yet ANOTHER shock thread....

crew cab sonoma · Post by **crew cab sonoma** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:24 am

my Ext. cab could use some new shocks. now, i rarely go off roading with it, and if i do, its just lvery light duty kind of stuff, but mainly it sees suburban/city driving. the streets near me are riddled with utility work patches, and manhole covers, and the ride gets pretty bumpy.

my question is, which reasonably priced shocks offer the best (comfortable) ride quality?

Post by **HenryJ** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:00 pm

It may all be in perspective. I think Bilstein's are reasonably priced and offer excellent ride characteristics. They are an OEM supplier for Mercedes and several other automobile manufacturers.

Now if you are on a tight budget, any aftermarket replacement will likely be better than stock. Stick with a gas charged shock.

crew cab sonoma · Post by **crew cab sonoma** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:10 am

HJ, do you feel the Bilsteins offer a big enough improvement in ride comfort over the OEM shocks to justify thier price?
was thinking more along the Monroe, or Gabriel

when i replaced the CC`s shocks a couple of years ago, i put std. gabriel gas shocks on it.
there was a small improvement in ride, but not much.
i know both of these makers offer higher line shocks with supposedly more sophisticated valving, ect.

just wondering if anybody has any experience with those...

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:18 am

I have 'em and think they're worth the extra cost!

gocntry · Post by **gocntry** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:25 am

f9k9 wrote:I have 'em and think they're worth the extra cost!

Bilsteins Get My Vote Too..........

WVHogRider · Post by **WVHogRider** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:33 am

After my stock shocks had failed me after one year on a state inspection, I had to replace them with the Monroe's as no one had heavy duty ones, (Bilstein, Rancho, etc) in stock. After 4 years with the Monroe's, I figured they were shot, and just replaced them with the Bilstein's a couple weeks ago. Only one of the Monroe's showed SLIGHT deterioration. I've also heard good things about the Rancho's and Skyjacker's, and the Bilstein's feel good so far. In my opinion, it only depends on how much money you want to spend.

PS...100th Post...Had to do it...

crew cab sonoma · Post by **crew cab sonoma** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:23 am

another update: i bled the gas charge out of my new shocks, to soften them more... it helped out some.
i cut a small opening in the the splash guard tube, then use a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to cut a small vertical "groove" in either the very top or bottom of the rod. when you compress the shock to where groove passes by the seal, the gas bleeds out.

when done cutting the groove, i cut a section out a spray paint can cap, and glue it over the hole in the splash guard... its very hard to even notice it, once the shock is reinstalled...

when the shock is installed, the grove in the rod doesnt normally pass back by the seal, so no loss of oil occurs.

it makes the shock noticeably softer, especially during compression.

another thing i did on the rear suspension, was to install a pair of leaf spring clamps on the rear springs, to eliminate the rather nasty axle hop problem my truck has when trying to launch hard from a dead stop.

they completely elininated the hop, and didnt noticably affect ride quality, but thats mainly because i didnt tighten them down tight like most people do... i installed them on the rear part of the springs, just in front of the factory "clamp"...

and i only tightened the clamps enough to prevent leafs from pulling apart from each other, when axle torque tries to twist the springs, not so tight that the leafs touch and bind against each other... which can hurt ride quality...