Shocks going out?

[MattRoberts123]

Ok... well I just put my stock wheels and tires back on my SUT... and it is riding ROUGH! Bouncing all over the place and not handling the road well at all.

I remember when I first got the truck a little over a year ago, and it rode like a dream!!!

Could my shocks be going out this quick? I fear that if I take it to a shop and ask that question, that I instantly will be buying myself a new set of shocks...

Any suggestions?

[MDimitri]

Hi Matt,

Sounds like you have Pitman and Idler issues, not shocks issues. It is highly unusual for the shocks to blow out on you after only a year, to me it is more likely it is your pitman and idler arms, alot of our rigs go through a set or two of these a year, a good avenue to pursue is get the aftermarket fabtech pitman and idler arm support brackets, this will eliminate the need to change them ever again and your truck will ride like it did when new. Another addition is get the Fabtech steering stabalization kit, it will come with a heavy duty shock and a couple of nuts, bolts and washer's in order to mount them on the frame. With all this installed you will see a big difference in handling. Total amount to invest will be about $250.00 to $300.00 and you will be very happy with the end result!

Cheers!

[MattRoberts123]

Originally Posted by MDimitri

Hi Matt,

Sounds like you have Pitman and Idler issues, not shocks issues. It is highly unusual for the shocks to blow out on you after only a year, to me it is more likely it is your pitman and idler arms, alot of our rigs go through a set or two of these a year, a good avenue to pursue is get the aftermarket fabtech pitman and idler arm support brackets, this will eliminate the need to change them ever again and your truck will ride like it did when new. Another addition is get the Fabtech steering stabalization kit, it will come with a heavy duty shock and a couple of nuts, bolts and washer's in order to mount them on the frame. With all this installed you will see a big difference in handling. Total amount to invest will be about $250.00 to $300.00 and you will be very happy with the end result!

Cheers!

Any pics or description of what this does? I would like to have a better understanding of what all is involved before I go spending money at the shop... I assume any offroad place can take care of this?

[MDimitri]

Hi Matt,

Here is a link to the pitman and idler kit:

COGNITO

Here is an image:

[MattRoberts123]

Any ideas if there is anythign else that could be causing the problem? Frankly, the same thing was going on with my aftermarket wheels and tires... so I took them off just assuming that was the issue.... but now that they are off, I am still having the same problem... frankly it almost seems worse at times now with the stock tires back on.

I am just really frustrated... I feel like I am going to shake to death when I drive the car around town, and it makes me feel really ashamed when I am having other people ride with me.

Thanks for all the help!

[MDimitri]

Originally Posted by MattRoberts123

I feel like I am going to shake to death when I drive the car around town, and it makes me feel really ashamed when I am having other people ride with me.

Thanks for all the help!

What do you mean when you say "Shake to Death"? A good indicator that your Pitman and Idler are worn is when you drive the truck, do you get more than the usual amount of play in the steering wheel? Does the truck tend to sway from side to side when driving? What I mean by this is when you are driving down a straight road and you have your hands on the wheel and you jiggle the steering wheel left and right does it feel that there is more than say 1.5" of movement before the truck starts to move left or right? Thats a good indicator that you may have worn Pitman and Idler arms. As for the shaking syndrome, does this occur when you drive at a higher rate of speed such 55-70mph? If so, you may need to balance your tires. A good test if you feel your shocks are shot is when you drive around a bend in the road accelerate a bit more, do you feel the truck bounce up and down more than usual? Another test is while driving hit the brakes a bit harder at an intersection, does the truck bounce more than two times? does it feel spongey? Have you looked at your shocks, do they look like they are leaking any fluids? At the end of the day a good set of shocks will run you a couple of Hundred bucks. For the safety of yourself and your passengers go get your front end checked out, this costs about $50.00 (Any repsectable front end inspection shop can do this) and will give you the information you need to make the right purchsing choice. Hope this helps!

Cheers!

[MattRoberts123]

I wouldn't say that I notice any play like that in the steering wheel.... as far as that goes, everything seems ok.

What I am noticing is that i am feeling EVERY little bump in the road... and not just me... but everyone else in the truck is experiencing it as well...

It is just and up/down movement in the entire vehicle... every little bump shakes and rattles the car. It is almost like the suspension is too tight.

I remember when I had an old tahoe that acted like this... it was after I cranked up the torsion bars and the car had no give and caused me to feel every little imperfection in the road.

The problem is that I haven't changed ANYTHING on the suspension of this vehicle... I had a customer out with me the other day.. they were in the backseat, and they commented that they couldn't even talk because their vocal chords were rattling too much from the car!?!?

I have an appointement at the dealership tomorrow to get it checked out, just wondering if there is anythign I can specifically have them do. They aren't the biggest fans of me over at my dealership, so I need to be sure that I tell them specifically what needs to be addressed.

[BKLYNH2]

If you are under warranty then just explain the problem and get them to fix it, under warranty. Even shocks should have a much longer life span than this.

[tomp]

Couple other things it could be:
-Bent or blown valving on shock
-Ball Joints
-Hub
-bad half shaft
-Bearings
-bolts loose (control arms)

[MattRoberts123]

BTW,

Just to clear it up so the "typical" wear issues aren't assument... my H2 is a TOTAL pavement princess.... NEVER seen any offroading of any kind... best it has seen is going over a curb to park in someones front yard for a football game..

Just wanted to be sure you were all aware that the typical things that might wear out after going out on trails and shouldnt be an issue here either.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions!

[tomp]

Maybe I should retract my comments, as I dont work on those kind of H2s

[Vettster]

Originally Posted by BKLYNH2

If you are under warranty then just explain the problem and get them to fix it, under warranty. Even shocks should have a much longer life span than this.

Good luck!
I took mine into the dealer at about 9,000 miles complaining about the front end shaking and was told that I needed to install an aftermarket steering stabilizer.
I haven't done it yet.
I plan on complaining about it and having it documented (again) the next time I have it serviced.
I realize that our roads here are pretty rough, but the front end should NOT shake like this.
Mine still has the stock wheels and tires. I haven't changed them out yet for fear the it will get worse.