My old truck was a 2003 GMC Sierra 1500HD and the tie rods on that truck were embarassing. I couldn't believe how pathetic they were on such a manly truck. Then I bought a Jeep and the tie rods on that thing were made to take some serious abuse. I was impressed with that setup. I wish Chevy would get with the program and beef it up a bit. It's like seeing a totally ripped up guy that sweats steroids......then you look down at his legs and his shins are barely wide enough to support a thin, elderly woman.

 

If the tie rods are shot also wouldn't hurt to check out the idler, and pitman arms. Also check all the ball joints. I would not be worried about getting a LB7. In fact I don't think I would buy anything but an LB7. I like the dependability of the LB7 and have had no problems with the injectors on any of the 3 LB7's I have had. I traded the '01 Ext. Cab for the '02 Crew Cab and then that got traded for a couple of other vehicles and now have the '03 crew cab.