I bought a 2001 3/4 ton Suburban with 'Autoride'. I have never noticed any leveling effect from the rear shocks and when I look at them I see nothing about them that indicates anything different from normal shocks. I expected to see an air line to each shock and some king of inflatable rubber boot around each one. Nothing...
While trying to find information on the internet about this I did find one statement that the 3/4 ton model with 'Autoride' does not have the leveling feature, only variable damping in the shocks. Can anyone verify this and tell me what I should expect to see under there?
I also have a question about the front suspension in a separate post if you don't mind taking a look.
I quickly checked chevy's website on suburban's. Of course this is for the 2008 model, but may apply to yours. It seems that the automatic air level control is only on the 1/2 ton.
That's absolutely correct. Both the 1500 and the 2500 Suburbans have an AutoRide option, but they work differently on each.
On the 1500, Autoride is basically air shocks in the rear with an onboard compressor that uses a ride height sensor to level the rig when it is loaded.
On the 2500's, AutoRide is a variable damping system. The shocks are filled with a ferrous fluid that changes viscosity in response to an electrical current. There are ride sensors at each wheel position, and based on input from those sensors, the ABS sensors, speedo, etc., the ride control computer (RCC) varies the shock stiffness several times per second. It's quite effective and makes the burb ride pretty nice for a 3/4 ton truck. FYI, it was a "mandatory option" with the 8.1, you couldn't order the 8.1L in a burb without AutoRide.
On the downside, I've had to replace both rear ride sensors on my '01. In fairness, they probably got sand in them, so I don't think it's a widespread problem.
Garden variety OBDII scanners can't read codes from the RCC, you need to have a GM Tech II scanner so it's mainly a dealer-only repair situation. If there is a problem, the message center will only say "service Ride Control". Other downside is the cost of the shocks...they are about $250 EACH. I've not been able to find out a specific service life on these things....a GM tech I know from another board says the average is 125K miles. I have 94K on mine now and think I will wait until either a) they start leaking or b) the message center says they are bad.
If you didn't get an owner's manual with your truck, PM me and I can e-mail it to you as a pdf.
Thanks for the replies. I was worried that I didn't have the 'autoride' shocks after all but it seems that I do. My owners manual was very general about the suspension system. It mentioned different setups but said things like,"you may have this system or you may have......." Not much help.
