New shocks

Shooter_va · February 8, 2005

My truck was actually riding pretty nice (so I thought), but when towing my 5er I had some bounce especially when going over sections of bridges.

I decided to change all OE shocks with Bilsteins.

First rear shock I took out: While compressing, it made this gurgling sound as if there was some air in the tube and after letting go of one end, the shock moved appart sooo slowly. The new shock moved appart much more quickly (charged better).

The other three shocks were not much better.

Took the truck for a spin, and low and behold, much nicer ride.

The OE shocks had 65000 miles on them with about 3000 miles towing.

Bilsteins are great (just my opinion).

number9 · February 8, 2005

I ordered some Rancho RS9000's this morning for my truck. I took the front shocks off this weekend to install spacers and they were freaking shot - just like you described yours to be. I am not sure how long they have been that way as I bought the truck used about 2 weeks ago with 27,000 miles on it. Can't wait to get teh Ranchos and new tires on to see how much better the ride is. Currently the truck fells like the rear axle is welded solid to the frame - literally.

Shooter_va · February 8, 2005

Good luck with the Ranchos. I had a set of 9000's on my previous truck and had to replace them due to the adjustment knob being stuck after about 2 years (was covered under their lifetime warranty), but otherwise they did great. This time I opted for the Bilsteins, have read a lot of good things about them and I don't feel like crawling under the truck to adjust the shocks or mount an in-cab controller, plus the Bilsteins came with a lifetime warranty as well.

number9 · February 8, 2005

Yeah, I have always ran Bilsteins on the S-10 I had and my 1/2 ton in my sig. I heard the Bilsteins are stiff/rough riding on the HD so I opted to go with Rancho to be able to dial the rear in softer. Hope it works out well.

LiftedHDRado · February 8, 2005

any word on the pro comp shocks? fox shocks?

number9 · February 9, 2005

Was going to lower the air pressure to 40PSI in the 245's today and WOW, found that the PO had waaaayyyyyy more than 50PSI. Actually my tire gage only goes to 50PSI (didn't realize this until today - never had anything that held that much air). It took a LOT of air out to even reach 50PSI. All 4 tires are now at 50 and the truck rides sooo much better. Rear is still a little harsh, but oh what a relief.

rascal · February 9, 2005

Think the sticker calls for a max of 75 on the rear, mine runs 40 to 45 all around. someday i'll find a load that needs more. probably when i hall sand and/or gravel in it this spring.

Shooter_va · February 9, 2005

i am running 65 psi in mine when hauling my camper.

chadlyt · February 10, 2005

thats some good info. I replaced my OE shocks 10K miles ago. they had around 72,000 miles on them. I made the mistake by replacing them with Monroe Reflex's...they suck. Everyone raves about them in the 1/2 tons, but they are way to soft for a HD...

In the spring i am going to swap them out again. I was going to go with Rancho's but I have heard the adjustables are not going to be made anymore. too many returns i guess.

Bilstiens must be the way to go on the HD's. Unless edlebrock makes a good one. It's good to hear that the Bilstiens worked nicely!