I just bought my mom's 98 Expedition XLT, 5.4, 3.73 ls, air suspension all the way around, and lots of other goodies on it. It is in great shape, never had a problem other than regular maitnence problems even with 100,000 miles on it, and we just replaced the air compressor for the suspension. Does the air suspension have aftermarket shocks that I can put on it? Also are there any problems that I should keep an eye out for? Thanks in advance.

 

I thought the exp. only had rear airbags for towing.Any way
things to look out for.Let it sit for a few days and watch for the air
bags bleeding down and sagging.Look for worn or ripped bags.Check air lines.If it a factory air set up, check the sensors and make sure they function properly.Shocks are fairly universal as far as mounting operation valving ect. but when buying shocks for a air ride suspension the shocks will have a clause in there pertaining to airbags.For the most part the air ride is reliable,but the biggest problem is leaks and when it leaks the compressor may run too long and may burn up.

 

On the front and rear LLS systems, the rear has airbags, and the front has air shocks. You cannot, without doing a lot of work, change out the front shocks for aftermarket. If the shocks are bad or worn, then you need to replace them with the factory airshocks, which are pretty spendy. This setup is stock on the Navigators and an option on the Expedition. Good luck with your vehicle.

 

I've got them and they are great. Although the 1-2" that it adjusts when you stop doesn't really do much, it does get the truck lowered a little for climbing out.

AS for shocks, yes, therea re aftermarket shocks that are specificly for an Expy with rear LLS. Bilstein is the only one I know of, but I'm runnning Edelbrocks fine. Bilstein shows a different shock al together in their application guide for the rear LLS. Edelbrock is not as clear as they only state "not for 4 wheel LLS". I took a chance and am happy. My very close 2nd choice was Bilstein.

 

I have a 00 expy with the 4w LLS and i just replaced the shocks all the way around. I put in new front ford shocks, got them for $82 each from the dealer. and i got the bilstein rear LLS shocks and they are good, i bit rough, but that might be because of the hotchkis swaybars front and rear.


i got the bilsteins from truckperformance.com for $52 each on special.

 

I've heard that's just the Bilstein's. Some think they are too stiff some like them. If I had to rank my choice when I did my shocks, the Edelbrocks and Bilsteins were almost dead even. I went with Edlebrock and I'm happy. Even they are slightly firmer than the OEM's but I had the HD OEM's and was surprised that the OEM's weren't that bad. The Edlebrocks so recover much faster and cut the boady roll down a lot!

Bilsteins would the the best choice if you have a heavier application like a lot of off-roading or constant heavy towing. Edlebrock's deteriorate faster in those conditions.