Just what I was thinking after reading through this thread.
2010 Escalade suspension issues
- Thread starter Awall10
- Start date
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While it’s probably not common to do all 4 corners and only keep front magride, I came across several people who swapped to passive rear and left the front alone with no reported issues. Also came across a few threads where the zw7 rears were recommended as a drop in conversion even with 22s, all over on the Cadillac forum. Not sure if they were ever offered on the Escalade but I know it was an option on suburbans. Honestly I’ve driven/ridden in a couple of suburbans and a few Escalades, with and without 22s, and theres nothing special about magride. I’ve ridden in the third row of mine and I have no complaints about how the rear feels with these shocks. Maybe that’s the source of all my problems but it seems odd that others claim to have this exact setup with no reported issues if that’s the case. I really don’t know why I decided to keep front magride when so many seem to hate it other than it was only slightly more expensive. Maybe I’ll just replace it all again and get new tires. I don’t have any bent wheels so if it were shocks/struts/tires that would surely take care of it...and the saga continues...
The problem is that most people really don’t know what they’re talking about and think they know better than the engineers. I’m not saying that’s you but you have to be careful with information you find online which usually comes from cousin Sally’s third husband’s best friend’s mother-in-law who knew a guy who worked in detail at a dealership 30 years ago but know every in and out of the business.
The Auto/Mag Ride does have better ride quality and control than the trucks without. It isn’t a massive difference but the “premium ride” trucks definitely wallow more and don’t feel nearly as solid. But for this to be the case everything has to be in order because any worn out parts will make it not feel like it should. Once thing I will say is that I do believe you are supposed to change the rear springs if you are deleting the air suspension.
I’d still bet most of your issue is something with the tires which may or may not be fixable. I would call around to your local GM dealers and ask if they have a technician experienced in correcting roadforce issues and have them check out your tires. The Toyos aren’t horrible tires but sometimes a particular tire just doesn’t work well on a particular vehicle. Michelin Defender LTX is the best choice in my experience.
The Auto/Mag Ride does have better ride quality and control than the trucks without. It isn’t a massive difference but the “premium ride” trucks definitely wallow more and don’t feel nearly as solid. But for this to be the case everything has to be in order because any worn out parts will make it not feel like it should. Once thing I will say is that I do believe you are supposed to change the rear springs if you are deleting the air suspension.
I’d still bet most of your issue is something with the tires which may or may not be fixable. I would call around to your local GM dealers and ask if they have a technician experienced in correcting roadforce issues and have them check out your tires. The Toyos aren’t horrible tires but sometimes a particular tire just doesn’t work well on a particular vehicle. Michelin Defender LTX is the best choice in my experience.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
Adam, did you keep the stock rear springs too?
My truck has the stock dumb suspension, ZW7, the rear springs are 25783733/45H2164 and shocks are 25871227/540-435.
And back to the Tech-2, the front shocks still need to be calibrated/programmed if you want to keep them running correctly.
Kept the same rear springs. I figured I could change them later if there was a problem since the air suspension doesn’t actively hold the truck up without a load like the old nivomats do. That was my understanding at least.
540-435 are what I used, not sure what springs are on mine currently.
Looking into getting a tech2 on eBay. I plan to keep this truck for a while so I might as well buy one either way.
Actually it does. Every time you start the truck the compressor kicks on and adds air to the bladders. The springs are softer than the non- auto leveling system. If you change to standard shocks you should change springs.
I know this sounds illogical but it might be worth checking with the dealer. My 2016 Denali had a shuffleboard ride on the freeways. This problem stayed with the vehicle until about 7 months ago when my dealer called and said there was a recall that might apply to my vehicle ride. They changed the torque converter oil and the problem is now gone. Go figure? Anyway, maybe worth a try.
I believe I’ve read about a tsb or recall or something on newer trucks regarding a torque converter shudder of some sort in my searches, could have even been a post from you if you posted about it. I was hoping to avoid having it worked on but I likely wouldn’t be able to diagnose something like that. Could be a driveshaft/ujoint issue or even a motor/trans mount but I haven’t gotten around to looking at any of that yet.
Was your shuffleboard ride load or rpm dependent? Not sure if you ever tried but if I put my truck in neutral on the highway and let it drop to idle or rev the engine there’s no change. Could still be a driveline issue but that would rule out a torque converter to me. I had bad carrier bearing on a previous car that felt very similar to this but it only happened while accelerating.
The TC shudder is an issue with the 15-20 models, not the 07-14’s.
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