Yukon auto ride system

[humbo]

Ok, I do have electrical wires running to the top of the rear shocks.
Took the truck to the GM dealer today. The tech that looked at it was a little different breed. 20 yrs of experience. all he did at the dealership was suspension and drive train work. He drove it for several miles in various conditions and had the same experiences I had. He personally owns a 2000 yukon and a 2000 sierra. He thoroughly checked all the suspension. The right rear shock is leaking. Everything else checked out ok. Nothing loose etc. There is a bad bearing in the front differential and the oil cooler lines were leaking. But he found nothing to indicate that the autoride was not working. His opinion is that the main problem is the 20" wheels. The tires are almost an inch taller and almost 2" wider. His suggestion was to put 17" wheels on it with the original tire sizes and see what that does. I put credence in this statement because he would make no money if I do that. Yes, the leaking shock needs to be replaced. Coming back home on TN 411, a smooth 4 lane highway, I occasionally would hit a 'dip' in the pavement. The front shocks would depress, rebound, and then the whole front of the car would take a 'dive' to the left. No pulling to the left while on normal driving. It actually borders on being unsafe. Remember, no codes are showing. Would appreciate any suggestions. If I can't get this fixed, I'll have to sell it after owning it for all of 1 week. The technicians thought was that the Autoride system was not designed to take a tire this far away from the original factory size. Yes, I could disable it, buy all new shocks from the outfit in Florida, and see what happens. But I can't afford to guess at the problem.

 

[Sasquatch]

I heard that a 20 inch wheel was an option on some tahoes and yukons from the factory but i could be wrong.

But like i said before i bought my yukon with 16`s and switched to 20`s with zero difference in the ride and the handling improved due to the lower sidewall height.

There are many of us here with 20 inch or larger wheels here with no problems like you describe.

In my opinion autoride is garbage and not worth replacing. I replaced mine with billstein 5100 shocks and the ride is better and it feels like they improved the handling as well. And a big plus is that the rear dropped a bit eliminating the huge rake that the autoride provides.

 

[OHSIXX]

FWIW- I run stock OEM 20's on my Denali. They were an optional accessory wheel. I have also ran stock size 17's. My 20's are 275/55/20 and the 17's were 265/70/17. They are practically the same height. My truck rides the same if not better on the 20's. I had issues with my autoride(replaced both rear shocks and compressor) and she rides just fine. What size tires are you running currently? I doubt it is the tires other than the fact they might be bad(ie worn out or cupped from a bad alignment). I use the autoride because I tow different things and like the feature-others can do without. Any other suspension items worn out? Air pressure also plays a role in handling.....

 

[humbo]

Hmm! Even though I thought well of the tech, to blame the 20s on my problem didn't seem logical. I'm not ready to scrap the auto ride yet because the only thing I know for sure is that the left rear shock is bad. So the cheapest thing to do is to replace the shock and see if it makes any difference.
When I picked the truck up it was running 36 psi cold. Changed it to 32 cold and while the ride was a little softer, the 'wallowing' wasn't any better. Will experiment with some different pressures.
How can one tell if the autoride is working? I hear the compressor come on when I first get in the truck but as I understand it, the electrical impulses that go to all 4 shocks, activate electrical actuators in each shock providing either more or less dampening. How can I tell if the system is providing those electrical impulses?

 

[redemn93]

if the electronic shocks arent working itll ride and 90s ghetto towncar. i experienced it last week. try to find the reason. check the RTD fuse under the hood.

 

[livingez_123]

I have an 01 Denali, it had the OEM 17" wheels and it moved around like the boat it is. I put some OEM 20's on it and guess what? it still has the same boat feeling. the sway bars are real soft on these tanks to give a nice smooth ride. Go around a slow speed corner and it starts a rocking. The cure, I put Hellwig bars front and rear, with the rear being the adjustable ones. it made a night and day difference. also, even a small drop will help get the center of gravity down a little lower to the ground.

 

[humbo]

I checked the RTD fuse and it was good. Replaced it anyway. Yes, this feels like there is no electrical signal going to the shocks from the ECU. Is there a test for this? I would have thought that the dealer should have been able to do that.