what suspension parts brands are good

[southozzie]

I have a right hand drive 98 c3500 GMC Sierra that i need to do front front bushes, shocks and brake pads on. I cant easily get these parts here in Australia as these utes were not officially sold here (mine is a special build EX government ambulance). I plan to get the parts straight from the USA but i don't know what brands of parts are junk and what is good. I am hoping some of you may be able to advise me. I don't want to ship parts half way across the globe and find out they are rubbish. Thanks in advance.

[Dvldog8793]

Howdy
The following is my opinion and is based on owning several of these types of trucks over the years.
Any and all suspension parts(ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, ect) MOOG is the best hands down. Speaking of that....make sure and check your idler arm and ball joints as they have chronic wear issues.
Brake pads- I would stay away from the super hard ceramic pads as they can eat up your disc and also can be noisy and sensitive to dust and moisture. I use Car-quest Gold line as my son works at Car-quest;)
IMHO, if you can afford it I would replace the caliper as well. If they have never been done then there is a good chance that when you squeeze them open to replace the pads it will scar the inside of the piston and that will cause a problem in the future.
Shock- Bilstien hands down the best, period! expensive but they will give a real world noticeable difference and have lifetime warranty. The only exception to this is that you might want to go with a coil over shock to help with the typical chevy SUV butt-sag.
Check the seals in the rear drums, these can start leaking over years and cause your rear pads to deteriorate.
Hope this helps!
Good luck!

[convert2diesel]

For the most part I agree with Dvldog's advice, however, even front line companies like Moog have at least two lines of product. Typically they will be identified as "service grade" if all you want to do is get it back on the road, "professional grade" if you want to replace the part with OEM quality and especially Moog has a grade called "problem solver" that is a re-design of the OEM part to correct any original design faults.

A good start would be to log onto Rockauto.com. If for no other reason, they list all of the categories of parts and list them for your specific truck. Very little guess work. You might have to do some research to properly identify your truck as our naming practises tend to be different than in Oz.

As mentioned, Bilstien is a good shock replacement but is not the only "Decarbon" design available. I have had extremely good luck with KYB, for at least 1/2 the cost, though KYB does tend to valve their shock a little softer than Bilstien. Just ask for their "gas adjust" product line as they do also have a mono shock line of product. For many years, KYB was the only other manufacturer licensed to make a Decarbon shock.

I also prefer a softer brake compound as opposed to heavy metalics or ceramics for extended rotor life and tend to use either Raybestos Professional grade or the AC Delco Professional grade products. Using the softer or "organic" linings do tend to wear faster, though I would prefer to change out linings more often than rotors or drums.

Would also plan on replacing all brake parts including new calipers and brake cylinders and don't forget to order all the hardware kits and flex hoses as well. If you are in an area prone to rust, think about replacing all the brake lines as well. there are a number of companies that manufacture complete brake line kits, specific to your vehicle, with the availability of getting them in stainless steel.

Your truck is now close to 20 years old and there is a bunch of stuff that will be simply be over their design life. Keep this in mind as you go through your vehicle.

Good luck in your quest and don't hesitate to ask. There's a bunch of experience on this board and a willingness to help.

Bill

[trbankii]

Good advice given here. I just went through my Yukon and did pretty much what C2D recommends - started at RockAuto and ordered Moog “problem solver” for the tie rod, idler, pitman, and stabilizer link components, AC Delco brakes from their “daily driver” section, Bilstein shocks, as well as other miscellaneous components.