Autoride Shocks Shot

[grogman45459]

With 115K miles on my 2001 Yukon XL, the rear shocks are leaking, causing the compressor to kick on more often than not, but wanted to getyour thoughts before i pull the trigger. That said, I have liked the Autoride optionand like the way the truck handles so I'd like to basically maintain what I have. So that has me looking at the remanufactured air shocks at Arnott that go for $379 for the pair. Front shocks are fine, but should I be doing both sets at the same time?

 

I plan on keeping the truck til she stops kicking lol

[grogman45459]

I contacted Arnott and spoke at length with a technical rep to figure out which shocks that I wanted and I was told that for about every 5 pairs of the Bilstein's that are sold, 2 buyers come back complaining that the ride is too harsh and opt for the oem remanufactured units that they sell.

 

So I ordered a pair of the OEM ones and they arrived today, pretty impressive & these things are the size of tree trunks! I plan on installing them Monday and will update.

[grogman45459]

I just wanted to include a quick final update for those considering the oem option from Arnott Industries - I swapped out my original shocks for the ones mentioned above yesterday at lunch. Piece of cake, no dummy lights kicking on, no issues at all.

 

Ride is MUCH better now, as I think my driver side one was toast, after removing it and messing with it some, it kinda seemed like it wasn't holding any air at all. Anyway, put the old ones in the box, stuck the postage paid label on the box, and they're on the way back to Arnott to get my $50 core charge.............couldn't have been any easier.

[ChevyTech77]

Very nice option other than near $700 for oem replacements. Good find!

 

Anymore information on this company, that you can share with us?

[grogman45459]

$700 for what? The two options that I found were the local GMC dealer quoting $1,250 for the pair and gmpartsdirect were around $700 for the pair. Arnott is $379 for the pair plus $13 for shipping.

 

Good experience with the company, when I called to ask questions, found them to be a big help.

[ChevyTech77]

$700 for what? The two options that I found were the local GMC dealer quoting $1,250 for the pair and gmpartsdirect were around $700 for the pair. Arnott is $379 for the pair plus $13 for shipping.

 

Good experience with the company, when I called to ask questions, found them to be a big help.

Last I checked, ONE of these absorbers was near $700 list, each. That is what I was referring to.

[Jason952]

great info, thanks

[grogman45459]

I wanted to add this post to my original post as my Autorideride compressor finally crapped out after 10 years and 122K miles. After removing it and having a look, I'm surprised it lasted this long as one of the four bolts that hold the thing together had broken and allowed the unit to seperate, letting water, grime and God knows whatever else to enter the compresssor. Removal was pretty straight forward, I found this blog to be helpful and entertaining - www.kevinshoemaker.com/projects/fixing-the-tahoes-autoride-system/

 

I decided to order the replacement unit from Suncore industries because in adition to the reconditioned compressor($175)they also have reconditioned dryers available for an additional $35. So after removing the cradle from the frame, I just had to remove the old unit from the cradle and replace it with the new one. Then put the three connections back in place on the new unit, reattach the cradle back to the frame and we're good to go. Below are a few pics I took. Hope this is of help to someone, sometime.

[SouthCo]

Awesome thread. I will keep this info handy. I've been lucky as my other ride, a 03 Tahoe with 181,000 miles, has the original autoride shocks and compressor. My wife's 05 Yukon Denali XL with 73,000 miles has the original autoride shocks and compressor. When they crap out, I willl probably follow suit.

[alvocado]

Monroe now makes an aftermarket replacement for the autoride suspension. You can buy them for around $220 ea. on Amazon.

[grogman45459]

I thought that I was done with this project, but there's more to it that I wanted to post.

 

The short of it is the re-manufactured unit that I bought from Suncore wasn't functioning properly as the compressor wasn't able to fill the shocks completely. So I removed the unit, shipped it back(at my cost) and bought a NEW unit from gmpartsdirect.com. Put it on and all appears good now.

 

I'm urging anyone to use caution when going with Suncore. From my experience, their customer service is lacking and getting my credit issued required way too much effort.

[SouthCo]

Appreciate the heads up. If you don't mind me asking, what did the factory compressor from gmpartsdirect cost?

[dogzapper]

Grogman,

 

This kind of thread is why we all LOVE this forum. Information, experience-based information, is something so rare in this world. And this thread was totally full of it.

 

Thanks for sharing your entire AutoRide shock and compressor experience. Neither my new truck nor my 2004 Tahoe are so-equipped, but there are hundreds of folks here who will very much profit from your GREAT thread.

 

Again, thanks,

 

Steve

[grogman45459]

Your welcome, no sense in anyone else going through the same ordeal too - I was pulling my hair out because after I installed the remanufactured one, I crossed some railroad tracks at low speeds, and the ass end was flopping up and down. The part that was throwing me was that the compressor would run at start up and it sounded a little weird, but I thought it was working right.

 

So, after downing 2 cold Molsons, I crawled under my '05 Tahoe(which has Autoride) and gave the rubber bladders on the shocks a squeeze. They were pretty hard, back under the '01 Yukon XL and a squeeze - not so hard. So at this point, I was so pissed off, I took the compressor off the '05, hooked it up to the '01 and sat it on a paint can under the truck. Turned the key, compressor runs..........bladders much harder(life is good) - gotta be the damn compressor.

 

The updated G.M. part number is 15254590. This unit includes a new metal mounting "cradle", new dryer, new compressor and a new fresh air line and the little plastic box that attaches up by the gas tank fill line. The price is $295.64 plus $70(gulp) shipping and handling. But my local dealer had it for $508. lol.