2013 SLT Yukon - Rough Ride

[mcoko15]

Hello, First time here so apologies for any infractions incurred. I did search through but looks like most folks have higher end Yukon's then me so not sure if the advice relates to mine.

I have a 2013 SLT. Over time the ride has become rougher and rougher. Had similar issues with other trucks so I'm sure its degradation of suspension parts. I've brought to a fairly trusted shop and they have found any issues. I say fairly trusted because 1) you never know and 2) I've asked them a few times and they could easily have padded the problem if they wanted to but keep saying everything suspension related looks okay.

So with a 150K+ miles and an almost 10 year old suspension taken into account, does anyone have an idea what it could be that cause the rough ride. Or a method to eliminate culprits. Or at least come with knowledge to the mechanic on what to look for or replace.

As an explanation of what I mean by rough ride. Any minor pot hole or bump (like the transition on highway from onto an off an overpass) feels like the truck is being hit by a sludge hammer wielded by Thor (Mjolnir would knock me off the road) where as my wife's Charger would barely register a ripple.

Thank you!

Edit: I've seen talk of Z55 suspension. Pretty sure I do not have that. Attached photo of part info from glove box just in case

 

[Joseph Garcia]

If you took it to a shop, did they test drive it, to feel what you are feeling?

I am assuming that there is not leaking on any of the 4 shocks, otherwise the shop mechanic would have noticed it.

ZW7 code says that you have the Premium Smooth Ride suspension with Nimovat shocks in the rear. Other folks on this Forum have Nimovat shocks, and they will chime in.

 

[mcoko15]

ZW7 code says that you have the Premium Smooth Ride suspension with Nimovat shocks in the rear. Other folks on this Forum have Nimovat shocks, and they will chime in.

Thank you. I'll search for those code and suspension types in the forum as well now that I know. Appreciate the insight.

 

[swathdiver]

Hello, First time here so apologies for any infractions incurred. I did search through but looks like most folks have higher end Yukon's then me so not sure if the advice relates to mine.

I have a 2013 SLT. Over time the ride has become rougher and rougher. Had similar issues with other trucks so I'm sure its degradation of suspension parts. I've brought to a fairly trusted shop and they have found any issues. I say fairly trusted because 1) you never know and 2) I've asked them a few times and they could easily have padded the problem if they wanted to but keep saying everything suspension related looks okay.

So with a 150K+ miles and an almost 10 year old suspension taken into account, does anyone have an idea what it could be that cause the rough ride. Or a method to eliminate culprits. Or at least come with knowledge to the mechanic on what to look for or replace.

As an explanation of what I mean by rough ride. Any minor pot hole or bump (like the transition on highway from onto an off an overpass) feels like the truck is being hit by a sludge hammer wielded by Thor (Mjolnir would knock me off the road) where as my wife's Charger would barely register a ripple.

Thank you!

Edit: I've seen talk of Z55 suspension. Pretty sure I do not have that. Attached photo of part info from glove box just in case

At 150k it's time to zero time the suspension on the old girl.

Tires and wheels play a big part in how a vehicle rides as does the alignment (caster and camber).

Your upper and lower control arms with their ball joints are at or near end of life, same with the shocks and rear springs and the components that make up the strut assemblies. Inner and outer tie rods, sway bar bushings and end links, bump stops, etc.

You get what you pay for. Some fella recently rebuilt his suspension with a hodge podge of various discount/performance parts and it rides awful, as folks told him it would.

If you want a premium ride, you spend the premium money and do it right. That includes the tires, Michelin Defenders, if you want a highway tread.

GM OE or ACDelco Gold/Professional when Original Equipment is not available. There are some caveats that we can get into later when you are ready.

Mine has the same suspension as yours and she rides great on most roads and even better with a load on, as intended. I rebuilt the suspension with my daughters at around 161K miles last may.

 

[mcoko15]

At 150k it's time to zero time the suspension on the old girl.

Oh yeah I totally get it. I've done some of the work you outlined done already. I'm going in next week to my mostly trusted mechanics (I don't have the skills or tools to do it myself unfortunately) and will be taking THEM for a test drive to point out the flaws.

Wheels or original, tires may be an issue I didn't really research them last time I got them and just grabbed what was suggested, but they didn't make it any worse or better, alignment was good, according to the shop.

Sounds though like its safe to say that unless the items you described have NOT been replaced yet then they likely need to be regardless whether they are visually degraded (and I assume most you can't really tell from visuals).

I was going to get a new Yukon this year but with the prices I'm putting it off. Now I just need to figure out how far I want to put it off and how much I want to sink into this one.

I will ensure they use premium parts though, OE where available. Thank you for your time writing all that out. I'll be referencing your post when I go in.

 

[swathdiver]

Oh yeah I totally get it. I've done some of the work you outlined done already. I'm going in next week to my mostly trusted mechanics (I don't have the skills or tools to do it myself unfortunately) and will be taking THEM for a test drive to point out the flaws.

Wheels or original, tires may be an issue I didn't really research them last time I got them and just grabbed what was suggested, but they didn't make it any worse or better, alignment was good, according to the shop.

Sounds though like its safe to say that unless the items you described have NOT been replaced yet then they likely need to be regardless whether they are visually degraded (and I assume most you can't really tell from visuals).

I was going to get a new Yukon this year but with the prices I'm putting it off. Now I just need to figure out how far I want to put it off and how much I want to sink into this one.

I will ensure they use premium parts though, OE where available. Thank you for your time writing all that out. I'll be referencing your post when I go in.

My pleasure.

An out of spec ball joint is one that moves half a millimeter or more, hard to tell without a dial indicator if it's close. An alignment can be good, in the green, and still deliver a terrible ride, especially going over bumps. I've learned to demand that the alignment technicians set it to certain numbers and not just get it into the green.

If my teenage girls can do it, you can too. I didn't have all the tools either but Amazon did. But time is money, I had more time than money and did it while it was cool out!

Most shops will use pre-assembled strut assemblies up front. They (all of them) are of inferior quality but may be fine for a year or two. They cost me $600 to rebuild and are likely higher today due to inflation.

One of the biggest things that improved the ride on mine was replacing the rear shocks and springs. More so than the front.

 

[salisburyv]

My pleasure.

An out of spec ball joint is one that moves half a millimeter or more, hard to tell without a dial indicator if it's close. An alignment can be good, in the green, and still deliver a terrible ride, especially going over bumps. I've learned to demand that the alignment technicians set it to certain numbers and not just get it into the green.

If my teenage girls can do it, you can too. I didn't have all the tools either but Amazon did. But time is money, I had more time than money and did it while it was cool out!

Most shops will use pre-assembled strut assemblies up front. They (all of them) are of inferior quality but may be fine for a year or two. They cost me $600 to rebuild and are likely higher today due to inflation.

One of the biggest things that improved the ride on mine was replacing the rear shocks and springs. More so than the front.

^^^ This!! i have the same year, same model as OP. I had the same issue. it was fine on a nice smooth highway. but throw some imperfections in the road and it was horrible. What made the difference was replacing all 4 shocks. Bilsteins... yes they're expensive. but i bit the bullet. and so glad i did. even my wife likes it so..... I also had replaced the rims and tires (from stock 17" rims) . i've had Michelin Defenders before as well. My 1st choice are the pirelli scorpions, great tire, esp in the rain. hope this helps!!