My friend's daughter and son-in-law have a 2008 Chevy Uplander van which they've had diagnosed by a friend who is a professional HD mechanic. They thought it needed brakes. I talked with him, and he describes the symptoms as "death wobble", which I had previously only associated with solid front axle trucks. But in any case, he says that the bushings in the lower control arms (LCAs) are completely shot, causing the other symptoms.
They are excellent people who don't have a lot of money right now due to her staying at home to care for their children. They need the van because his commuter car won't hold all of them.
So, my friend and I plan to do the repair. The van has 230K km (c. 142K miles) on it, which is pretty high for these vans in this part of the world. Our very cold winters, salted roads, and potholes all add up to that being on the high end for a FWD vehicle here. So, if we can get, say 50K km (30K miles) out of the replacement parts, that might be good enough.
Locally, I can get Moog LCAs for about $300/side (Gulp!) or Dormans for $84/side. Or I can get the ball joint and both bushings for about $65/side. I haven't priced LCAs at dealer. Replacing just the wear parts (the ball joint and bushings) rather than the entire arm has its own risks - it's possible the original LCAs are bent or rusted. I guess I'll have to see the van to make a judgement on this.
Rock Auto is all over the place. There are two grades of AC Delco LCAs, with a huge spread in price. Of the lower grade ones, there are two categories - those with, and those without, stabilizer bar mounting tabs. I don't know why this is - the higher-grade AC Delcos do not make this distinction, and the parts man I talked to didn't make any such distinction on the Moogs or the Dormans.
Here's the link to the Rock Auto offerings:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,2008,uplander,3.9l+v6,1441146,suspension,control+arm,10401
Anyway, any thoughts any of you have on these options would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance!
They are excellent people who don't have a lot of money right now due to her staying at home to care for their children. They need the van because his commuter car won't hold all of them.
So, my friend and I plan to do the repair. The van has 230K km (c. 142K miles) on it, which is pretty high for these vans in this part of the world. Our very cold winters, salted roads, and potholes all add up to that being on the high end for a FWD vehicle here. So, if we can get, say 50K km (30K miles) out of the replacement parts, that might be good enough.
Locally, I can get Moog LCAs for about $300/side (Gulp!) or Dormans for $84/side. Or I can get the ball joint and both bushings for about $65/side. I haven't priced LCAs at dealer. Replacing just the wear parts (the ball joint and bushings) rather than the entire arm has its own risks - it's possible the original LCAs are bent or rusted. I guess I'll have to see the van to make a judgement on this.
Rock Auto is all over the place. There are two grades of AC Delco LCAs, with a huge spread in price. Of the lower grade ones, there are two categories - those with, and those without, stabilizer bar mounting tabs. I don't know why this is - the higher-grade AC Delcos do not make this distinction, and the parts man I talked to didn't make any such distinction on the Moogs or the Dormans.
Here's the link to the Rock Auto offerings:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,2008,uplander,3.9l+v6,1441146,suspension,control+arm,10401
Anyway, any thoughts any of you have on these options would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance!
