the ride quality thread

Im having some severe ride quality issues......my truck rides like shit, more or less.
It has new tires, new shocks, and I greased up the leaf springs. Tires are properly inflated. I dont know what else to do- side streets are brutal, it is completely horrible. Its bad enough that I dread having to drive the truck- which sucks because Im a delivery driver.
How about a total list of everything that has an influence on ride quality? I figured this would help me, and would help other people in the same situation.

how are the bushings?

how are the bushings?


Not a clue.......how can I find out?
Im not very mechanically inclined......Would I need to go to a shop, and just ask them to look at them or what?

97 Bravada is full time 4wd so that does help but a few things to remember - if those new tires are stiff sidewalls and running at 35 lbs it will ride hard - shocks like Reflex are known to soften the ride - grease all fittings regularly - you didn't crank the torsion bars up did you. Its not designed to be really smooth but fairly stiff but we don't have the rear sway and body roll like Fords do. Bushings are in the front sway bars and the control arms - look for the rubber parts - but the control or a-arms ones always look cracked on GMs unless brand new.

how are the bushings?

Not to steal the thread away but........... do polyurethane bushings provide a smoother or harsher ride?

97 Bravada is full time 4wd so that does help but a few things to remember - if those new tires are stiff sidewalls and running at 35 lbs it will ride hard - shocks like Reflex are known to soften the ride - grease all fittings regularly - you didn't crank the torsion bars up did you. Its not designed to be really smooth but fairly stiff but we don't have the rear sway and body roll like Fords do. Bushings are in the front sway bars and the control arms - look for the rubber parts - but the control or a-arms ones always look cracked on GMs unless brand new.


Not a clue if they are stiff sidewalls or not. They are inflated to 35, gonna drop them to 32 tomorrow.
Just got brand new shocks, about 250 miles ago. I didnt have a lot of extra money, so I just got the "premium ride" ones from Autozone.

Between the rough ride, and the interior that sounds like its going to just fall apart, its getting to the point where I hate the damn thing.
Quite a difference from when I first got it.

I have replaced:
shocks
tires
ball joints
pitman arm
idler arm
1 wheel bearing

If your streets are "brutal" as you say they are then there is probably nothing you can do except live with it or buy a Lincoln Town car or a Cadilac. If you have replaced all of the nessesary suspension components then it is just going to be that way, dont forget it is an SUV so it isn't going to be the greatest of rides anyway.

Did the ride get worst after the new tires or shocks? On a 2wd I put TA radials and they were the worst riding tire I ever felt so switched back to the Uniroyal Laredos and was 100% better - most tire stores will switch them out if they are terrible and you complain - All my 4wds have those same Laredos now - but as posts tell many stories and the Michelins are very smooth but pricey and many others good too - the bargin ones are usually crap. Poly bushings give more control but can beat you up and transfer all the road feel into the cab so depends on what one wants. Rubber dampens and deadens the feel.

Did the ride get worst after the new tires or shocks? On a 2wd I put TA radials and they were the worst riding tire I ever felt so switched back to the Uniroyal Laredos and was 100% better - most tire stores will switch them out if they are terrible and you complain - All my 4wds have those same Laredos now - but as posts tell many stories and the Michelins are very smooth but pricey and many others good too - the bargin ones are usually crap. Poly bushings give more control but can beat you up and transfer all the road feel into the cab so depends on what one wants. Rubber dampens and deadens the feel.


Seems to be about the same.
Tires are Daytona Quadra LTE.

Not to steal the thread away but........... do polyurethane bushings provide a smoother or harsher ride?

That's related so I sure wouldn';t call it theift.

They make the ride harsher! And that might be the problem with zachzchw's ride if someone changed them over at 1 point in the trucks life.

Although polyurethane bushings last longer. I've never seen any break or wear out.

That's related so I sure wouldn';t call it theift.

They make the ride harsher! And that might be the problem with zachzchw's ride if someone changed them over at 1 point in the trucks life.

Although polyurethane bushings last longer. I've never seen any break or wear out.


What do the bushings do exactly?

They are like a shock absorber between all your suspension parts. Racers and off road enthusiasts often change them to polly to make the rig stronger for a very fair price.

I just did a body lift on mine today (Sort of I haven't torqued anything yet) and I discovered that all my body mounts are rotten. When I change these the ride will also improve. If you pull 1 of the bolts out and the rubber mount almost falls apart it's time for a full new set.

How much should I expect to pay to have them replaced? Is it safe to assume they are due to be replaced? 103,000 miles on the truck.....I would assume they are original, also.

I've recently replaced both the upper and lower control arm bushings and sway bar bushings and end links on my '97 AWD Blazer. Although the original rubber lower control arm bushings were fine, I replaced them with polys from Energy Suspension while replacing the ball joints. The original rubber upper control arm bushings were shot and were replaced with MOOG rubber bushings (as the original shells CANNOT be reused as suggested by Energy Suspension). The sway bar end links and bushings were shot and replaced with MOOG polys.

If a shop replaced your ball joints, they should have noted if the control arm bushings and/or sway bar bushings were bad. If you replaced the ball joints, I would first check/replace only the sway bar bushings and end links. These are simple and inexpensive to replace yourself. At worst, the original end links will need to be cut out with a grinder, sawzall, or hacksaw. The MOOG poly sway bar bushings run ~ $12.00 and MOOG poly end links are ~ $11.00.