Replace entire AirRide System or Convert to Passive?? - 2003 Denali

I have come to a crossroads with Delilah (every man should name their vehicles). Anyways, all of my air shocks are shot along with the compressor. Ironically the ride quality isnt that bad. My daily driver is a 98 Explorer Sport 5 Spd so anything is better than that. My question that I am putting out there is if I should do a complete shock overhaul or convert the system to a passive one. I do have 2 kids, their stuff and probably pull a trailer at least once a month. Typically with a pretty substantial load (At least 2000lbs).

I am not a fan of ass drag when towing either. Especially at night where the nose is in the air creating a terrible experience for oncoming drivers. The passive route would be a lot cheaper. However, because I tow pretty regularly I dont know which shocks I would go with if they are passive.

Any suggestsions?

I'm in about the same position as you
once mine finally gets out of my garage was going to take it in and get an estimate for replacing original and for the conversion and decide from there
from what I have read most say to do the conversion with Bilstien 4600 or 5100 shocks and new rear springs

Gentlemen, I have completed the process. I stayed with Air Ride because doing it yourself is a lot cheaper, and easier if you know where to go. The Compressor, I originally put in a Dorman at $218 from Amazon, it failed the first 13 seconds. Not kidding. I switched to the Arnott Compressor. Much nicer, quieter, and cheaper. Will tell you where to buy at the end. For the rear, which is the main part, replacing the shocks is simple, so the money you put into spring labor and such is negated by the Arnott 2700's. These are premium shocks, much nicer than what your taking off. They have a warranty and when you ship them back, at their expense they give you another $50 bucks. it's a simple shock replacement. For the front, yes you will do a bypass their. I did go with Arnott, Reson again, is that these are bad boys. I love Billstein. You need the bypass sensor to fool the system. Arnott gives you these. You can buy this in a kit. I shopped around, Buy Auto Parts obviously with a dot com at the end, if you call them, they will discount this. It was worth it. Glad I did it.

Scott how much did it cost?

I also went the Arnott route using their premium rear shocks, it was around $600 I believe for the rear which includes shocks, compressor and dryer rebuild kit. It's an easy install. I tow with 26's and maintaining a minimum amount of fender to tire clearance is important. If it was to sag even 1/2" it would cost me an expensive set of tires.

Red Rocket said:

I also went the Arnott route using their premium rear shocks, it was around $600 I believe for the rear which includes shocks, compressor and dryer rebuild kit. It's an easy install. I tow with 26's and maintaining a minimum amount of fender to tire clearance is important. If it was to sag even 1/2" it would cost me an expensive set of tires.

Click to expand...

Were your original shocks bad or you just wanted all new ?

05Single said:

Were your original shocks bad or you just wanted all new ?

Click to expand...

My shocks were shot; blown airbags. The compressor was also shot.

Random question, does it mess up the air ride system if you turn on the truck while it's on a lift?
I remember the Lincoln town cars (and others) had a switch to turn off the air ride before jacking it up or putting it on a lift.

05Single said:

Random question, does it mess up the air ride system if you turn on the truck while it's on a lift?
I remember the Lincoln town cars (and others) had a switch to turn off the air ride before jacking it up or putting it on a lift.

Click to expand...

I have heard it could, so whenever I've had someone work on it I have them pull the RTD fuse. If I'm jacking it up I either do that or make sure not to turn the key on. If for some reason the shocks get aired up by mistake you can pull an air line to deflate them and then start over.

Is it possible to go with an air bag setup in the rear and gas filled shocks? I have had air bags on several pickups and never had a problem with them. And they run much lower pressure. There are multiple brands available with auto-levelling available.