Just based on the age, and i'm sure the mileage, there are a number of places you can/should replace.

First, bushings throughout. there should be 4 per side (front). the factory rubber doesn't last all that long. I make a habit of replacing the bushings regardless. I've done all 4 of my cars in my driveway over a weekend.

If you do the bushings you should look probably go ahead and to the ball joints, you're in there anyway. the moog problem solvers are pretty nice.

while you're in there take a look at the tie rod ends. Probably go ahead and replace those too.

On my 05 (granted 4x4) i replaced all the bushings, ball joints, wheel bearings, and tie rod ends for about 500$. It took about 2 weekends (i was working slowly because I had access to another car). Drives like brand new.

I guess the point i'm making is; a front suspension rebuild is fairly easy and if you're slightly mechanically inclined, cheap. 500$ to have a basically brand new truck is more than worth it in my opinion. Shouldn't have to worry about alignment either as the upper control arms have their adjustments set at the factory. there are little plastic things.

I know someone is going to pop on here and say just replace the control arms with Cognito or something. But those are expensive and I'm not lifted nor do I do offroading.

 

I spent a lot of time chasing rattles on my 02. I have a 30 miles dirt road to my cabin, so there was lots of opportunity to have rattles. I am talking about heavy rattles, not clunks, so not bushings or TREs. After removing the plastic hub caps a lot of the lighter rattles went away, but still some heavier sounding ones. I chased it down to caliper/pad noise on the front. I ended up doing nothing about it, as they weren't really worn, just enough play to make noise when driving over washboard roads.

 

I remember those wash board roads, pretty much destroyed a 1972 Mustang Mach 1 on those roads. I don't have hub caps on my o4 Silverado so that's not the cause of the rattles so I guess the only thing left to do is jack the truck up and start pulling and pushing on things until the rattles expose themselves. I only want to replace the bad components because I'm thinking about trading it for a 1999 F250 Super Duty, it only has 105k miles and runs great. Again, I'm a Chevy lover at heart and always will be but for some reason I just can't seem to find a good used Chevy truck.

 

7.3 Powerstroke Super Duty? That would be the only Ford I'd ever buy.

Easiest thing to do is grab your tire while it's jacked up, one hand at 3 o'clock and the other at 9 o'clock and shake it back and forth. Do the same with your hands at 6 and 12. It's easier if you have someone to shake it while you watch the suspension parts, but if the wheel moves back and forth at all, some part has wear. 3 and 9 movement is usually tierod and ball joint wear and 6 and 12 is wheel bearing wear. You can also stick something underneath the tire like a pipe or crowbar and push upward, this will simulate going over a bump and will tell you specifically if your ball joints have wear.

 

Ahhhh, excellent suggestions! I'm taking the day off and poking and prodding my truck. When replacing tie rods and ball joints is the suspension supposed to be hanging or compressed? Meaning should I put the jack stands under the frame or under the A arms?

 

Sway bar as well. I have a loose sway bar and every bump is a bang due to the bushing and end links being shot. I have all new stuff arriving today, but need a good weather day to get it done. I'm doing greaseable sway bar bushings and outer TRE's, the rest seems to be ok. But I'm also checking other stuff as well, just in case.

 

Ahhhh, excellent suggestions! I'm taking the day off and poking and prodding my truck. When replacing tie rods and ball joints is the suspension supposed to be hanging or compressed? Meaning should I put the jack stands under the frame or under the A arms?

It doesn't make a difference, but it's sometimes easier to get the upper balljoint back into the knuckle if you keep a jack underneath the lower A arm and adjust it as necessary.

 

I replaced the tie rod ends on an old Bronco i had years ago and I did it with the suspension hanging. The results were not good. I counted the number of threads on the tie rods when removing them and counted the threads on the new ones to put them back in the right spot but I ended up with positive camber and had to take it to a shop for an alignment. I can rebuild and engine no problem but when it comes to suspension I go cross eyed. This time I'll leave the 12 pack of beer in the fridge instead of bringing it under the truck with me, lol!

 

It's probably the back of the wheel bearing hub assembly. For some reason, for 2wd they are not made as a solid piece and the back pops of every so often. Makes a very noticeable rattle.

 

I replaced the tie rod ends on an old Bronco i had years ago and I did it with the suspension hanging. The results were not good. I counted the number of threads on the tie rods when removing them and counted the threads on the new ones to put them back in the right spot but I ended up with positive camber and had to take it to a shop for an alignment. I can rebuild and engine no problem but when it comes to suspension I go cross eyed. This time I'll leave the 12 pack of beer in the fridge instead of bringing it under the truck with me, lol!

Every time I've replaced tierods and done the thread count thing it doesn't work. We must be doing something wrong lol

 

I crawled underneath my truck and it looks like I need everything, lol! Ball joints, tie rods, bushings but I noticed two braces that runs from the from the frame to the front cross member and the drivers side was loose just enough to create a rattle. I tightened it up and no more rattle. The thing is running so good right now I just may keep it a while longer, the interior is nicer than my F150s interior plus the stereo is better but you know what they say....Just when it all seems right something goes wrong! lol! I'll give it a chance anyways.