Me and "Big Blue" - New to the forum, '05 Denali

[Z-56 Hoe]

Welcome to TYF and check the balance and alignment.

 

[01ssreda4]

Nice ride buddy. I hope your trailer has brakes (Im sure it does) cause these trucks need the help. There should be a brake controller harness available that makes the controller unit a plug and play deal. Very handy.

 

[SLCHOE]

There's an occasional shimmy in the front end, that comes and goes between 45 and 65 mph. Nothing specific brings it about, and if I get on the brakes when it shimmies, it will occasionally get worse.

Have somebody shakedown your front end. Probably a loose tie-rod end really.

Big wheels even if factory with big heavy tires take a toll after 100K miles on them.

Truck looks nice though! Congrats and Welcome!

 

[Brake_L8]

Well, I never got notified of more replies past the first one. Sorry for going MIA!

I had the truck checked out by a local family-owned shop. The steering box was leaking, badly, and it needed the passenger-side tie rod replaced. I know you can re-seal the steering box, but I told them to put a new one in it to ideally eliminate slop in the wheel. I seriously didn't know the steering was supposed to feel so good on these trucks. Every GMT800 I've driven has had the worst steering, and mine feels really good now.

Replacing those two parts and getting it re-aligned eliminated 90% of the shimmy issue. There's a little tremor still, but that could be wheel balance. I'm not concerned.

Hooked the trailer up yesterday and got the M3 loaded on it for a tow to the shop for a wheel bearing replacement. I had pulled just the trailer before, but this was the first time with the car on it. Total of about 6k lbs.

The trailer is an 18' steel closed deck, with electric brakes on both axles. I have a Tekonsha P3 brake controller (super easy to set up) and this truck pulled the load like nothing was attached. I was considering something smaller at first (Grand Cherokee, 4Runner, Touareg) and I'm really glad I picked the Yukon. The only indicator I was towing was checking my rear-view mirror and wondering who the a**hole in the BMW was that kept tailgating me!

 

[01ssreda4]

Here's mine, 18 ft as well

 

[YukonJerry]

I have the same issues and rims on my '06 I hate it but love the car.

 

[adventurenali92]

Nice ride! I'm am new to owning a Denali as well.just picked up a 2006 XL. When I decided to buy a Denali, that was the color I had my heart set on. I love that color. But I couldn't find a Denali in California in that color. I ended up scoring a bitchin deal and mine is silver. Which I don't mind because silver is the second easiest color to clean, especially because I'm a detailer and I live on a dirt road. I'd be curious to know if that shimmying is due to wheels. My Denali is riding on the stock chrome 17s. I like the wheels mine has but I really want the OEM 20s that yours has. Or another set I've seen on the Denali that looks good. But if it's gonna cause that shimmy than I'll stick with my 17s. Would love to know what your result was for that issue!

 

[Brake_L8]

Would love to know what your result was for that issue!

Congrats on the new truck!

The shimmy was largely due to a worn-out steering box and passenger side inner/outer tie rod. That made things quite a bit better. I do still have a bit of a shimmy that comes and goes around 65 mph. I'm wondering if it's wheel balance and/or a bent wheel. I'll be due for a new set of tires toward the end of summer, so I'll have it all checked out then.

I'm about ready for an oil change and would like to do filters and other fluids while I'm in there. Thinking I'll do spark plugs, oil, cabin/engine air filters, diff fluids, and brake fluid. Not sure what is recommended for any of that, and will have to do some searching on here. I can tell you the go-to brands for anything BMW-related but this truck is a world full of clueless for me so far.

I did tow down to VIR a few weeks ago with my M3 on the back of it. Holy hell, it's amazing. Very glad I got this vs. a smaller SUV as I was initially considering (Grand Cherokee, X5, Touareg). It'll do 70 mph no-sweat with the car on the back.

 

[OHSIXX]

Congrats on the new truck!

The shimmy was largely due to a worn-out steering box and passenger side inner/outer tie rod. That made things quite a bit better. I do still have a bit of a shimmy that comes and goes around 65 mph. I'm wondering if it's wheel balance and/or a bent wheel. I'll be due for a new set of tires toward the end of summer, so I'll have it all checked out then.

Sent you a PM.

 

[pnwdan]

Well, I never got notified of more replies past the first one. Sorry for going MIA!

I had the truck checked out by a local family-owned shop. The steering box was leaking, badly, and it needed the passenger-side tie rod replaced. I know you can re-seal the steering box, but I told them to put a new one in it to ideally eliminate slop in the wheel. I seriously didn't know the steering was supposed to feel so good on these trucks. Every GMT800 I've driven has had the worst steering, and mine feels really good now.

Replacing those two parts and getting it re-aligned eliminated 90% of the shimmy issue. There's a little tremor still, but that could be wheel balance. I'm not concerned.

Hooked the trailer up yesterday and got the M3 loaded on it for a tow to the shop for a wheel bearing replacement. I had pulled just the trailer before, but this was the first time with the car on it. Total of about 6k lbs.

The trailer is an 18' steel closed deck, with electric brakes on both axles. I have a Tekonsha P3 brake controller (super easy to set up) and this truck pulled the load like nothing was attached. I was considering something smaller at first (Grand Cherokee, 4Runner, Touareg) and I'm really glad I picked the Yukon. The only indicator I was towing was checking my rear-view mirror and wondering who the a**hole in the BMW was that kept tailgating me!

Nice set up. I too am a euro guy. down to one E46 for now. Sold my E30 show car back in the summer. I picked up my Denali to tow my cars around too.