2003 Yukon XL, new member

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Riccster

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Hi folks,

Just joined but I've had Suburbans and Yukons for 15 years. My truck is a work truck and its pretty beat up but gets me there and back. I bought my 03 in California 4 years ago and I'm still chipping away at getting it more road worthy. I have a trip coming up to LA so I'm fixing a lot of little things that I've ignored. I started with a power steering leak and I replaced the pump and that didn't fix it so I bought a UV dye kit and it looks like the steering box thats leaking. While in there I found the radiator was leaking and the AC tensioner pulley was about to go so I got those two things that could have left me stranded an hour west of Quartzite in 100 deg weather.

i have a few more things to do. I need to service the tranny filter and I bought u-joints with zerk fittings for the rear shaft.

The last thing on my list are the shocks. The previous owner removed the compressor and replaced the rear shocks with normal shocks but the front still has the original shocks with the non functioning air lines. I would like to replace all four corners with normal shocks and I would appreciate any help here. A link to a thread or some part numbers would be great. I found a kit at Strutmasters but I'll have to call them before I order. My Yukon has the quadrasteer and there may be a different shock for it.

Amazingling the quadrasteer still works and I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that.

Before the 03 I had a 93 GMC Suburban K2500 and I really wish I kept that truck and just kept fixing it. The transmission started slipping out of OD and I decided to donate the truck to a charity. In hindsight I would have been happier replacing the tranny instead of getting a new truck. The 93 had barn doors and a 454 and I had a lot of things fixed.

Before the 93 I had a 1970 Travelall and sometimes I wish I kept that truck instead of replacing it with the 93 suburban. It had a bent frame rail and I would have had to bend it back or cut and weld it straight. It got 11.5 mpg but if I consider how much money I spent on the 93 and 03 I could have kept $20k in my pocket.

Last i had a 64 Scout which was a fun toy to tool around if you didn't mind the noise. Not a good road trip vehicle but still fun on reasonable trails.
My ’03 Yukon Denali 1500XL 6.0 was pushing 250K miles on the odometer when I took it on a road trip from California to Memphis last year. Still running strong. One of the upgrades I did before I left was the suspension. First I put on Arnotts passive replacement with the electronic bypass. Immediately didn’t like them, so with an RPO of Z55, I splurged and returned everything to factory and added a new compressor. I did it myself so at least I saved on labor. Man, that made the ride so smooth. So there’s two ways to approach this: go down the road with a semi-comfortable ride thinking “at least I only paid $XX”, or going down the road in smooth comfort and thinking “yeah, it was worth every penny.” The second one was me. One side note, I did break down in New Mexico in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday. Fuel pump gave out. I was on a time schedule to attend a funeral, and it set me back some bucks to a local mechanic to get me back on the road as soon as possible. Had to wait an extra day for him to drive into ABQ to pick it up. You might want to carry a spare fuel pump with ya’ if it hasn’t been changed it out in a few years if you're worried about breaking down on the road.
 
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64Scout

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I wouldn't know where to start trying to get the suspension back to OEM. I'm not even sure where the compressor should go. I think its behind the driver side rear wheel bolted onto the frame but I'm not sure. It would be nice to have to original ride but it may be beyond what I'm willing to spend and the effort it would take. It might just need a compressor and four shocks but that would be a guess. I don't know the condition of the level sensors. Maybe there is a youtube vid of replacing the compressor. With the price of gas I don't drive the truck that much but when I need it, its there.
 
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64Scout

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I moved from California to Arizona in 2019. I retired in 2018 and took a year to get my house in order. I moved myself and must have done at least 9 trips. I have a lot of toys so it took a while to get eveything to Az. Most of the pics I have of my Yukon are when I was towing something. I don't get into toy trucks. My trucks are for work. I need to haul people or haul things.
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