Front susp sitting on bump stops need help/info...( autoride victim)

[Kon_Man]

Ok so new member here, Yukon owner for two months. Really wishing I looked a little harder at this truck before buying. This is an 03 SLT with dreaded autoride, all wheel drive, 5.3L auto, 215,000k, blah , blah, blah. I say dreaded because after a few days of driving this truck I began to notice how poorly it handled in the front particularly at higher speeds ( over 80kmh or so.).

So I get underneath to really have a good look around and behold, the front lower A-arms are sitting firmly on the bump stops! Like wtf. There is no travel in the front susp at all really. no wonder it handles like crap. Yes I test drove it before the buy but didn't take it as far as I should have clearly.
Front end sits visibly lower than rear when parked.

To be clear, the rear susp has no problems, the shocks fill up and i can hear the pump working ( previous owner recently had dealership replace compressor and provided receipts.) as well as I can visually see the rear raise about an inch or so shortly after starting. The torsion bars look to be normal i suppose , the adjustment screws aren't screwed all the way in and have about 3/4 of an inch of threads viewable each.
This truck also has a programmer installed ( came to me that way), no dash lights on, no codes.
It has been suggested by someone I know that its possible that last owner perhaps put it in to hide codes and that that's a strategy to sell a vehicle that has issues without the potential buyer seeing lights/codes, but im not sure i buy that.

Im not sure how to proceed with correcting this issue, I know these replacement parts are pricey, and that a guy can install regular shocks instead, but is that going to raise the front off the bumpers or what's a guy to do??.....Is there maybe another issue here im not seeing?

Anybody see this before, or have an idea what to investigate in order to fix the existing setup??
Any and all help and advice is great! Thanks guys.

 

[mattbta]

Those don't look bad at all -- they don't look deteriorated and they're supposed to be in contact with you lower control arm as it's a vital part of the torsion bar setup.

If it handles bad at speed, I don't think your trim (z-height) is the problem. How do your end links look? Sway bar bushings? Tie rods? Ball joints? Hubs?

You might could crank the keys slightly, but the jounce bumpers should be in contact with the a-arm. I doubt it would make a significant difference.

Btw - at 130k miles, my jounce bumpers were completely deteriorated as a result of the Texas heat it's endured all it's life

 

[Kpwweb]

Google (or other search engine) can be very helpful:

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/front-bump-stops.29113/

 

[mattbta]

I had horrible steering for nearly four years after having some front end work done. Hopping, skipping at low speed leaving tons of tread and wandering all over the place on the highway. My centerlink was put back in backwards.

Might check yours for proper orientation. See: http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/index.php?threads/86256/

 

[Rocket Man]

That is absolutely normal. The torsion bar suspension utilizes these as fulcrum points and if they're NOT in contact with the control arms your ride will be terrible. They're not even called bump stops in the front but instead they're called jounce stops. You probably just need new shocks or other suspension parts.

 

[Chubbs]

I just got a 2003 Yukon as well, little bit different: 4x4 SLE with self-leveling suspension ZW7 rpo. The front end was piss-poor hanging all the way down, no rebound whatsoever, rattling my brains with every inconsistency in the road. I got a nice set of all-terrains & took it upon myself to make it look like a real full-size 4x4 before I put the tires on. I got busy installing 2" level keys & the front shock extenders. The truck is now perfectly level and handles the road like a newer vehicle. It's a night & day difference. The original shocks were still good as they fought me every inch of the way trying to bolt in the adapters.

It's just that your torsion bars are worn the F' out. Even if you pull them loose & rotate 180* into the factory keys, you will feel more rebound in your front suspension, I'm almost sure. You will have to replace your torsion bars or replace the original torsion bar keys with a set that loads the old bars up more than they are now. New bars are pricey, keys are cheap, but I think they will all give you more lift in the front than you are wanting.