Poor ride quality

[FAUST]

07 Tahoe - I replaced the front end components - upper and lower control arms with ball joints, inner outter tie rods, Arnott strut assemblies, sway bar linkage and bushings- everything but the hub/knuckle.


The trim is LTZ and is z55.


This was my first repair job so its entirely possible I simply purchased the wrong components. This truck has the sensors but I dont ever feel or notice any change in ride. I only notice the rear air shocks adjusting based on load weight.


Ill take any ideas to check this out - it is driving me nuts - I also fear its been so long that Ill likely need to replace the strut assemblies again to get the right ride.


Here is what I installed


Arnott MyCarParts


I am not sure if the OE is different - the one above has a bypass for the active part - my RPO is 6BM and 7BM - which I am not confident in my search as to whether or not its supposed to be an active suspension.



I conclude based on the equipment on my truck - the active ride sensors - that in fact it should be active.


I am curious if there is a step I am missing when using the parts above that bypass the active suspension. I am also concerned this long standing issue has worn the strut assembly and needing to replace it.... again.

Does anyone have any insight on this for me?

 

[LsHart]

Struts should have sensors on the top of them up front. If u have bypassed the stock with non electric struts, ride height and comfort will be non existent. If I'm reading properly

 

[FAUST]

Ok. Is the bypass to prevent the suspension codes from showing up?

To get the ride back to what it should be, I need to replace with OE.

You are reading it correctly - sorry if it wasn’t clear.

I assumed the strut assemblies would provide some function - sounds like the lack of the electronic function is what creates the rough ride.

Damn.

 

[FAUST]

I found part 19420490 on RockAuto for the front - it’s GM, which should replace and restore ride comfort, right?

I assume I’d need to get the spring and other components and use a spring compressor to put together.

Thanks for the help here.

 

[FAUST]

Also - if you have/know where to purchase the complete assembly that’d be awesome.

I did NOT remove the connector from the stock equipment - the Arnott assemblies have the bypass connector.

 

[LsHart]

There are other fokes here that have ur same truck and can point u in the right direction. That said, ur bypassing the stock suspension! It'll drive like a base level truck. Go OEM stock replacement and ride will be there. U keep saying bypass. There is ur answer!

 

[FAUST]

Yep - I just figured it would be a decent ride, not as horrible as it is lol.

I’m tryin to get it back to factory.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

You replaced active (Z55) front struts with passive struts, so your front is not longer an active suspension. I'm assuming that Arnott supplied you with something to plug the existing front Z55 electrodes into, so that there would be no dashboard warning lights.

If you did nothing with the rear shocks, then you most likely have active (Z55) rear shocks and passive front struts, which I think would cause a poor quality ride.

To get back to the fully Z55 electronic suspension, you would need to purchase GM OEM Z55 active struts. You can find these struts at RockAuto.com or GMPartsDirect.com, using your RPO codes Z55, 6BM, 7BM combination. GM does not offer a complete strut assembly, so your would be purchasing the shock components of the full strut, and you would need to disassemble your original strut assemblies (hopefully, you still have them), using a spring compressor, that you can rent from your local parts store.

Or, you can take the original strut assemblies and new struts to a trusted local repair shop and pay them to disassemble/reassemble the strut assemblies with the new struts, for a reasonable labor charge. They will have a heavy duty spring compressor, which will make the job easy AND safe.