New Yukon XL Owner

[tooleyondeck]

Good morning everyone,

I recently acquired a 2003 Yukon XL Denali with 188K in excellent mechanical condition. I purchased it from a good friend of mine who owned it for the last 13 years and I'm very familiar with the vehicle's maintenance history. That being said there are a few things that need to be tended to, which are common for this old of a vehicle.

Front End Suspension:

I was informed it needed new inner tie rods and upper control arms, so my question is: Would it be more beneficial to go ahead and change out the majority of the front end suspension (ie:Upper, Lower, Control Arm, Ball Joint, Inner Outer Tie Rod, Sway Bar End Link, Idler arm, Pitman arm) or just replace those two parts?

The kits seem to be readily available online for cheap, I'm just on the fence about the eBay parts kits vs going OEM, so any advice or shared experience will be appreciated!

Electrical:

It's a Denali, so it's loaded. All of the windows, AC controls, and heated seats function properly, but as is common, a lot of the buttons stick and have excessive wear (thanks for the cheap paint GM). My plan is to just replace the driver door control panels as well as the steering wheel controls. Have any of you ran into issues swapping these out? It looks as simple as swapping out the old ones for new ones and it should be good to go.

Aftermarket DVD players/monitors:

The vehicle has 2 7" screens in the front headrests and a fold down 17" DVD player (Pyle brand... I know lol) which are all inoperable thanks to KIDS. All of the units have power they just don't turn on. I'm looking for recommendations for replacements. What do you have or what have you had experience with? The options are endless online so I figured I would consult the forums first to gauge what the community opinion is.

I'm sure there is a lot more to learn about this platform but I'll save it as far as this introduction.

Thanks for your time and I'm excited about this vehicle journey!

PS: my other vehicles are a 2015 Camaro SS, currently in the process of LS3 conversion and cam install (it's an L99) and a 2016 Silverado Z92 (American Luxury Coach Edition)

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

First Recommendation: Do not go on the cheap for replacement parts for your truck. Any deal that looks too good to be true, probably is. Many folks here use genuine GM or ACDelco replacement parts for their trucks. If your budget requires you to use cheaper replacement parts, be sure to do your homework and look at many customer reviews of these alternate replacement parts.

Second Recommendation: If you plan to do a lot of the work on the truck, get yourself a Tech 2 bi-directional scanner/programmer for your truck. Chinese knockoffs run about $300, and many of us on the Forum have purchased and used them without issue. This tool will pay for itself many times over, in the remaining life of your truck.

Suspension: At your truck's mileage, most parts of the front suspension are worn, and should probably be replaced. This becomes a budget decision, as many of those parts are not particularly cheap. Replace those parts that you can afford to replace.

Electrical: If you replace your driver's side door button cluster, you may need to program it to your truck's VIN. (This is where the Tech 2 tool comes in.) Regarding faded or rubbed off button writing, you can purchase stick-ons that go over those faded buttons, and they look reasonable, and much less work than replacing properly working buttons, just for faded writing. I got mine off Amazon.

Aftermarket DVD players/monitors: I cannot help you with the rear audio/visual controls, as I have never touched them, but other members on this Forum that are much more knowledgeable than me on this item will chime in.

 

[tooleyondeck]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Solid info! I will look into the Tech 2 today. I found a good deal on a genuine AC Delco Advantage front suspension kit that I will be ordering today as well. My Yukon is AWD, so assuming the 4WD parts are the same? I'll likely call the vendor to verify before ordering.

I was unaware of control clusters possibly needing programming, thanks for that info as well. I absolutely plan on being present on this forum as I have with other forums for different platforms I've owned.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Solid info! I will look into the Tech 2 today. I found a good deal on a genuine AC Delco Advantage front suspension kit that I will be ordering today as well. My Yukon is AWD, so assuming the 4WD parts are the same? I'll likely call the vendor to verify before ordering.

I was unaware of control clusters possibly needing programming, thanks for that info as well. I absolutely plan on being present on this forum as I have with other forums for different platforms I've owned.

If you want exact replacement part numbers, post the last 8 digits of your VIN, thoroughly describe the parts that you want to replace, and @915_Tahoe may be able to provide the exact part numbers for your truck.

When looking for best prices for GM parts, include RockAuto.com, GMPartsDirect.com, and GMPartsGiant.com in your search, as their prices are much lower than dealers for the exact same part.

AliExpress.com is a good place to look for a Tech 2 tool (I bought mine there). Just make sure to purchase one with the GM memory card installed (not Opel, Saab, or any other non-GM vehicle), and in the English language.

 

[MassHoe04]

Looks great! Welcome from MA!
One of those Tech2's is on my list, too. Hopefully, this spring...

 

[swathdiver]

I found a good deal on a genuine AC Delco Advantage front suspension kit that I will be ordering today as well.

That's the low end for GM, it'll last a couple of years maybe. GM OE lasts far longer, it's the stuff from the factory and ACDelco Gold/Professional is just under that, suspension components in this line usually last around 100K miles give or take.

 

[S33k3r]

If you want to save some money, you might try cleaning the sticking buttons before replacing them.

 

[tooleyondeck]

That's the low end for GM, it'll last a couple of years maybe. GM OE lasts far longer, it's the stuff from the factory and ACDelco Gold/Professional is just under that, suspension components in this line usually last around 100K miles give or take.

I’m considering either those or Timken after searching the forums about aftermarket options. There seems to be some pretty good reviews in here on Timken.

 

[swathdiver]

I’m considering either those or Timken after searching the forums about aftermarket options. There seems to be some pretty good reviews in here on Timken.

What parts is Timken offering? All I know about is hubs and various bearings.

 

[adventurenali92]

Welcome from another GMT800 Denali XL owner. Love these rigs! I replaced inner and outer tie rods, upper and lower control arms as well as the upper and lower ball joints about a year ago on my 2006. I figured it’s gonna be up on the rack and all of those sorts will all be part. So may as well replace them all in one shot. Front steering and suspension has been great since. I believe I went with moot parts for the control arms and ball joints, and ACDelco OEM parts for tie rods and nothing has had any issues since.

 

[tooleyondeck]

What parts is Timken offering? All I know about is hubs and various bearings.

The wheel hubs specifically, my apologies...

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[swathdiver]

The wheel hubs specifically, my apologies...

Timken was at one time, if not now, an OE supplier for the hubs on these things, can't go wrong with them.

 

[Sam Harris]

Agree with the sentiments you’ve already heard. Definitely don’t use the AC Delco advantage components. Might as well get cheap Chinese crap. Go with OEM if possible, or Moog as a backup. There’s also some discussion on 2 levels of quality within Moog.. with the mileage you’re at, I’d expect a lot of worn suspension components. These are heavy vehicles. Just after I bought my ‘03 Yukon, I replaced the idler and pitman arms as well as inner and outer tie rod ends. These were all replaced with Moog components, and have been great so far (30k later). Since then, upper and lower control arms have also been replaced (LCA to contain the ball joints). These were also replaced with Moog. I also invested in some excellent Hellwig sway bars, front and rear, and these have made a massive difference in handling. The front shocks have been replaced with Bilstein 5100’s, and are 2” longer as the torsion bars have been cranked up to level. I’m really amazed at how she handles and drives after this work. It’s a lot, but absolutely worth the investment. These rigs will last forever as long as they are maintained and not in a rust belt state. I purchased Timken hubs for both front wheels, even though they’re not due for replacement yet. I wanted to have them ready to go, and don’t want to wait and end up with a lesser quality part, as we’ve seen in the part industry.
Agree 100% with purchasing a knock-off Tech2. It will pay for itself very quickly.
Personally, I don’t think I’d bother with the screens and entertainment stuff, but I wouldn’t be using it much at all. If you have kids who will be using them, there are a lot of options for swapping out. However, they may not work the same with existing controls. If you want everything to work as OEM, I’m guessing it will likely cost you more $$.
I’d agree with taking some panels apart and cleaning up before spending $$ on replacements. Some of the replacements are not great quality, and you may need to reprogram as well. If you can cleanup the contacts, and get the stickers to take care of the paint, that’s the way I’d go.
As you go through your list, and drive the vehicle, you’ll come up with other things you may want to replace, or upgrade. As long as you hang out here, we’re all extremely adept at spending other peoples money, so no fear, you can have the nicest GMT800 around with a little help from your friends.

 

[BeenChevy]

Congrats on your new addition. +1 on replacing ALL front-end components at the current mileage. I went with all moog front end parts on 2 vehicles of this vintage (4+ years) and they've held up okay to the abuse with over-sized wheels and torsion bars cranked. Had back luck with timken hubs on multiple vehicles. On my 01 yukon I ended up replacing a pair after 1 1/2 years. They seem to easily allow water past the ABS seal and corrode quick where I live. If you're not driving in saltwater down there you could be okay. Certainly a great ride for family. As far as the rear screens go, there are too many options to list. I recommend checking the audo/electronics portion of the forum and upgrade. Even ebay has some good deals on units that are fully compatible with your phone. If you're thinking of replacing steering wheel controls; decide what you want to do with your audio/video first.

 

[tooleyondeck]

UPDATE: Both the AC Delco Gold/Advantage and MOOG control arms I found online are different than what are on my Yukon. I am having trouble finding control arms with the hole to mount the ride height sensors. Does anyone have the part number that's specific to models with autoride? Just about everything online states Tahoe/Yukon/Silverado/Sierra but most disclaim "excluding models with electronically adjustable suspension"

Thanks in advance

 

[swathdiver]

UPDATE: Both the AC Delco Gold/Advantage and MOOG control arms I found online are different than what are on my Yukon. I am having trouble finding control arms with the hole to mount the ride height sensors. Does anyone have the part number that's specific to models with autoride? Just about everything online states Tahoe/Yukon/Silverado/Sierra but most disclaim "excluding models with electronically adjustable suspension"

Thanks in advance

Plug your VIN in here and have a look:

https://parts-catalog.acdelco.com/acesCat.php?

 

[tooleyondeck]

Plug your VIN in here and have a look:

https://parts-catalog.acdelco.com/acesCat.php?

That link was a lifesaver my friend! I was able to find all the correct part #s and ordered all AC Delco Professional suspension parts and the Timken hubs. Thank you

 

[corvette744]

That link was a lifesaver my friend! I was able to find all the correct part #s and ordered all AC Delco Professional suspension parts and the Timken hubs. Thank you


View attachment 362878

I looked at that site and can find alot of parts but dont see a way to add them to a cart why is it so difficult to buy something these days.

 

[OR VietVet]

I looked at that site and can find alot of parts but dont see a way to add them to a cart why is it so difficult to buy something these days.

If you take these part numbers and cross to RA with those numbers, can likely get at RA.

I crossed the numbers and there are at least 2 of each at RA.

45D1103 $81.79 ea. at RA

45A1311 $33.79 ea. at RA

SP500300 $101.79 ea. at RA

45A0785 $36.79 ea. at RA