So after all of these miles, one thing I was not liking so much were the Rancho RS9000 shocks. I did some research and finally settled on a set of Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP Smooth Body Shocks. I went with the non-reservoir units on the recommendation of a Fox representative. He said if I was going to Baja, I needed reservoir units. If I wasn't going to Baja, the non-reservoir units will easily handle any other roads in North America. So, I got my measurements and started shopping. It's always a challenge shopping for shocks by dimensions as the shock specs don't always match up with the specs you have to fill. I found the ones that were as close as possible and ordered them up.
Fronts:
On the rears I opted for the Roost Shields. They protect the shock shafts from flying rocks and debris.
It was an expensive upgrade, replacing seemingly "good" parts with other good parts, but the result was a ride that seems much more controlled on the rebound side. The oscillations seem more controlled. Less "bucking", if you will.
Somewhere along the way and another 30k service came up. Along with other things, I serviced the trans with another load of liquid gold from the GM store in the form of the specific NV4500 lube. I also serviced the trans filter:
For such a simple device, this thing works amazingly well. The lube I drained out still looks fantastic. Good enough I have saved the lube from both services so far (thought about reinstalling it both times too). One I carry in the truck as emergency refill and the other I keep in the shop as backup lube. Since both services have yielded such good looking lube, I'm considering running the interval out a little bit--especially if I install a cooler on the box.
Another issue I had to address was replacing some more junk-ass reproduction chinese parts with some good old domestic NOS GM parts. I installed the reproduction tail light lenses when I built the truck and they are already looking pink at best. I couldn't bring myself to install another set of the junk-ass chinese crap, so I scoured a set of NOS GM lenses:
Junk-ass chinese crap vs real domestic high grade NOS greatness:
Keep your GM vehicle all GM......Good words to live by.