GM truck handling upgrades
For those of you that follow my posts, you may have noticed that I have been gone from RV.Net for a while. For reasons both personal and professional, I haven’t had the time to sit down and write anything, and for that, I apologize.
The good news is that business has been picking up at Henderson’s Line-Up and SuperSteer, and we have a lot of exciting news to share. First and foremost, we are in the process of developing a new website that is much easier to navigate and will feature our own blog page, where you can come in, sign on and post questions or comments (I’ll still be posting here, too). The new site will also feature an e-store, where you can purchase our products directly. The site is literally days away at this point, and as soon as it is up and running, I’ll be sure and let you know.
We also have our new catalogs in, and a supplement that covers our product line designed specifically for trucks. These will be available for free download when the site is completed, but in the mean time you are welcome to call and ask for one, and we’ll mail one out. The new supplement has many new products in it, such as our SS 28559 tie rod for ‘01-current GM 2500 and 3500 series trucks (shown here).
The stock tie rod in these applications has a tendency to bend or even break under extreme conditions, such has heavy loading, off-road driving, or both. Our new tie rod offers numerous improvements to the stock part. First and foremost, it is a full one-inch forging, compared to the factory’s ½-inch. It also incorporates a 30 mm ball compared to the stock 25 mm, and offers 37 degrees of stud swing compared to only 28 for the factory part. Plus, the connection point is moved closer to the ball socket, so there isn’t as much leverage on the end of the tie rod, trying to break it.
Another new product is our SS 675 Trac Bar, designed for these same trucks. These Trac Bars are great at controlling lateral axle movement that causes that “tail wagging the dog” sensation. Like our other Trac Bars, it bolts in place in about an hour with no drilling or welding required.
These two products work wonderfully with two popular standbys: Our SS175 idler arm assembly and SS1508 idler and pitman arm brace kit, which we developed in conjunction with Cognito Motorsports. The SS175 features a cast aluminum housing and heavy-duty tapered roller bearings to reduce play and eliminate steering “slop”. Here, the SS175 is shown in a cutaway view so you can see the housing thickness and the tapered roller bearings inside. The factory part uses bushings.
The SS1508 works on all ‘01-current GM 2500 and 3500 HD trucks, but is particularly effective on lifted trucks. Lifting these trucks puts the tie rods at a big angle, which causes the center link to rock forward and back, and that results in constant toe angle change. It can also cause noticeable play in the steering. The SS1508 kit mitigates this problem by tying the bottom of the idler arm and pitman arm to the steering linkage.
We recently had a customer in our shop, Dr. Byron Thomas, who elected to have all four products installed at the same time. Byron drives a 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500 single wheel truck, with which he hauls an Alpenlite 1150 camper and tows a 23-foot Trophy sport fishing boat. In Byron’s own words on the truckcampermagazine.com website, “(the modifications) made a huge difference with the fishtailing and the micro steering adjustments inherent in all factory steering systems. Now when I take our rig on the highway, it stays right on line.”
As always, keep your questions coming, and I’ll try to answer them here. I look forward to hearing from you!
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my steering is okay but steering pump makes a shudder noise and vibration at low speed right turns [parking lot manuevers] you can feel a vibration in steering wheel and hear a groaning noise. this is on a ‘06 2500 chev duramax . Any ideas ? GM says might be a flow control valve in pump but don’t guarantee that’s the problem. Said just drive it, maybe that’s the reason they’re going broke ! Any ideas appreciated ! Thanks , James
When you say “GM trucks,” does that include my ‘04 8.1L Yukon XL 2500?
Both the steering and the rear end feel a little loose, a little worse when pulling our 31′ Airstream.
Would the new tie bar and/or the Trac Bar help, or is it just time to crawl under with a wrench and look for loose hardware? The truck has 62,000 miles on it.
Hello Dan,
Yes it does include your 04 XL. I had a Yukon XL myself. I loved it. The improvements I made on it was the SS175K8 idler/brace kit on the front. I could have used the tie-rods however we did not have them at the time.
On the rear I had the SuperSteer Track bar, SuperSteer Super Track rear wheel spacers to even out the rear track with the front ( they give the truck a wider rear stance and makes it more stable to improve tracking and handling) and a Roadmaster rear sway bar.
At 140,000 miles it steered and handled way better than new.
On the power steering question for James, it could be something stuck in the control valve that is causing a problem with the flow in the pump.
Thank you, Robert
Hi,
We have a 2005 GMC Sierra,And want to put a camper on it.This sounds like it should be done.I live in Massachusettes and so where would I get this done?
Thanks
In regard to my question on 6-17-09 about power steering groan , GM replaced the pump , after I found a dealer who I could talk to , and that has stopped the noise, at least for now ! Thanks , James
How do I get your catalog of products to improve steering on Chev trucks ? Can’t find your ph. no. or website. Also where is your shop ? Thanks, James Davis Phone 618 774 2273
Good info, thanks.
Are all of the products mentions in your article about GMC-truck handling upgrades manufactured by the Cognito Motorsports company. Many thanx for your articles.
Can you use a spanner to remove the inner tie rod end? If so, what size is it? as the biggest i have is a 24mm and that’s not big enough…
I’ve seen online people using mole grips. Can you do this without damaging it?
Thanks for sharing this information.
Please update your site name whenever it get’s live.
Recently I have my own old Gmc T8500 Packer Truck, which I have buy online only; and I am really happy with it’s performance.