Complete suspension replacement and leveling

[Bizzo]

Hey Everybody,

I've been lurking on here for a few months now. I have a 2009 Tahoe LT with 167k that I'm looking to do a complete suspension overhaul on. While I'm at it I want to level the front. Looking for your experienced opinions on the parts I'm choosing to do this with. For struts and shocks I'm going to go with the Bilstein 5100's on all 4 corners. For coil springs I'm going with the Moog heavy duty springs front and back, anyone have experience with these? How are the ride quality? I don't mind a little stiff as I'm used to driving trucks but I don't want it to be bone jarring stiff. I figured heavy duty would be a good option since I do some towing with the Tahoe. I'm also ordering new ac delco strut mounts for the front. Will that be all I need to completely redo the front struts? Being that it has 167k and appears to be original suspension I would like to replace everything with new. I'm going to set the Bilstein's to give me the maximum lift, will I need to do anything with the brake lines or swaybar links to do the increased height in the front? I appreciate any assistance you guys can offer. I'm excited to get this thing leveled and riding good again.

-Matt

 

[swathdiver]

Hey Everybody,

I've been lurking on here for a few months now. I have a 2009 Tahoe LT with 167k that I'm looking to do a complete suspension overhaul on. While I'm at it I want to level the front. Looking for your experienced opinions on the parts I'm choosing to do this with. For struts and shocks I'm going to go with the Bilstein 5100's on all 4 corners. For coil springs I'm going with the Moog heavy duty springs front and back, anyone have experience with these? How are the ride quality? I don't mind a little stiff as I'm used to driving trucks but I don't want it to be bone jarring stiff. I figured heavy duty would be a good option since I do some towing with the Tahoe. I'm also ordering new ac delco strut mounts for the front. Will that be all I need to completely redo the front struts? Being that it has 167k and appears to be original suspension I would like to replace everything with new. I'm going to set the Bilstein's to give me the maximum lift, will I need to do anything with the brake lines or swaybar links to do the increased height in the front? I appreciate any assistance you guys can offer. I'm excited to get this thing leveled and riding good again.

-Matt

Matt, my preference whenever possible is to use GM OE parts which in some cases are different from ACDelco Professional. This certainly applies to the shocks, springs and control arms and ball joints. ACDelco control arms are Moog and are about $300 while GM OE are about $600.

What rear suspension does your Tahoe have?

 

[Bizzo]

Matt, my preference whenever possible is to use GM OE parts which in some cases are different from ACDelco Professional. This certainly applies to the shocks, springs and control arms and ball joints. ACDelco control arms are Moog and are about $300 while GM OE are about $600.

What rear suspension does your Tahoe have?

I like OEM parts as well, but I think in this case the Bilstein's are better than OEM in terms of quality and ride. My rear suspension is just the normal coil spring and shock no fancy auto leveling or anything like that.

 

[swathdiver]

I like OEM parts as well, but I think in this case the Bilstein's are better than OEM in terms of quality and ride. My rear suspension is just the normal coil spring and shock no fancy auto leveling or anything like that.

I agree but not sure how long they will last. My truck still has its original ZW7 suspension like yours.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Hey Everybody,

I've been lurking on here for a few months now. I have a 2009 Tahoe LT with 167k that I'm looking to do a complete suspension overhaul on. While I'm at it I want to level the front. Looking for your experienced opinions on the parts I'm choosing to do this with. For struts and shocks I'm going to go with the Bilstein 5100's on all 4 corners. For coil springs I'm going with the Moog heavy duty springs front and back, anyone have experience with these? How are the ride quality? I don't mind a little stiff as I'm used to driving trucks but I don't want it to be bone jarring stiff. I figured heavy duty would be a good option since I do some towing with the Tahoe. I'm also ordering new ac delco strut mounts for the front. Will that be all I need to completely redo the front struts? Being that it has 167k and appears to be original suspension I would like to replace everything with new. I'm going to set the Bilstein's to give me the maximum lift, will I need to do anything with the brake lines or swaybar links to do the increased height in the front? I appreciate any assistance you guys can offer. I'm excited to get this thing leveled and riding good again.

-Matt

I am doing the same with my rig, bilstein 5100s, moog 81244 springs in front, moog 81069 springs in the back. Just waiting for parts to come in right now.

 

[Bizzo]

I am doing the same with my rig, bilstein 5100s, moog 81244 springs in front, moog 81069 springs in the back. Just waiting for parts to come in right now.

That's cool, where did you order from? I've got it all in a cart at Rock Auto but man the shipping cost is killing me. I'm probably going to pull the trigger in the next day or so. Would like to get it all installed while I'm not needing to drive the truck due to Covid-19.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

That's cool, where did you order from? I've got it all in a cart at Rock Auto but man the shipping cost is killing me. I'm probably going to pull the trigger in the next day or so. Would like to get it all installed while I'm not needing to drive the truck due to Covid-19.

I ordered from Amazon, I have some parts already but the rear spring insulators aren't coming until the second week of May so I might get some from the dealership because I do not want to wait. It's hard to tell how much I spent because Amazon split my orders up but I think it was about $700 shipped for everything

 

[Bizzo]

One more question for everybody, am I missing anything in my parts list if I want to do a complete strut replacement in the front?

So far I have:

• coil spring Moog 81244
• strut - Bilstein B8 5100
• strut mount - AC Delco 901075

For the rear I have:

• coil spring Moog 81069
• coil spring insulator Moog K160072
• shock - Bilstein B8 5100

Am I missing anything? I want to make sure I have everything before I start tearing it apart. Thanks!

 

[Dustin Jackson]

One more question for everybody, am I missing anything in my parts list if I want to do a complete strut replacement in the front?

So far I have:

• coil spring Moog 81244
• strut - Bilstein B8 5100
• strut mount - AC Delco 901075

For the rear I have:

• coil spring Moog 81069
• coil spring insulator Moog K160072
• shock - Bilstein B8 5100

Am I missing anything? I want to make sure I have everything before I start tearing it apart. Thanks!

Only thing I am unsure about is the lower spring perch/mount/seat for the front struts. Some places say to use the factory one but some people say the factory one is welded to the factory strut so I'm not sure.

Also I didn't buy new upper strut mount for the front, I was planning on using the factory ones, hopefully that wasn't a mistake.

While I was typing this my front struts came in and I can confirm that they didn't come with anything for the spring to sit on.

 

[Bizzo]

Only thing I am unsure about is the lower spring perch/mount/seat for the front struts. Some places say to use the factory one but some people say the factory one is welded to the factory strut so I'm not sure.

Also I didn't buy new upper strut mount for the front, I was planning on using the factory ones, hopefully that wasn't a mistake.

While I was typing this my front struts came in and I can confirm that they didn't come with anything for the spring to sit on.

Hmmm...I thought I saw that the Bilsteins came with the spring seat, good to know!

 

[the blur]

Do those strut mounts wear out ?

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Hmmm...I thought I saw that the Bilsteins came with the spring seat, good to know!

Soo according to the instructions they are supposed to use the old lower spring seat from the factory strut. I am having a dealership install mine for the peace of mind that they HOPEFULLY know how to do this properly.

 

[the blur]

I am having a dealership install mine for the peace of mind that they HOPEFULLY know how to do this properly.

That is funny. LOL !!!!!!
2 months ago the Caddy dealer put 8 qts of oil in my 2011 Essy. I ripped them a new A-hole.

 

[Bizzo]

Do those strut mounts wear out ?

Yes they do, always a good idea to replace them.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

That is funny. LOL !!!!!!
2 months ago the Caddy dealer put 8 qts of oil in my 2011 Essy. I ripped them a new A-hole.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to do this work myself but I don't have the time, space, or tools. Getting my own house will be a life changer, then I can work on the tool collection.

 

[OR VietVet]

Matt, someone beat me to it. I use Amazon all the time for free shipping when I can find the EXACT same part there than at RA.

Dustin, good luck with the house. When it comes to a tool collection, remember, that if you don't make your living with them you can get sets at great prices at Home Depot and other places that will have tools for a great price and will be fine for the "every now and then" use at home. You can get specialty tools as needed and even rent them as well.

Good luck to the both of you.

 

[Tozan]

At 167k what do your ball joints and control arms look like I would think they are more worn out than shocks and springs. I replaced my upper and lowers on both sides around 145k.

If you are not any heavier than stock up front I would go with the Rancho coil overs you just bolt them up no disassembly of the old ones plus it will level it out for you too.

For the rear if you are towing a lot then heavier springs would be OK. Or put in an air bag on so it will only be stiffer when you need it.

 

[Bizzo]

At 167k what do your ball joints and control arms look like I would think they are more worn out than shocks and springs. I replaced my upper and lowers on both sides around 145k.

If you are not any heavier than stock up front I would go with the Rancho coil overs you just bolt them up no disassembly of the old ones plus it will level it out for you too.

For the rear if you are towing a lot then heavier springs would be OK. Or put in an air bag on so it will only be stiffer when you need it.

Balljoints and control arms all look great my guess is they were replaced before I took ownership. This thing has a carfax service history a mile long. I'm not a big fan of the ride quality of rancho's and bilstein doesn't make a quickstrut for this application that I know of...

 

[Tozan]

Balljoints and control arms all look great my guess is they were replaced before I took ownership. This thing has a carfax service history a mile long. I'm not a big fan of the ride quality of rancho's and bilstein doesn't make a quickstrut for this application that I know of...

While Ranchos were better than stock they certainly do not stack up to the Kings I have now.

 

[Bizzo]

While Ranchos were better than stock they certainly do not stack up to the Kings I have now.

I had them in a 2016 Silverado Z71 and while they weren't awful I didn't think they lived up to the hype. Maybe their quickstrut offerings are different but I'm not sure I'm willing to take the risk and end up hating them, I'd prefer to do this job and not have to touch it for at least 50k miles.