2013 Yukon Denali XL Bilstein Change Help

[kbuskill]

I don’t reckon you have to but you should for best operation. The springs and upper mounts are different.

Got a pic?

I am curious what the difference is... my truck didn't have the Magnaride.

 

[swathdiver]

Got a pic?

I am curious what the difference is... my truck didn't have the Magnaride.

AFAIK, only the Denali and Escalade Hybrids had Z95 Magnaride in our generation.

 

[91RS]

What I said applies to Autoride as well. I guess I need to go back to saying Auto/mag ride.

 

[kbuskill]

What I said applies to Autoride as well. I guess I need to go back to saying Auto/mag ride.

I have never compared an Auto/Magna ride strut to a standard strut so i don't know what the difference may be, however, I installed a set of Rancho 9 way adjustable struts into my original Autoride strut upper mounts and reused the original springs and it all went together fine.

 

[91RS]

You can look at pictures of the upper strut mount on Rock Auto and they look totally different.

 

[kbuskill]

You can look at pictures of the upper strut mount on Rock Auto and they look totally different.

That's weird, I never realized that before.

The bottom side, towards the spring, looks like it would still work the same once the spring seat was installed.

The top side just has that raised portion in the center for the non-Autoride struts...

whereas the AutoRide strut mount is flat on top...

 

[satsow]

Your post is kind of confusing.

You mentioned changing over to "coil overs" but later mention Bilstein 5100/4600s.

Are you talking about changing over to actual, aftermarket, coil overs like this...
View attachment 348321

Or are you just talking about installing factory style struts without the Autoride technology?

If going to aftermarket coil overs, like pictured above, then yes aftermarket mounting brackets are required, Atomic makes some.

If going back with a factory style strut assembly then no, they will just bolt right in. The only thing you would need is resistors to keep the service suspension system message from coming on in your DIC.

I assume it is the latter but wanted some clarification.

Thanks for your advice. Yes it’s the latter. Just wanted to switch out the magnaride for regular shocks. Appreciate your input.

 

[satsow]

I went from a non-Z55 suspension (regular, but cheap struts and keeping the original springs in the front, and cheap coil over shocks and keeping the original springs in the rear) that was installed prior to my purchasing the truck, back to the OEM Z55 suspension using original GM parts whenever possible (air and electric in the rear and electric in the front). Also, the electrical connectors to the struts/shocks were cut off and replaced with resistors on all 4 wheels by the previous owner, and I am still working on restoring the electrical part of this Z55 suspension.

On the front, I changed out the entire strut assembly, including the springs and top bearing caps with new OEM struts and Moog springs (the OEM Z55 springs are no longer manufactured by GM) I also replaced both upper and lower control arms and bushings, including the ball joints, since I was in there and had the front suspension all apart, and one of the ball joint's grease boot was shredded.

On the rear, I replaced the entire shock assemblies, including the springs and air compressor. While the original springs were still there, I decided that the springs had to have some age-related fatigue with 140k miles on them.

One of the great aspects of the Z55 suspension is that your truck automatically levels, with or without a load in the rear, so the truck is always level, and you do not need to go through a leveling mod, just to get the truck to sit and look level at all times.

If you are committed to converting to a non-Z55 suspension, you 'should' be able to replace the front struts with non-Z55 struts for the same model year. Please note that I have not personally confirmed this compatibility, but folks on this Forum can confirm strut part numbers for you. On the rear, you can either: (1) replace the shocks and springs with non-Z55 shocks and springs for the same model year (Z55 springs are softer than non-Z55 springs, as the Z55 suspension has air assist shocks, which help the springs support the load), or (2) replace the shocks with coil over shocks and retain the original springs. As previously noted, you will need to add resistors to the electrical connections at all 4 wheels to fool the truck's computer into thinking that the original Z55 suspension still exists, in order to avoid throwing codes and lighting up your dashboard.

Good luck on whatever direction you decide to go in.

Thanks. I was hoping to keep self levelling on the rear without the magneride but could not find any options. I come across those remanufactured arnotts and read it’s a hit or miss because even if it’s lifetime warranty and they replace it, it will still cost me time and money on the labor. So I decided to delete Z55 and go with regular shocks. And heard bilsteins are pretty good. Thanks for your comments.

 

[swathdiver]

Thanks. I was hoping to keep self levelling on the rear without the magneride but could not find any options. I come across those remanufactured arnotts and read it’s a hit or miss because even if it’s lifetime warranty and they replace it, it will still cost me time and money on the labor. So I decided to delete Z55 and go with regular shocks. And heard bilsteins are pretty good. Thanks for your comments.

Here is the parts list to convert to a ZW7 suspension for a Yukon XL: