Parts Life for OEM Front Struts on 2016 Denali with MagnaRide??
- Thread starter WillieFlo
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olyelr
Full Access Member
They seem to ride great. But we are comparing to the ride of a blown out, locked up shock for the last 5000 miles, sooooo.....
I just got to get the adjusted down a little bit, because they are set at upwards of 2.5-3” taller than stock.
olyelr
Full Access Member
They seem to ride great. But we are comparing to the ride of a blown out, locked up shock for the last 5000 miles, sooooo.....
I just got to get the adjusted down a little bit, because they are set at upwards of 2.5-3” taller than stock.
jimr5454
Full Access Member
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- Apr 7, 2014
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Is the magneride that much better then slt premium? Fuguring cost and frequency of replacemant?
robswiat
TYF Newbie
I have a 2016 GMC Yukon Denali. Front driver side strut ruptured leaking hydrallic fluid about 60K. The passenger side ruptured around 70K. The rear air shocks also started leaking. I decided to delete the MRC. I read several sources and the solution is to purchase a 3 ohm resistor (Amazon). Be sure the resistor is 50W or higher. Ohms Law 12v X 3 ohms = 36w. The 25w resistors get very very hot and eventually the heat destroys them. The MRC struts have a wire coming out of them. It has a connector six inches off of the strut. Disconnect that and then wire the resistor in line between the white and black wires. Once you replace the struts, you will plug this back in and the computer thinks the 3ohm resistor is the strut. I first replaced the front struts with Rancho. Mistake. The Rancho quick strut (spring + shock) has a spring coil gage that makes the front of the vehicle very bouncy. The initial bump bounces the vehicle hard and then there are a second and third bounce after. It will make you sea sick. I did this to avoid rebuilding the strut using the OEM spring. Eventually, I rebuilt the front struts using the OEM springs and a Bilstein shock. This created another problem. The top spring cap that holds the bolt that keeps the spring intact doesn't fit over the Bilstein shaft. NAPA is the only place that had a spring cap that would fit the Bilstein shaft and fit into the GMC Yukon. Again, very painful process. For the rear, I eliminated the air shocks because these are problematic and expensive to replace. Plus, once the old air shocks start to leak, the compressor runs all the time. and will burn out So this would need to be replaced as well. I used Bilstein for the rear shocks as well. You will also need a 3 ohm resistor delete in the back as well. I did not remove the compressor. There were so many wires that I thought it would be best to leave it alone. To avoid the compressor running all the time and burning out, I plugged the airlines up with a thick screw. On the passenger side, the wiring harness obstructs the interior nut, so this had to be popped out. To reach the rear shocks and the wiring, you will need to remove the material in the interior of the wheel well material.
LASTLY, because the air shocks in the rear will adjust when towing a boat or other trailer, I added the SumoSprings to avoid the back of the Yukon depressing and affecting stability. After 3 failed attempts on installing the SumoSprings, I figured it out. There is a metal receiver cup that the OEM and the SumoSpring presses into this cup. The cup had gease from the manufactures installation. The grease + dirt hardened creating an obstruction to the SumoSprings. I used a $2.00 can of degeaser from Walmart and cleaned the cup. The last key to being successful is using soapy water (dish soap) on the SumoSpring and the receiver cup. Lay on your back and press the SumoSpring with your palm with small wiggle motions. It will eventually pop in. The soapy water will evaporate creating a very tight fit. Keep the old bumpstops just in case.
The cost to do this, is about the same as replacing with OEM and keeping the MRC. The replacement front Arnot MRC shock is $329 each vs. $120 Bilstein. Both require rebuild because the Arnot is not a quick strut. The NAPA strut cap is $90 each. I paid a local shop to do the strut rebuild costing $100 each. The 3 ohm resistor is $4. Total $314/strut rebuilt. To rebuild the OEM would have been $429. The rear Arnot air shocks are not $292 for the pair, plus $130 for the compressor (found on ebay). Total $422 for OEM replacement of the rear. The Bilstein shocks are $240 total for the pair, plus $8 for the 3 ohm resistors. The SumoSprings are $200 for the pair. So even money.
In summary, everything I did was the same price of replacing the OEM. I could not justify buying replacement ************* Arnot shocks that are over priced and will rupture after 50K miles. Gas charge shocks (passive) have been used for 70+ years and last over 120k miles. Plus, with the MRC delete complete, the next replacement is easier.
The result is AWESOME! Very smooth and responsive.
LASTLY, because the air shocks in the rear will adjust when towing a boat or other trailer, I added the SumoSprings to avoid the back of the Yukon depressing and affecting stability. After 3 failed attempts on installing the SumoSprings, I figured it out. There is a metal receiver cup that the OEM and the SumoSpring presses into this cup. The cup had gease from the manufactures installation. The grease + dirt hardened creating an obstruction to the SumoSprings. I used a $2.00 can of degeaser from Walmart and cleaned the cup. The last key to being successful is using soapy water (dish soap) on the SumoSpring and the receiver cup. Lay on your back and press the SumoSpring with your palm with small wiggle motions. It will eventually pop in. The soapy water will evaporate creating a very tight fit. Keep the old bumpstops just in case.
The cost to do this, is about the same as replacing with OEM and keeping the MRC. The replacement front Arnot MRC shock is $329 each vs. $120 Bilstein. Both require rebuild because the Arnot is not a quick strut. The NAPA strut cap is $90 each. I paid a local shop to do the strut rebuild costing $100 each. The 3 ohm resistor is $4. Total $314/strut rebuilt. To rebuild the OEM would have been $429. The rear Arnot air shocks are not $292 for the pair, plus $130 for the compressor (found on ebay). Total $422 for OEM replacement of the rear. The Bilstein shocks are $240 total for the pair, plus $8 for the 3 ohm resistors. The SumoSprings are $200 for the pair. So even money.
In summary, everything I did was the same price of replacing the OEM. I could not justify buying replacement ************* Arnot shocks that are over priced and will rupture after 50K miles. Gas charge shocks (passive) have been used for 70+ years and last over 120k miles. Plus, with the MRC delete complete, the next replacement is easier.
The result is AWESOME! Very smooth and responsive.
