Z71 Suburban Shock/Strut Replacement - Stock Height

[NOSOK]

Did you come to this number based on your 6XX and 7XX RPO codes?

I have not come across long term happy customers with the pre-assembled struts. They're very generic, not specific to a particular vehicle and use inferior parts.

Correct. I cross referenced the RPO codes on the ACDelco site. That's how I found the rear Z71 shock as well (540-630). Initially I said I wanted a softer ride, but now I'm just shooting for more or less factory Z71 ride quality. Although my inner 'cheapskate' won out and I skipped the springs, I reckon I should have ~80% of new truck ride quality (right now I'm probably at like 30%).

I spent almost 900 bucks which was a bit more than I expected. And I still need to source the rear jounce bumpers as carID didn't stock them - at least there doesn't seem to be any labor advantage installing them with the rest of the rear stuff.

I attached my order invoice for anyone who wants to reference against the 2011 Z71. A few of the P/Ns you posted seemed like they weren't valid for 2011+ so I had to find replacements.

And it's worth mentioning the carID military discount is one of the most inconvenient ones I've used - you have to chat with a sales rep and send them your individual P/Ns, unlike home depot where you can just flash a CAC and have it applied to your whole purchase. It's also not a flat 10% (more like 7% in my case) as it was not applicable on Moog.

 

[swathdiver]

Correct. I cross referenced the RPO codes on the ACDelco site. That's how I found the rear Z71 shock as well (540-630). Initially I said I wanted a softer ride, but now I'm just shooting for more or less factory Z71 ride quality. Although my inner 'cheapskate' won out and I skipped the springs, I reckon I should have ~80% of new truck ride quality (right now I'm probably at like 30%).

I spent almost 900 bucks which was a bit more than I expected. And I still need to source the rear jounce bumpers as carID didn't stock them - at least there doesn't seem to be any labor advantage installing them with the rest of the rear stuff.

I attached my order invoice for anyone who wants to reference against the 2011 Z71. A few of the P/Ns you posted seemed like they weren't valid for 2011+ so I had to find replacements.

And it's worth mentioning the carID military discount is one of the most inconvenient ones I've used - you have to chat with a sales rep and send them your individual P/Ns, unlike home depot where you can just flash a CAC and have it applied to your whole purchase. It's also not a flat 10% (more like 7% in my case) as it was not applicable on Moog.

Save for the shocks and some of the smaller parts, it appears that you went with ACDelco Professional and the lower end of Moog's parts line. Research suggests that the ACDelco and the Moog CK series lasts about 80-100K miles. The Moog RK stuff lasts about half that. This is not a knock, every man has his own reasons, just mentioning this again for those who come along later. If I'm still around when my stuff wears out, I'll post about how long it lasted and hope that you do too.

As for the springs, does your truck sit about three inches higher in the rear? My rear springs went kinda fast and didn't notice it until our last tow.

The photo with the nose facing the right was taken in August '18 (129K) and the photo with the nose facing the left was taken September '20 (157K). The difference up front is even apparent.

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[NOSOK]

Save for the shocks and some of the smaller parts, it appears that you went with ACDelco Professional and the lower end of Moog's parts line. Research suggests that the ACDelco and the Moog CK series lasts about 80-100K miles. The Moog RK stuff lasts about half that. This is not a knock, every man has his own reasons, just mentioning this again for those who come along later. If I'm still around when my stuff wears out, I'll post about how long it lasted and hope that you do too.

As for the springs, does your truck sit about three inches higher in the rear? My rear springs went kinda fast and didn't notice it until our last tow.

The photo with the nose facing the right was taken in August '18 (129K) and the photo with the nose facing the left was taken September '20 (157K). The difference up front is even apparent.

I'll have to check on the height next time I'm in a parking lot. My driveway is rather steep and when I'm backed in, the rear is several inches higher.

The control arms I got were half the price of genuine GM and even if they only last 50k miles, I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm not planning to keep the truck long term (maybe 2-3 yrs more max), so it didn't really make sense to replace the entire steering/suspension + use OEM parts for everything. I just hope skipping the the springs now doesn't come back to bite me in a year (they look good, so I don't think they will, but you never know).

 

[swathdiver]

I'll have to check on the height next time I'm in a parking lot. My driveway is rather steep and when I'm backed in, the rear is several inches higher.

The control arms I got were half the price of genuine GM and even if they only last 50k miles, I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm not planning to keep the truck long term (maybe 2-3 yrs more max), so it didn't really make sense to replace the entire steering/suspension + use OEM parts for everything. I just hope skipping the the springs now doesn't come back to bite me in a year (they look good, so I don't think they will, but you never know).

I'm grateful that we have options in choosing parts! Ever been up to Imogene Pass? I'd like to take our trucks up there someday. Stock, I have as much or more ground clearance as most of the usual vehicles that I see on youtube going up there but would probably install my leveling spacers and run a 1 inch taller tire and pull my front valance as even then it won't have the approach angles of your Z71!

More rain and thunder and lightning so no ride height measurements today!

 

[NOSOK]

I'm grateful that we have options in choosing parts! Ever been up to Imogene Pass? I'd like to take our trucks up there someday. Stock, I have as much or more ground clearance as most of the usual vehicles that I see on youtube going up there but would probably install my leveling spacers and run a 1 inch taller tire and pull my front valance as even then it won't have the approach angles of your Z71!

More rain and thunder and lightning so no ride height measurements today!

I have not done Imogene but it's on my list. Next time we're in the area I'll try to convince my wife to give it a go. It's a 6hr drive one way from us right now so realistically we'd need to make it at least a 4-5+ day road trip so we're not in the truck the majority of our waking hours each day. From what I've seen on youtube it's not super technical - people have done it in stock subarus.

Actually the only non-paved pass I've been up was Jones pass in a friend's Z71 Colorado a few years ago. I've been meaning to go back there. Beautiful drive and only an hour from Denver.

 

[Fless]

I'm grateful that we have options in choosing parts! Ever been up to Imogene Pass? I'd like to take our trucks up there someday. Stock, I have as much or more ground clearance as most of the usual vehicles that I see on youtube going up there but would probably install my leveling spacers and run a 1 inch taller tire and pull my front valance as even then it won't have the approach angles of your Z71!

More rain and thunder and lightning so no ride height measurements today!

Highly recommended. It's been probably 20 years since I did Imogene Pass in my '87 Bronco II with full OE skid plates and the little 2.9L V6 stick. You'll do fine if not much has changed with the terrain, and it's a hoot to drive. Just plan on starting from the Telluride side; they don't recommend starting from the Camp Bird side. I'll have to see if I have any pics of the drive. We stayed a few nights in Ouray (say "yur RAY" but fast).

EDIT: you'll want to do Imogene in the mid-to-late summer. The pass is over 13,000 ft. AMSL and the winter snow can linger. The Telluride side has a nice southern exposure but the rest of it heads north and there are some trees as you get below treeline (duh).

 

[swathdiver]

I have not done Imogene but it's on my list. Next time we're in the area I'll try to convince my wife to give it a go. It's a 6hr drive one way from us right now so realistically we'd need to make it at least a 4-5+ day road trip so we're not in the truck the majority of our waking hours each day. From what I've seen on youtube it's not super technical - people have done it in stock subarus.

Actually the only non-paved pass I've been up was Jones pass in a friend's Z71 Colorado a few years ago. I've been meaning to go back there. Beautiful drive and only an hour from Denver.

That is gorgeous too!

Highly recommended. It's been probably 20 years since I did Imogene Pass in my '87 Bronco II with full OE skid plates and the little 2.9L V6 stick. You'll do fine if not much has changed with the terrain, and it's a hoot to drive. Just plan on starting from the Telluride side; they don't recommend starting from the Camp Bird side. I'll have to see if I have any pics of the drive. We stayed a few nights in Ouray (say "yur RAY" but fast).

EDIT: you'll want to do Imogene in the mid-to-late summer. The pass is over 13,000 ft. AMSL and the winter snow can linger. The Telluride side has a nice southern exposure but the rest of it heads north and there are some trees as you get below treeline (duh).

Thanks for that, now we have the benefit of people posting their trips on youtube and such so we can get an idea of their condition before we go.

 

[Fless]

You'll want to plan a day for Black Bear, too, while you're in the area. East to West, down into Telluride through a bunch of switchbacks. I've not done it yet but would love to take my Hoe on that one soon.

 

[avalonandl]

You want the 5100's with the lift....

Ranchos ride like ZHIT.....

 

[NOSOK]

You want the 5100's with the lift....

Ranchos ride like ZHIT.....

I didn't want to lift as 99% of my driving is on pavement and better handling from a lower CoG is desirable. However I got the rest of my suspension parts in today (in a completely destroyed shipping box, but at least nothing is damaged/missing) and just from looking at them and dry fitting some parts, I wish I went Bilstein with a slight lift.

Front suspension travel is a disappointing ~4" total, and it seems there's at most 1.5" of travel before the bump stops will be engaged. And the bump stops are extremely firm. Granted, a few tons of steel will compress them easier than my hands, but I think I'm going to either cut these down a bit or find softer ones.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@NOSOK Is it too late to return them? This is a big job man, not one that you want to feel disappointed after so let's do it right or we will have to do it twice.

 

[NOSOK]

@NOSOK Is it too late to return them? This is a big job man, not one that you want to feel disappointed after so let's do it right or we will have to do it twice.

I ended up buying a set of 4600s from CarParts.com (front and rear). Got 10% back from a Chase card offer and they have free shipping. I decided not to go 5100s as I don't really want a lift (or to mess around with the setup of one), just a decent damper. Once those get in I'll return the OEM ones. It's $7.50 each to return them.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@NOSOK I look forward to hearing how the 4600s are

 

[Mordechai]

@NOSOK My experience installing the MOOG 81244 spring onto the Bilstein 5100 was stressful to say the least but go slow and it can be done without much drama. I used 2 sets of springs compressors, I used the kind that are 2 threaded rods and each rod has 2 clamps that grab the spring. So in total I had 4 of these rods compressing the spring when I installed the spring onto the 5100. The one tool that would make this job easier is a tool to tighten the top nut of the strut while holding the shaft still so that you could tighten it. I am not sure of what to correct tool is called but I am sure there is one out there.

Sorry for randomly chiming in, but I currently have bilstein 5100 struts with the springs from one of the cheap acdelco professional struts. Do you think the moog 81244 would help with my ride? Going over bigger bumps on the highway is extremely jarring currently.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@JewBoi It's possible. I am not a professional, just a hobby mechanic. The 81244 is a pretty stiff spring compared to the factory springs, the 81244 will give you lift over factory. I would say that if the springs you have are too weak and your suspension is bottoming out over bumps then the 81244 spring would help but in this case I think it has the possibility of making it worse. The MOOG springs and 5100's give me a firm ride.

Can you describe the jarring you are having? I have read your other thread but I am not sure what exactly you are experiencing.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@JewBoi If you can, go around and take some really good pictures of your entire suspension front and back, take a lot of pics and post them to your original thread and tag me in it and I and others can take a look a to see if your angles are correct. Getting eyes on the situation would be great.

 

[Mordechai]

@JewBoi If you can, go around and take some really good pictures of your entire suspension front and back, take a lot of pics and post them to your original thread and tag me in it and I and others can take a look a to see if your angles are correct. Getting eyes on the situation would be great.

My other thread isn't related to this problem really, should i still post the pics there? I don't get this problem on other struts but the 5100s handle the best so if I can stay with them would be nice.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

@JewBoi If its a different problem maybe not. If you are having multiple suspension problems I wonder if there is something else going on. Have you inspected your steering rack? Could worn steering rack bushing be contributing to the swaying and jarring affect?

 

[NOSOK]

My other thread isn't related to this problem really, should i still post the pics there? I don't get this problem on other struts but the 5100s handle the best so if I can stay with them would be nice.

No experience with 5100s on a truck, but when I put them [B8s] on a sedan the recommendation was to either remove the bump stop or significantly cut it down. Reason being was the strut had internal bump stops and adding an external could contribute to a harsh ride. Not sure if that's the case here, but could be worth looking into.

 

[NOSOK]

Finally got around to installing the stuff in the rear. Put in new control arms (upper and lower) and Bilstein 4600s. Despite the appearance the old shocks still had some life left in them - not totally shot at 160k miles, although the rebound was probably 50% slower than the new Bilsteins. Old control arms probably could've been reused - which would cut the job time in half.

The job wasn't terrible, and was about what I expected. With my wife's help, I did it in ~3 hrs, including a tire rotation. The 2 most annoying parts were accessing the top shock bolt and nut and then reinstalling the fender liner. A cordless impact made short work of bolt removal, and we were able to use a crescent wrench to hold the nut for most of them. That wouldn't fit on the top shock bolt so we had to very awkwardly cram a breaker bar and a deep well socket in there. A 21mm stubby wrench would have made the job far easier but I didn't have any that large.

As for ride quality, high speed impact control is greatly improved. Far less crashing/bouncing over bumps at 50+ mph. At lower speeds there's a moderate improvement - mostly in the noise department - no more creaking over speed bumps, but it is a little smoother. I'm glad I didn't go with the 5100s, I wouldn't want anything firmer than these. Overall the 4600s are roughly on par with the [aged] factory Z71 suspension comfort wise.

Did not replace the jounce bumpers as I couldn't find them in stock, but mine looked pretty worn so it might be a good idea to replace those at some point.