83 k2500 turning radius

[larry p]

the damn thing makes a right hand U-turn on a dime, but i can't(no joke, it wont do it) make a left handed U-turn in any interesction i've found so far. I have to go out to the middle of the intersection and do a U-turn. In residential areas I can just go to the left side of the road, and make a right handed U-turn easily. what the heck.....?
I have a 6" lift kit, and the guy who had the truck before me was a freakin idiot! There's only one shock on each wheel up front(there are supposed to be two) and they mismatched which ones they took out. I don't think this would cause such crappy turning radius on just one side though...

[goinbig]

It probably has the wrong radius arm on it.

Why would it need more than one shock on each side? I've got a truck with a 15" lift and have only one shock on each wheel. I also have cross-over steering so I can make better u-turns than any stock truck (with 44" swampers!).

[larry p]

My dad's suburban 3/4 ton has duals on the front. there are brackets for dual fronts. I assumed they were supposed to be there. If only one is needed, they should at least be mounted on the same mounts.
do you know where i can find the right steering arm demensions so i can check?

[goinbig]

Do you know what kind of lift it is? If so, call them and ask for the part number of the radius arm and what exactly it should like like on your vehicle. Then you can see if yours looks right. If not, go ahead and buy the right one.

With the shocks on the front, yes they should both be in the same position on either side. Is there the stock mount and then another one that might have been added on when the lift was installed? Often times you need to relocate the mounts to work the best with your lift. Also, make sure the shocks are both the same type and leangth (when fully extended and when fully compressed) before switching the ones location.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[larry p]

My dad's suburban of the same body style has dual fronts stock. no lift kit. I don't know what brand lift it is, are there part numbers located on them ever?

[goinbig]

Umm, I'm not really sure if there would be part numbers anywhere.

If you want a dual shock setup, you have to have shocks that are designed to be used in a dual shock setup. Using two regular shocks on each side will just make the ride extremely rough and cause even more stress on the frame where they are mounted. When the right ones are used, they simply share the load and stress with each other, so they will be less likely to blow out, which one regular shock would do if you plan on doing some desert racing or anything similar where they will be moving very rapidly in short time frames, for extended periods of time.

[larry p]

Ah ok, I understand now.
The shock piston arm that is covered by the rubber cover looks like this (
is that normal, is it possible that a shock could be bent like that?
Thanks for all your help, i'm new to 4x4s.
Do you know anything about rebuilding th400s?

[goinbig]

No, shock should definatly not be bent like that. It looks like now would be a good time to go buy some new shocks (regular shocks aren't too spendy though). Just make sure you get shocks that are the right length for that lift. I would just call any lift company and ask how long the shocks need to be for a 6" lift (be sure to tell them that there are 2 mounting spots on each side and see if they know which one should be used).

It is definatly possible for the shock to get bent like that. Something must have hit it or got caught up in there.

What's wrong with the tranny? Do you want to rebuild/replace everything in there, or is there something that is specifically wrong with it?

[larry p]

The one in there now is fried.

I have another th400 4x4 in a parts truck that worked before the engine blew, but it has close to 180K on it.