Silverado-Hareek

I'm pretty sure I just drove 4.5 hours to Philadelphia in 4HI yesterday. Can't be sure though. When I left to come back home today I noticed a grinding/binding noise when I took the on ramp onto the interstate and that's when I started looking around and saw it was in 4HI. I don't think I hit it by accident leaving. No idea when I engaged it last to be honest so I have no idea how long it's been in 4HI. I tried shifting in and out of 4WD a few a times and it seems to be working fine. The trip back home went well and transmission temperature was fine. Hopefully these trucks are tougher than we may realize....

Add me to the list. Except I think we're zeroing in on the issue being starter heat soak as the truck will only have starting problems on extremely hot days. And after a no start situation, if I let it cool off for about 10 minutes or so it will start up again. https://www.knowyourparts.com/technical-resources/starting-and-charging/starter-will-not-crank-when-hot-heat-soak/

Well here I am almost 2 years later at 81,000 miles. AC went out over the winter sometime....I discovered it when I tried to use it on a warm day. Just bit the bullet this week and got it fixed. $900 at the dealer to replace the condenser with the foil tape in the corner. My understanding, after searching the new condenser part number, is this unit is what is used in the newer trucks, so GM seems to be doubling down on this part. That gives me a little confidence that they have the issue sorted out. I did not complain to the dealer though like I described above, mainly because I went to a different dealer that I liked better than the one I bought the truck from. I didn't think it was fair to blast them for it when they didn't even sell me the truck. We'll see how it goes....

Add me to the list of folks with a bad condenser. Truck is a 2014 with 81,000 miles. It's at the dealer now and will be $900 to replace the condenser. Does anyone know if the replacement unit is some kind of updated part that won't have this leak issue again? I'm finding all kinds of information on the web talking about a support bracket and an updated hose from the condenser that caused the leak in the first place and I'm not really clear on what's going on. The service rep at the dealer is clueless.

At the time the dealer had it on hand. Although I have to admit looking back over this post I wrote, I've changed my mind. I've been using full synthetic, either AC Delco or Mobil 1, for basically since around the time I wrote this and I think full synthetic is just fine from a performance standpoint. I may have either had a weird first experience or possibly it was the placebo effect so to speak. Product research implies full synthetic is better better for the engine anyway. Mobil 1 is great but it's expensive. Currently, my dealer offers an 8 QT full synthetic AC Delco 0W-20 oil change and tire rotation for $69. Hard to beat that price. My updated recommendation is to go with full synthetic oil given the high degree of engineering in these engines, tight tolerances, AFM, etc.

My opinion is that the $700 AFM delete kit is not necessary. Consider this: Corvettes are sold with the ability for the driver to turn AFM on and off on their own, plus if you put your truck in M5, there is no AFM. I don't think simply tuning out the AFM or using a Range device will harm anything considering GM already gives you the ability to not have to use V4 mode on the Corvette and anything less than M6 on the trucks. Blackbear has also been turning off AFM with a tune for years and I don't read about any issues from that. They've been doing it since AFM was first introduced in 2007.

One of the first things I noticed with my Bilsteins is how dramatically improved driving over speed-bumps became. You have to try this when you're testing them out. The truck is unfazed by them it's amazing

The black Tenneco's are not bad. If you had Rancho's, you would've hated the factory ride guaranteed. Either way, Bilstein's are a necessary upgrade!

I considered this when deciding what to do with mine. After a lot of research, I found opinions going both ways. I also found that there are many after market shocks with a boot down design/orientation. Ultimately, I decided to go with Bilstein's recommendation on the orientation which was further supported by the mechanic that installed them for me. Additionally, the boots on the 5100's have drainage holes in them so when oriented with the boot down, the drainage holes are at the very bottom allowing for any moisture to flow out of the boot.

Correct the orientation shouldn't matter from a performance standpoint. But the reason they suggest boot down is to protect the main shock body from damage as it houses the guts of the shock. Also, if any dirt or moisture were to get on the piston, it would flow away from the seal where the piston enters the main shock body rather than settle around the seal. I'm not sure if it makes a major difference as Bilstein sells shocks that go in either direction, but technically the 5100's are intended to be installed boot down and for these reasons which is to protect the shock and make it last longer. Do with that info what you will.

This makes sense. I understand what you are saying now. Thanks for the clarification and bearing with me as I worked through the logic.

I'm certain that's where most of my rough ride comes from. The 5100's are valved almost identical to the 4600's which I had on my old truck with P rated tires and that truck road a little better. Regardless, I still like the rugged feel of my 2014 setup.

Exactly! The spring is compressed from 9.15" down to 7" which is only a change of 2.15" as opposed to 4" of compression (11" down to 7") in the stock setup because the spring is pre-loaded by the 5100's. Same vehicle weight, less spring compression because of pre-load.

The weight of the vehicle when added to the new setup further compresses a spring that is already further compressed than it's OEM setting. Further compressing an already compressed spring is more difficult to do which means it won't compress as much by the vehicle weight as it would if it were at it's stock setting. Therefore the reactionary force from the spring is greater under this pre-loaded (or pre-compressed) state which is what helps provide the lift to the front end.

A spring by nature becomes harder to compress the more you compress it because of the potential energy that is being built up. Therefore if it starts out in a more compressed state, it's reaction force is greater and compressing it further also becomes more difficult. The spring is more compressed because the bottom perch moves higher up the shock body, but the top mount does not change. Therefore the spring is compressed which contributes to the lifting of the truck by pushing down on the shock body. The higher you raise the lower perch, the more energy the spring has. In addition to lifting the truck, it will make the ride a little stiffer. But Bilstien accounts for this somewhat in how they valve the shocks for each make/model truck.