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Author Topic: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.  (Read 2885 times)

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Offline EL TATE

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04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« on: December 22, 2015, 11:37:02 AM »
Some of you may remember my wife drove a 2004 Yukon for some time, then while I was away for work traded it in on my Lb7 and her 05 Passat. All I can say is God works some little miracles sometimes.

The Passat was not vetted by me, and our friend tried talking her out of it but she was insistant. Suspension issues right out of the gate, upper control arm stripped a bolt and had to be replaced. Coolant system issues with multiple inline sensors not communicating with each other along with the thermostat caused it to run rich. Exhaust fumes entered the cabin unless the hvac was on recirculated air. A/C had to be repaired and re-charged, (lower line to the condenser broke off somehow), and the tri-pipe connection behind the throttle body started to leak as the car cooled. After the first oil change, I used factory spec Euro oil to try to protect the turbo and the engine began to leak like a sieve with multiple locations. I replaced the valve cover gasket and slowed down the major flow, but when the turbo bearings started making noise I decided that this "low miles" German junk had to go, so we called my buddy back. Guess what, he hadn't sold the Denali, his partner had been driving it around for 10 months as his personal car.

We dropped off the jalopy and picked up the Denali for SAME amount we had into it initially when we traded it in, and she couldn't be happier. Last Saturday however the DIC let us know GM wasn't done with us either and "battery not charging" light came on. i checked resistance at the harness to the alternator, output from the Alt to the battery, the battery on its own and brought the alt to o'reilly's for a final bench test to confirm it was indeed toast. Not bad for an original Delphi w/ 11 years and 150k on it. Installation was cake. Tensioner to release the belt, two bolts at the bottom of the alt, the plug and power lead and done. 15 min on the install tops.

Now to trouble shoot what will be now the 3rd air ride compressor I've had to install in this truck... anyone have any ideas why these things would keep going out on me? The original just quit working on it about 2 years ago. the replacement fired right up after installation and worked great for about 11 months and failed the same way. Warranty granted by my buddy at the local chevy dealership, but this one only lasted about 9 months before it started acting up again and now is flat dead. I have to get a new fuse and battery for my multimeter, and will check resistance at the relay first. all fuses are good at first blush, and I've never been able to find any leaks in the original shocks. Any ideas??
« Last Edit: December 22, 2015, 12:34:42 PM by EL TATE »
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Offline KensAuto

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2015, 01:42:59 PM »
Tate, I've seen them go bad from water intrusion. They suck air in by the gas filler, from a little plastic box/filter thingy (that's the technical term). If positioned wrong, the left rear tire can sling water up into that box. If that's the case, it might be time for an additional mud guard, or relocating the vent to the inside.

...the other thing that will wipe them out prematurely, is running longer than needed...as in having an air leak (usually the shocks themselves)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2015, 06:27:32 PM by KensAuto »
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Offline EL TATE

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2015, 03:03:07 PM »
I believe the water intrusion is my issue with the compressor. Is there any repairing these compressors once something like that has occurred?
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Offline KensAuto

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2015, 06:28:48 PM »
I don't think so. I think it takes out the ring(s) but I haven't taken one completely apart to verify....and I don't think you can find rebuild parts for them.
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Offline EL TATE

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2016, 11:00:03 AM »
I've got a local shop that is capable of rebuilding pretty much any compressor, so if I don't wind up needing to send the core back in I'll look into having it rebuilt and keep it as a backup. I'll let you guys know what I find; always a good thing to have someone that can re-man something rather than buying some unknown re-man from mexico or china
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Offline stlaser

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2016, 11:23:25 AM »
Correct, normally less expensive too. I used to always have starters and alternators rebuilt verus buying from auto parts stores. Better quality components from the local rebuilder......
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Offline EL TATE

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2016, 11:36:25 AM »
I love the Lynnwood Auto Electric guys down here. found a used starter when mine went out from the truck salvage yard across the hwy from them and yup, they did the rebuild on it. $70 out the door and works great. 
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Offline EL TATE

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2016, 12:54:33 PM »
Update,

I installed the new compressor and turned the plastic box thingy (technical term per Ken) around on it's mount so the inlet was facing away from the tires. so far so good.
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Offline JR

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2016, 06:14:26 PM »
Thingy, works for me!!
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Offline Farmer Jon

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2016, 08:22:05 PM »
You can always  convert it to regular shocks. I contemplated doing this with my 06 suburban LTZ. But i traded it for my Duramax instead.

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Offline EL TATE

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Re: 04 GMC Yukon Denali alternator and air suspension issues.
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2016, 01:53:53 PM »
I have in fact spent some time on the phone with those guys. good group and if/when I lose this now 4th compressor, i'll head that direction. Their kits come with either std gas shocks or manually adjustable air shocks w/ electronics to fool the DIC, or even a new mo-betta compressor for their style of air suspension. either way, better than $3-4k to Delphi for the same old junk.
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