G1

Full Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
212
Location
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
For the last couple years i have had the problem of a very slight, very random sway on my ?07 4x4 Avalanche. Thought it was the belts in the tires as they were getting old so i got 4 brand new ones, no luck. I knew the air bags on the factory shocks were shot so I replaced all 4 shocks, still no luck. It is only noticeable at highway speeds and its extremely random. If i hit a rut, bad section of road or a good gust of wind it will very slightly start to drift from side to side and after I correct it it drives straight for miles. My next thoughts are sway bar bushings ? Im pretty sure i have replaced the sway bar links before but for the few bucks they are i will do them again. I think im going to do those repairs regardless since the bushings have just over 100,000 miles so they don?t owe me anything. But if someone could maybe confirm thats the problem or point me in the direction of another cause I would appreciate it
 
If you have the coil sprung rear suspension, I am going to say that you likely have something going on with the track bar. Maybe the bushings are worn out, or the mounting bolts are loose. You'll want to check the rest of the suspension while you're under there...so see if anything is loose, broken, or missing. Good luck  :B:

CarMech1969
 
CarMech1969 said:
If you have the coil sprung rear suspension, I am going to say that you likely have something going on with the track bar. Maybe the bushings are worn out, or the mounting bolts are loose. You'll want to check the rest of the suspension while you're under there...so see if anything is loose, broken, or missing. Good luck  :B:

CarMech1969

Thanks for the reply, my truck has the autoride air suspension in the rear, no coils which i did just last weekend replaced with the remanufactured arnott shocks
 
Chris_G1 said:
Thanks for the reply, my truck has the autoride air suspension in the rear, no coils which i did just last weekend replaced with the remanufactured arnott shocks

Is it a 1500 series Av or 2500?
 
Control arms and ball joints check out ok?

Also Check the sway bar bushings and end-links (again).
Warning on the sway bar bushing bolts, one bolt on each side (rearward) tend to break off on removal. They are right next to each of the catalytic converters, I guess the heat cycles nearly weld the bolt to the frame. Start spraying penetrant on it now if you plan to r&r.
 
CarMech1969 said:
Ah ok, so the rear suspension originally had coils I presume.

My apologies, there are coils in the back. I didn?t notice them when i was changing the shocks

BainMan said:
Control arms and ball joints check out ok?

Also Check the sway bar bushings and end-links (again).
Warning on the sway bar bushing bolts, one bolt on each side (rearward) tend to break off on removal. They are right next to each of the catalytic converters, I guess the heat cycles nearly weld the bolt to the frame. Start spraying penetrant on it now if you plan to r&r.

Ball joints I believe i have replaced both sides although several years ago, i will give the control arms a check this weekend when I replace the bushings and links. Also thanks for the warning, thats a good one to know!
 
Steering rack and pinion ???
 
MS03 2500 said:
Steering rack and pinion ???

Perhaps, I suppose after i get all the sway bar bushings in if its still doing it I might have to take it in and have a mechanic look

ygmn said:
Alignment?

I was thinking that, and i need to dig up my bill from when i got the tires last fall as to whether one was done then or not
 
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