I am just under 15k on my '04. My friggen shocks are dead http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Dead.gif I am boatin down the road and taking a nose dive every time I stop. I had nearly 70k on my '02 and the shocks were not this bad. Has any one else changed out their shocks and what are you using ? The only other problem I am having at this time is the spongiest brake pedal I have ever had on a truck. I've had it back to the stealer but they tell me there is no adjustment. When I am even towing 3K I need to matt the pedal to make a mild stop. No load is about 3/4 of the way to the floor. I am a bit dissapointed with the '04 overall compared to my '02.

The stock shocks on my '02 never felt right, especially when pulling a trailer. Replaced them at approximately 3K miles with Bilsteins. Everything is OK now.


Look in the "2500HD & 3500 Trucks" portion of the forum. Probably 100 threads of people ranting about the stock shocks and recommendations. In my opinion, GM has always had crappy shocks (except on a Z71 1500 pickup I had in the late '90's). Wonder if they will ever figure out what the customer wants?Edited by: OC_DMAX

I just replaced mine a little while ago...18k on the shocks. Front shock was broken internally. Replaced with Bilsteins, been happy ever since!


Bob

just replaced mine with rancho's, best money spent so far.....being adjustable is the best way to go

1. Did the dealer bleed the brakes? Air in the lines? If it still does it after the brakes are bled then I would look for a bad brake hose (flexible lines going to brake calipers etc.). Does anyone make steel braid lines for the truck?


2. On the issue of shocks - the bilsteins are of a superior design and quality when compared to the ranchos.


- jeff

Factory shocks just don't seem to last very long. I pulled the shocks off my truck when I installed the lift at approx. 11k miles and they were shot! And to think those were suppose to be the better shocks offered w/ the Z71 package.

just replaced mine with rancho's, best money spent so far.....being adjustable is the best way to go
I had the 5-way adjustable and soon found out I was too lazy to adjust them http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif There are much better if you purchase the in-cab adjustable kit.

You know if you think about it, its really unbelieveable that you buy a $40,000 plus truck and have to buy stuff to make it right! I love the truck but some of this s^%t is really bad news.

I would say for me this is the straw that breaks the camels back. My next truck will not be a GMC product. It's really poor quality when you HAVE to replace your shocks before 15 k. I had Rancho's on a Bronco and they were nice but SUPER stiff. I guess I need to look for some bilsteins. Does any one have a on line source ?

Kennedy Diesel :


http://www.kennedydiesel.com


- jeff

Never have had a new vehicle that did not need to have the OEM shocks changed to better ones. Even on vehicles that my father bought new, which was just a few years ago. Of course that is when you could by a new pickup for $2500.00 and it was a good one.


Doug

The familiy has owned four Toyota Camry's over the last 15 years or so. Rolled up in excess of 500K miles in that time. On each car when sold, the shocks (struts in the front) felt very good. They were not worn-out and the cars handled extremely well. A manufacture can provide good quality parts, it just requires the correct attitude. Something GM says they understand, but I am not sure.

I agree, mine only has 1100 miles and these shocks suck. My '98 Z71 had 170k on the original shocks and they were fine. I think it had bilsteins from the factory.

There is a big difference between wanting to replace a set of shocks and needing to replace a set. At 15k mine are wasted. Thats really crappy no matter how you slice it. I usually expect 75k from the factory set. 50k I could live with. At 15k they were just sh** to begin with and after paying 45k I can not help but feeling like I was ripped off.

I have replaced the shocks on every new vehicle I have ever bought within 15k miles of purchase. Learned long ago, that factory shocks, no matter what factory, SUCK!


So go buy a Dodge, and have the main input shaft shear off the tranny, but it may have good shocks! Or go buy a Ford, and have the motor destroy itself, but it may have good shocks! Or go buy a Toyota, and try to get a full size sheet of plywood or drywall in the bed, and they dare to call their trucks Full Size?


Save the GMC's for folks that believe. Hell, my other truck is a 1944 CCKW, as well as a 1943 White Halftrack

The factory shocks are not good at all. I left mine on for 57,000 miles. I put on a set of Edelbrocks and man what a difference. Anything is better than the factory shocks. Bilsteins, Rancho, Edelbrock, anything!!!!!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

Actually, I decided to go with bilstein's right away on my Chevy because I always waited 40k before stepping up to them on my toyota's. Cornering, body roll and ride all dramatically improved over what toyota had on their stock. The toyota parts last a little longer - but the rear shocks on the toyota trucks are pretty damn wimpy... (some go with TRD package to get either tokico or bilstein shocks). Toyota Racing sells the bilsteins under their brand - TRD.


That being said - I am noticing the steel wheels are pretty wimpy on the truck too - I had one replaced because it was warped. Now another rim is slightly warped - it wasn't before, because the amount of weight increased dramatically when I had them rotated at 7500 miles. Soft and thin. Are the oem aluminum rims better? I am thinking about picking up a set of "take-offs".


- jeffEdited by: dmax lover

dmax lover: I have oem aluminum wheels looks like pretty tough wheel to me. I also have been told that they are 7" wide not 6.5" Have not checked yet as I'm going to run little 245's till they are used up. Edited by: BRUCE

How do you people expect we stockholders of the General to make any dividends if they don't watch the bottom line?http://dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif After all if no one invests in the Co. there will be no Trucks of any quality produced. Mangements job is to produce the best possiable product at the lowest possiable price while paying all the overhead and returning a reasonable profit that can be used to do resurch and devolpement while paying a reasonable return to the stockholder. Thats a BIG order to fill for anyone. In my estimation GM has consistintly done the best job of the big 3 in ALL those areas for the last 50 Yrs.. That's my story and Im stickin to it.http://dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

I've ordered two sets of Bilsteins (one set for me and 1 for my boy) from Pro Am Auto and got them with 4-5 working days. No delays. Great guys. No shipping charges.


$259.80 delivered for Duramx shocks.


Their web page is set up to figure shipping charges as you place your order but, as indicated on their home page, they DO NOT charge shipping for Bilsteins.


http://www.proamauto.com/page15bb29.htm

BlueMax,


Your shocks were shot the moment they were bolted to your truck. My first thought the day I drove my truck off the dealer's lot was what crappy shocks it had--my second was what a terrific truck I had. My uncle worked in the aftermarket auto parts business most of his adult life, this was many, many years ago. He always said that GM had the worst shocks of anybody. Actually, he said they were a substance that rhymes with "sit". I guess some things never change.


TC