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.

No it does not change the total load, but the spring is under more compression initially which means it will be a little stiffer than if it were at it's OEM length/compression. Again I doubt it's a major game changer, but technically this is what is occurring.

Willing to bet if someone did a side by side of lowest and highest settings mm measurements we'd see a difference in spring heights. Theory is cool but until we get actual measurments were just spectators. Lowest setting will allow more suspension travel and a better ride vs the notches above. Having said that one wipes all that extra travel away once they add spacers, but the strut still has less preload and more travel, so the ride will be better. I'm having trouble finding it but I'm pretty sure somewhere on this forum, there's a post with literature directly from Bilstein that talks about how the spring is more compressed and thus under "pre load" the higher you set the level. It's not much to really lose sleep over in my opinion, but technically that is what is taking place. Whether that is the sole contributor of a rougher ride or it's the combination of changes to the front end geometry, I couldn't tell you. For me personally, I went with using the 5100's as designed as that set up gives you more shock travel than you'd get with a traditional spacer kit. That means you're less likely to overextend your shocks, bottom out the suspension, etc. To me, if you're going to get the spacer kit to level your truck, there's no reason to spend the money on the 5100's. Just get the 4600's and save a few bucks. But I'm of the opinion that using the 5100's as designed to level your truck is the best option in a leveling scenario. I still say that once you've made the decision to get Bilstein shocks, you've made a huge upgrade to your truck and you'll love the ride. Worrying about whether raising the front end 1.25" is better than 1.85" or whatever the numbers are is really splitting hairs at that point from a ride quality standpoint. I think the difference will be very minimal.

Everyone should watch this to understand why the 5100 is the best way to level your front end

My last 2 sets of Bilsteins were bought from 4 Wheel Parts online. They've had the best deals when I catch them running a shock sale. It's definitely coming from the power steering system. You can feel the popping if you have someone turn your wheel and you hold on to the tie rod, parked of course. I don't know for sure that it's not a wear and tear problem, but these other guys I know are still driving with theirs popping and haven't reported any problems. The steering assembly alone is like $1200 just for the part so I'm definitely going to just keep driving it until i notice something more is wrong. It's interesting because these trucks get sold from dealers with lifts kits. And the new 2019 Silverado Trail Boss comes with a 2" lift and the same electric power steering system. I would guess the worse thing that would happen is that your power steering system would fail but you should still be able to control the vehicle and get it to a shop. It just would be hard to turn the wheel.

My opinion is to use the 5100's as designed for leveling over using another leveling kit with the 5100's set to the lowest setting. If you do some research on the 5100's, you'll find that if you use them for leveling as designed, you'll end up with the ability for more shock travel distance and your factory spring will still be close to the OEM compression (still slightly more compressed/preloaded though because of the level). As to whether that rides better or not, it's purely subjective. You'll find opinions both ways. My opinion is that no matter what you do, it will be a huge improvement over the stock shocks so either way, you'll be happy. I will add that I had a 2007 Silverado with the standard size and standard load range D tires and bilstien 4600's. I currently have a 2014 with larger 33" tires in load range E (stiffer tire/more plies) and bilstien 5100's set the the 2nd highest setting. My 2014 rides rougher than my 2007 and I tend to think it's the stiffer tires more so than the shocks. But overall, the truck feels more planted and sturdy and reacts to bumps and potholes etc. incredibly well. I'm happy with my current setup as long as this truck lasts a good while and I didn't introduce a ton of problems with these modifications. We'll see. TLDR: Be exactly like me and buy the 5100's and use them as intended for leveling and you'll be happy.

This wont' make a difference. I have 5100's and have the same popping noise. The popping only occurs when the weather is hotter I've discovered. I had the popping initially last summer when the shocks were installed, then it went away over the winter, and now it's starting to come back here in the spring as the weather warms up. I read on this forum that others have discovered the popping to be temperature dependent. With that being said, I know two other guys with this same issue. One guy had the popping show up on his stock truck, and then continued after he did a level. The other guy had his show up after doing a level. Both have just been driving with the issue for tens of thousands of miles and have reported no other major issues. My opinion is to just live with it. That's what I'm doing.

Quoting for emphasis. Definitely re-use the factory nut. My side mechanic did this when he installed my bilstiens and explained why...basically the factory nut has a larger surface area that makes contact with the frame when tightened down. As huntr1117 said, others have reported a popping noise in the front end and a loosened up nut when they used the bilstein provided hardware. Not sure why that is the case, but I haven't had any popping noises or loose nuts in my truck.

When I had my Bilstein 5100 leveling shocks installed, the mechanic told me he used the original nuts for the shock mount rather than the nuts that came with the Bilsteins because the originals had a larger surface area to make contact with the frame when tightened down. From what I read, a lot of the noises people on here report are due to the shock moving around as the vehicle weight shifts when driving and this issue popped up following a level kit install. Did you use the original hardware when you installed your leveling kit?

You're right I forgot Ford had been working on this as well. It's a promising sign that manufacturers are catching on to the issue and coming up with solutions. Hopefully

Agreed I don't think they care. Their primary focus is selling vehicles and turning a profit. Keep in mind, most manufacturers are using DI engines and none are using catch cans except in rare instances of high performance vehicles. GM isn't going to spend the money on a catch can if their competitors aren't. Again, the primary issue is that it requires the user to drain the can which most people don't even know how to pop their hoods much less drain an oil catch can and monitor the differences between cold weather and warm weather and how full the can is getting and so on. And if someone forgets and the can fills up too much and the contents gets sucked back into the intake manifold, GM is on the hook for that design. No, if GM (and all other manufacturers except Toyota) can get the DI engine to last past the warranty period, they're off the hook and they'll gladly sell you an engine cleaning service at that point as part of "routine maintenance." I don't really blame the manufacturers completely. This is evolving technology in response to regulations that mandate fuel economy. However, now that manufacturers like Toyota are coming up with a fix or rather a design update to the platform, I do blame the manufacturers that don't follow suit and keep selling DI engines with this inherent design flaw.