Estimated shock/strut mileage (1 Viewer)

[mooneywa]

The wife "commandeered" the Cruiser (fully stock) last summer and I've been driving a GMC 1500 AT4. The truck is much firmer on the suspension. I drove the Cruiser again recently and it seems really squishy and wandering. Much more than I remember in the 50k of me driving it. We're approaching 80k miles total and I'm wondering if some of the suspension components need to be replaced. I would have guessed with the longevity of the Cruiser in general, and our lack of towing and mostly hwy mileage, these components would last longer than 80k, but I don't know for sure and was curious what others have seen on stock suspension.

 

[umarali]

2008 LX @ 234k miles on original suspension and drive was very close to 2016 @ 67k miles i test drove. So according to my experience suspension doesnt wear off until some components literally fail.

 

[mooneywa]

That's what I thought but the back seems to be VERY wander-y.

 

[umarali]

How old are your tires and what brand. I had cheap tires on mine and the steering was all over the place it was swerving sometimes a foot and i was puzzled and was thinking maybe rack and pinion issue, changed all tires when it was time and put on TOYO prexus ST and all of a sudden there is no play in steering and no pulling from one side to other and ride became so smooth and solid i was amazed how much difference just tires made, just another thing to look at.

 

[stonepa]

Check your tire pressures. The parts themselves seem to last forever even with hard use.

 

[mooneywa]

I have stock size Michelin LTX MS/2s and they have probably around 40k on them. They're 38psi cold. They definitely don't look worn and there is plenty of tread depth. I however haven't been wild about them because I feel like I'm getting some robust tire pull. It's on my list to go by Discount Tire. But to the suspension issue, just seems like there's lots of wallowing around.

 

[Blackbirdaerial]

I went from 140k to zero mile takes offs from Ed Martin. The difference was noticeable, enough for my wife to comment.... however, it’s not life changing. I had an issue at higher speed and the weight shifting and feeling uncontrolled for a split second. The new suspension has eliminated that uneasy feeling and feels more planted at speed. I’m not sure what’s more impressive, how good it feels now or how good things felt (for the most part) at 140k miles.

 

[TimCFJ40]

In what situations do you feel the floaty/wandery feeling?
I have a 2007 Tacoma that I daily drive with 189k miles and Bilstein 5100 shocks and an add a leaf for ~2" of lift, and a 2008 200 series that we use for travelling with 6120 Bilsteins up front and OME 2721 springs/fox IFP shocks out back for about 2" of lift.
When I go back and forth between the two, the cruiser feels a lot softer and leans more in the corners. I drive up a mountain with a curvy road every day, and the difference is notable. I chalk it up to the rear leaf springs and solid sway bars on the Tacoma vs the KDSS and coils on the Cruiser. Both drive great, but the cruiser is a different handling vehicle than the Taco. Off-Road the Cruiser is WAY more comfortable. After a day off road in the Tacoma I feel beat up, whereas the cruiser leaves me feeling much fresher.

New suspension surely will change how your cruiser feels, but I wouldn't say that's because of a longevity issue with the Cruiser.

 

[stonepa]

Gave this some thought as I recall having a similiar issue with my 100 20 years ago. Turned out to be a bad BFG AT tire in the back. Tire looked fine but it had belt separation and the casing was squirming as a result. Replaced the tire and all was restored.

 

[TeCKis300]

2008 LX @ 234k miles on original suspension and drive was very close to 2016 @ 67k miles i test drove. So according to my experience suspension doesnt wear off until some components literally fail.

Agreed and its a benefit of AHC. Because the system is actively pressurized with fluid, uses long lasting remote damper spool valves, and has onboard maintainable fluid exchanges at 60k intervals, it doesn't have the same wear characteristics of traditional dampers.

From my experience, most traditional dampers are well worn or done by 100k. They degrade as soon as they are installed, continuously towards the long slope of their service life. Many pressurized aftermarkets are done by 60k, or perhaps even 30k for more race oriented shocks. Some are rebuildable. The OEM is not. Fortunately they're pretty cheap and easy to replace and I would definitely recommend it to the OP at higher mileages if handling is a priority. Bushings are the other wear item of modern cars, that are much harder to replace. I've spent time in other cars cutting and burning out bushings in suspension links to bring back the level of performance.

 

[mooneywa]

Update: went by Discount Tire today for a rotation and balance on schedule.

The rears were 8/32s each and the fronts were 6/32s and 7/32s. I had them do a standard x-rotation and by and large the suspension issues, but notably the alignment/off-center steering issues were solved. Still a little wallow-y, but improved.

From y'all's advice and this trip to DT, I believe the issues are almost completely tire related. Confirmed I got the tires 40,000 miles ago, so while I'm getting close to a replacement, I'm a little surprised the much-praised LTX M/S2s aren't lasting longer. I'm also a little mystified how a religious rotation schedule (every 5k), constant pressure checks, and regular alignments got one tire with 25% less tread than the other two.

I'll give it another 5k and then have DT give me a tread depth measurement and re-evaluate, but I doubt I'd go past 50k. The wife wants "cool looking tires" (read: something that looks off-road for her trips down the highway ) so I'm thinking either Yokohama Geolander or Toyo AT3s - something where the weight isn't notably more.

 

[Madtiger]

Update: went by Discount Tire today for a rotation and balance on schedule.

The rears were 8/32s each and the fronts were 6/32s and 7/32s. I had them do a standard x-rotation and by and large the suspension issues, but notably the alignment/off-center steering issues were solved. Still a little wallow-y, but improved.

From y'all's advice and this trip to DT, I believe the issues are almost completely tire related. Confirmed I got the tires 40,000 miles ago, so while I'm getting close to a replacement, I'm a little surprised the much-praised LTX M/S2s aren't lasting longer. I'm also a little mystified how a religious rotation schedule (every 5k), constant pressure checks, and regular alignments got one tire with 25% less tread than the other two.

I'll give it another 5k and then have DT give me a tread depth measurement and re-evaluate, but I doubt I'd go past 50k. The wife wants "cool looking tires" (read: something that looks off-road for her trips down the highway ) so I'm thinking either Yokohama Geolander or Toyo AT3s - something where the weight isn't notably more.

I think that is one place where Michelin Defender improved over MS2…the sidewall is a little stiffer and the compound is stronger (thus more mileage). Defender do ride ever so slightly stiffer than prior versions from what i have read.

So, just in case your wife changes her mind, the Defender in stock size is a good option…and being that stock sized is XL rated, i think that it should help your ride complaint?

 

[auggafj80]

2008LC - put new springs and shocks on at 240k or so, replacing originals. New springs should be good for rest of vehicles life. Shocks I wouldn’t let go that long again. She felt very tired on original suspension.

 

[linuxgod]

If it wanders a lot, I'd get it to an alignment shop. A good alignment is MUCH more stable than a poor one which can cause a LOT of wandering at all sorts of speeds as well as excessive tire wear.

 

[mooneywa]

If it wanders a lot, I'd get it to an alignment shop. A good alignment is MUCH more stable than a poor one which can cause a LOT of wandering at all sorts of speeds as well as excessive tire wear.

It was recently aligned (last 1k miles) and the toe was out, but otherwise not too far off.