Replace Air Ride with Normal Shocks

[abladeafficionado]

I have an '01 Denali. About 2 years ago the compressor quit kicking in. One day it worked, the next it didn't. My guess is there's a bad ground, or fitting, or something that tripped the system and caused it to quit working.

I really could care less about air ride, so if there's some quick troubleshooting, I'll attempt it. I'm going to check all of the fittings, and the electrical connections to make sure it's not a simple problem, But if there's more to it than that, I'll replace it with some regular shocks.

I had it up on the lift today at work, and it appears that the auto ride is simply air shocks in the factory locations, with hoses feeding them pressure. So in theory, I should be able to replace them with some regular shocks, and then electrical tape up the old connections, and pull the fuse on the auto-ride.

Has anybody done this? If so, does it trip any error codes or anything on the message center? The message center has never said anything about "service air ride" or anything like that, so I'm hoping I can just disconnect it and not have any issues.

What are some quick troubleshoots for the air-ride? And if I choose to bypass it, what shocks do you think would be best? I like the ride of a firm suspension, without the bouncing effect after every bump in the road. I'd rather it just absorb the hit once and stay level. Excessive bouncing annoys me while driving.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Max]

Pull the RTD fuse under the hood and disconnect the battery for a few minutes. Install bilstein HD direct replacement shocks. Enjoy.

 

[abladeafficionado]

If I disconnect the battery for that long, will my stock radio lock up?

 

[Max]

Nope.

 

[abladeafficionado]

Thanks, I think I'm going to go with KYB Monomax shocks though. I had those on my Blazer and liked them, and I can get them for free which is always nice.

 

[1stpclsr]

Is it just that simple on an 07 as well? I had read somewhere that I had to add an inline resistor to avoid messages coming up on the DIC.

 

[uvacarbuff]

I ended up disconnecting the ride control and air ride (modules located behind the plastic covers in the rear passenger side) and going with Bilsteins. I have no error messages.

Front: BE5-6500-H0

Rear: BE5-E380-H0

Parts and labor cost me $450.

It rides great and I love the stance:

 

[abladeafficionado]

Wow, that Denali looks sick. Those rims have the center GMC caps, are those from a more modern Denali? Those look amazing. I'll have to watch craigslist for some.

 

[uvacarbuff]

Thanks. The wheels are 20 inch and were optional on 2005-2006 Denalis and Escalades. They are model number CK628. I put 305s on them and it really fills the fenders.

 

[blaze320]

Nope.

like how your denali looks what size rims you have and what type of spring and shocks how low is the drop..i have a 2005 denali with 24