04'chevy

Hey guys,

New to the forums!

So, 4 years ago I bought an '04 Tahoe from a lady who lied about everything her "25 year GM mechanic husband" had done on the truck. Basically said new transmission, new ball joints, new driveshaft, etc. which was all false.

FAST FORWARD TO NOW - I've put about 4k into the truck & still have A LOT of bad. The rear end clunks when going from reverse-drive-park or any variation of the 3. A shop said bad u joints.

My question is, what all should I have them look at? My shocks are pretty well gone & I don't have the tools to replace the fronts so I'll be paying to have all 4 done. In addition to the u-joints, should I also have them look at the control arms/a-plates? I'm not convinced my ball joints, etc. are in phenomenal shape either.

I have no clunks/noises/vibrations or rattles while driving, going over bumps, etc. She drives straight with very little input even going over potholes.

And just for the record, the clunking when going into gear has been happening since I bought it & hasn't gotten better or worse. Please tell me my driveshaft isn't about to fall out 😭

This is my daily driver & I'm working hard to replace all the things that were just plainly neglected. Are there any other things you guys think I should be concerned about at 225,000 miles?

mountainmanjoe

Don't throw good money after bad.
If you were fixing it yourself, then maybe I'd say hang onto it, but you're not, so you're looking at thousands more to get it safe, and a high mileage 20yo Hoe probably isn't worth that. I would start looking for something else.

Little Jimmy

I'd get a 2nd opinion on the U-Joint, & replace it if that's the issue. If it's not the differential would be another topic.
As far as front suspension; if it's driving as good as you say, it's likely ok. I've driven mine with worn parts & it veered around some & wore the tires off the inside.
Where you are located makes a difference. If its from the rust belt, a major repair would be a death sentence.

mountainmanjoe

That's not "OK"

Little Jimmy

Yeah, you are right, "Veering" around is not ok.
My bad, it was a bad choice of words. WANDER would be more accurate. To clarify... My 04 Suburban was diagnosed with a couple of worn front end parts around 225,000 miles also. It drove ok, but it would wander slightly to one side when holding the steering wheel fixed on a very smooth road. Aside from turning the wheel a slight bit to correct, it wasn't a problem. With the crappy roads in our area, you couldn't tell the car had an issue. Drove it that way for about 50,000 miles.Nothing ever broke, just got tired of the tires wearing unevenly, so replaced a few parts. I'm told the suspension on these suburbans are the same as a truck chassis, and are much beefier than a typical car part.
FWIW- the car was running fine at 325,000 when it got totaled.
Up here in the rust belt, a 2004 would be expecting to replace all brake & fuel lines, rear a/c lines. Other than that, usually just general maintenance items.
To expand further on your "Clunk" I'd change the U-Joint IF that's the issue. If it's the rear differential, I'd leave it alone as you mentioned it hadn't gotten any worse.

mountainmanjoe

You got lucky. A separated balljoint at highway speed can ruin a bunch of people's days very quickly.

Little Jimmy

Lucky? Possibly..To further clarify, I will add: At 225,000 miles when my ASE mechanics 1st mentioned replacement; I asked if they were bad enough to be dangerous. "NO" Still at 275,000 they were not worn enough to be a safety hazzard, but I changed them anyway. There were multiple ASE mechanics inspecting these parts periodically; on commission I would add. Yes, they were no longer in perfect condition, but not worn to the point of being dangerous.
Not trying to justify what I have done, just trying to pass along my experiences with my Suburban (right or wrong)
If it drives straight and true; I wonder if the parts are badly worn?

73shark

One way to tell when front end parts such as ball joints and tie rod ends need to be replaced is when they can no longer get a front end alignment completed.