2010 Yukon Denali Hybrid Suspension

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avb5983

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Hello, I have a 2010 Yukon Denali Hybrid. About 95000 miles but I think the previous owner did some towing. My ride has gotten progressively rough and I think I need new rear Shocks. Thinking of just replacing all 4. I want to just get a smooth ride. Not planning on off-roading or any major towing.


1. How can I tell what is installed OEM?
AND
2. Any suggestions on replacement Kits?

TIA
 

swathdiver

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Hello, I have a 2010 Yukon Denali Hybrid. About 95000 miles but I think the previous owner did some towing. My ride has gotten progressively rough and I think I need new rear Shocks. Thinking of just replacing all 4. I want to just get a smooth ride. Not planning on off-roading or any major towing.


1. How can I tell what is installed OEM?
AND
2. Any suggestions on replacement Kits?

TIA

My suggestion is to replace with GM Original Equipment wherever possible. The RPO Sheet in your glovebox contains the front shock codes, 6XX and 7XX. See if you have Z55 or Z95 for the rear suspension type.

You can look those up here:


You can also plug your VIN in here and have a look: www.GMPartsGiant.com

At this age your compressor is probably worn out and does little to keep your truck level in the back. Replacing it with OE is preferred or you can use a Dorman unit with good effect.

Consider replacing the springs and rebuilding the struts part by part, just don't put a new strut in there with all those worn out parts. It's not inexpensive but it's really the only way to restore that awesome ride.
 

j91z28d1

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my 2011 came with the first gen Mag ride.(rpo codes above) I wouldn't call it super soft, but it does ride well, and mostly it seems to control the side to side better than other suv I've owned or ridden in. like where one tire hits something, say a speed bump and the other side doesn't, you get tossed back and forth pretty hard in most tall trucks/suv. I also had a car change lanes unexpectedly pretty much into my front fender, had to jump on the brakes full abs and swerved to the right, it sucked all that up really well with none of the drama that I was expecting. was very surprised I didn't have to drive the truck, it just corrected itself. so I think for me if and when they go out, I'll probably replace them instead of bypass the system which you can do. seems to be very common on the pickup trucks that got the gen2 mag ride and would leak.


on that note, unless you're sure they have been changed out for towing, shocks usually fail softer and bouncy as they wear out. I seem to remember having read somewhere that the mag ride, the Gen 2 of it on newer cars default to Max hard if there's a system failure. do you have any suspension codes?

of course this is thinking you have the active suspension option. checking the rpo codes above will tell you that.
 
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avb5983

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6EM and 7EM and Z95 is what u see in the RPO code.

what does this mean?
20221123_015435.jpg





I want to return to stock. Anyone sell all 4 corners OEM in a kit?
 
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j91z28d1

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there are aftermarket mag rides shocks, but don't know how good they are. oem you'd have to purchase all 4 individually.

I don't see the z55 which is the air pump right? huh, didn't think they built them without that. might make it cheaper then.

there was a YouTube I watched a while ago that recommended an aftermarket mag ride shock, but you can't really trust a lot of those they just got sponsored deals to use their parts. probably gm parts direct would be your best bet for oem ride.

have you been under it to confirm they have been replaced with something to bypass it?
 

Joseph Garcia

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I see a Z95 on the PRO sticker, but I did not think that Magnaride came out until later years.
 

j91z28d1

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yeah, there was a Gen 1 of it that come out super early, only on the caddy and denali level. my 2011 has it. Gen 2 came out on the next Gen tahoe's much more wide spread. I think they are on Gen 3 now.

there's a company that makes a software to fully map the shock tune on the newer sports cars that use it. I wish they would make it for our trucks.
 
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avb5983

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there are aftermarket mag rides shocks, but don't know how good they are. oem you'd have to purchase all 4 individually.

I see a Z95 on the PRO sticker, but I did not think that Magnaride came out until later years.

I did a VIN Decode and it said, confirms the Z95 I think.

Suspension Package, Magnetic Ride Control road sensing electronically controlled shock absorbers
Suspension, front coil-over-shock with stabilizer bar
Suspension, rear multi-link with coil springs
Automatic level control, Auto air
 
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avb5983

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there are aftermarket mag rides shocks, but don't know how good they are. oem you'd have to purchase all 4 individually.

I don't see the z55 which is the air pump right? huh, didn't think they built them without that. might make it cheaper then.

there was a YouTube I watched a while ago that recommended an aftermarket mag ride shock, but you can't really trust a lot of those they just got sponsored deals to use their parts. probably gm parts direct would be your best bet for oem ride.

have you been under it to confirm they have been replaced with something to bypass it?

I do have an Air Compressor, I hear it click on. Not sure its doing anything anymore.
 

j91z28d1

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I do have an Air Compressor, I hear it click on. Not sure its doing anything anymore.


ahh OK. I must be remembered the rpo codes wrong. I was thinking it would list the z55 and z95. I had that wrong in my head lol. don't mine me. just checked mine and I have z95 code only as well.

if it's kicking on after a start from sitting over night and then back off, I believe that's a good sign. it's running which is good, usually what happens is there's an air leak and they run so much they burn out or lock up. now how often it should run, I don't know. I've been meaning to toss mine on the lift and spray all the lines with soapy water to look for leaks, but haven't got a around to it yet. mine runs for a short time, maybe 10-20sec in the morning. don't know if it is running while driving or not. but I figured that's not long enough to be a bad sign.

so seeing as your pump is still working, you have airbags shocks at the least. I'm still not sure if you have aftermarket stiffer shocks for towing or not. if you just have older high mileage factory shocks that feel like they ride rough, I'll be really curious if replacing them helps it ride softer or not. I don't have anything but my 96 tahoe to compare the ride too and mine is much softer than that. but that's also a short wheel base 2 door with towing package and z71. it will toss you off the seat if you hit bumps to fast lol, so that's not comparable at all.

i think I get the general idea of how these mag shocks work, but no hands on experience with replacing them. please let us know your results. if replacing the oem z95 shocks with new ones make it ride nicer, I'd definitely put that on my list of things to do. I'm at 135k myself.
 

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j91z28d1

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you might try on the more general suspension forum, since there's not a lot of traffic in here and very few of the hybrids used the mag ride. I think most were sold as tahoe's. they seemed to lean more towards economy, so gm went further with the weight savings and aero. no idea what kinda power it takes to run these mag shocks, but it does seem odd to put them on a half electric truck when shooting for best mileage.

also just from my experience, the rear shocks have a more noticeable affect on passengers felt stiffness than the fronts. I've spent a lot of time messing with adjustable coil overs on other cars. so maybe just toss two 2 new oem rear shocks on to see if you notice any real difference first? that is if you're doing this work yourself. if having a shop do it, yeah might be cheaper and easier to have it all done at the same time. I'm worry is you do it all and notice no real improvement.

other think I thought about was tires, you'd be amazed how much a new set of tires geared towards what you want from them can make or break a car's ride. so these denali's always list a 20 in chrome wheel as standard. my truck didn't have them when I got it, which seemed weird. so lots of searching I caught an * at the bottomed of an rpo sheet that showed a different set of wheels as a no cost option, the example giving was owner lives on a dirt or gravel road and wants a more compliant Tire, turns out I had that rpo code on mine. they are the same overall height tire but a 17in rim for more sidewall. if you're not happy with the ride after shocks, it might be a next step for you, something with a softer tire with more side wall. you can search for the same overall height, or just go different and adjust the speedo with hptuners.
 

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