Suspension questions 1991 R1500 Suburban

[Dadof2]

We took our Suburban in for an alignment and the shop refused to do it because of work that needs to be done on the front end.

A couple of things up first:
A)We live in a small town and the shop comes highly recommended so I don't think they are just trying to run up a bill.

B) The truck has 257K miles on it and I wouldn't be surprised if it still has the original parts in the front end.

Here is what the shop says needs to be done:
Control Arm bushing x 2
Control arm x1
Left Upper ball joint x1
Inner tie rod x1
Adjuster sleeve (never heard of this) x1
Right Lower ball joint x1
Repack Wheel bearings

Invoice total 820.46 (310.00 for parts).

I plan on doing the work unless there is something involved that I can't do.
My question is this what is the best way to tackle this job? Can I do one side and then a couple of weeks do the other side?

Is there way to get the alignment close enough to straight to drive it to the shop (10 miles away)?

What else do I need to replace or should I replace while doing this work? They said left upper ball joint, but given the miles of the truck I was thinking about going ahead and replacing the left lower ball joint even though it's not listed.

Some additional back ground related to this truck:
This truck is a keeper, by that I mean short of being totaled it isn't going anywhere. We have switched over to older trucks to avoid car payments, because of the ability to work on them, and cost of parts.

So having said the above, I don't mind paying for quality parts and don't mind replacing things before they fail (in this case right side front end components).

I am trying to get our 81' C20 back up and running, but the Suburban is being an attention and money hog

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[marks86]

It sounds like you should bite the bullet and rebuild the ENTIRE front end of the truck and then the shop wont have anything to bitch about

 

[350runner]

Yea I'd go ahead and do it all... once you get in the rhythm on one side you'll see how easy it can be the other will be a piece of cake.

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[Dadof2]

Thanks for the replies.

Any additional components other than what I listed above, (etc..springs)?

 

[MadOgre]

If it were me I would do all new ball joints and bushings all the way around top and bottom. You must have some rust issues if the adjuster sleeve and control arm need replacing? Just do it once and do it right. Then it lasts worry free. Shops often times will just recommend replacing what is truly worn out. The problem with doing this is that in short order the rest of the stuff is worn out too. Now you have to have the same job done twice vs just spending a bit extra to start with.

It is actually a bit involved to rebuild the entire front suspension of a 2wd so if you are not sure about how to do it I would ask for a quote to entirely rebuild the front end?

 

[Dadof2]

If it were me I would do all new ball joints and bushings all the way around top and bottom. You must have some rust issues if the adjuster sleeve and control arm need replacing?

No rust on the truck that I am aware of. I'll look underneath it asap, but it has lived its life in SW and central Texas.

I will look into a quote for a complete rebuild as well.

Thx.

 

[89Suburban]

Figure once it is done and out of the way it should be good for quite a long while.