One would be suprised by how different shocks affect the same suspension. My previous 4x4, a 91 Explorer, handled horribly with the shocks I bought it with, Monroe Sensatracs. They were meant for a smooth on-road ride. When I switched to some Bilstein's, the ride was much rougher, but it felt a lot more stable off-road then with the Monroe's. Believe me, you don't want your rig bouncing up and down along a trail...

 

I want to get some different shock's . Hav'nt decided on Bilstein's or Edlebrock IAS. The heavy duty (so called) shock that came with it will jar your teeth loose if you hit a pot hole. Here in Wisconsin winter's they are really common.

When I first looked at my skid's I was embarrassed to tell anyone I had them for fear they would want to look underneath see them.I agree they are probably fine for normal use but I would'nt want to rely on them for any heavy off-roading.

 

Yeah, I agree. But if you think about it, that's not what our trucks were designed for. They can 4 wheel really well, but for rock crawling and extreme 4-wheeling, the Jeep is the norm. Still wouldn't trade my Ford for anything else though...

 

If it's just the shocks and tires, then that's what it takes. All I know is there is definitely a difference in how the trucks handle, especially when not on paved roads. My '99 has 16" rims and the '01 has 17s. As far as I can tell, the bigger rims just means more clearance. I don't see it helping the handling all that much.

I replaced the shocks on my '99 last year and that made a big difference. The funny thing is, now that the '99 is decent offroad, I'm selling it.

After spending months reading the forums, I decided to go with Rancho. The Edelbrock IAS shocks, are proboably better, but they seem to have a fairly high failure rate.

After installing the new shocks, there wasn't all that much difference on paved roads except when going over bridge joints, speed bumps, pot holes, etc. Offroad, there's no comparison.

So, if you don't like the way your truck handles bumps, give serious thought to changing your shocks.

 

Here's mine:

 

ASICgod

I think you just helped me make my mind up on which color to get.

 

ASICgod,
Nice looking truck!!! I really like the FX4 rim's. I have a set sitting in my basement. I have the 17" ten spoke sport rim's on right now
with a set of 265/70/17 BFG AT/KO's. Even though the tire's are the same size as stock they really make it look more agressive with the square shoulder.As soon as BFG put's out an 285/70/17 I will put those on my factory rim's. Glad to see another WI. guy on here.

Dennis,
What model rancho's did you get on your other truck ? I also heard alot of failing when it comes to the IAS shock's that's why I'm skeptical about them . Anything good or bad about Bilstein's ?

2001screw 4.6,
Are you going to do it for sure ? If I knew the front end of the f150 was going to look like the expedition pic's floating around here I would trade to a 2002 myself. Don't like the new look . It's
good looking for the suv crowd I guess But I want a truck with chrome steel bumper's,not plastic cladding.

Later...Mike

 

I hadn't heard that. I installed a set of them last night. They make the truck feel a lot less top heavy. They also smooth out some of the real bone jarring bumps.

I had a set on my last truck... never had any problems.

Check out www.desertrat.com or a company that matches prices - they are only $240 a set.

 

KKirt1,
Did they make a big improvement over the stock ride ? My HD shock's are killer when you hit severe bumps' or pothole's.
I heard a few complaint's here about the edlebrock's, but You can get some bad one's with whatever you buy. The stories I've read would'nt keep me from buying them though.

Did you put them on yourself ? How difficult was it ? I think the back's should be fairly easy , it's the front's that I would be worried about. Do you have any part number's ? I know your running big tire's,did you get the stock size or did you have to go bigger ?

Later...Mike

I see you live in MO. Do they use salt on the road's down there ?
Do you run your Atlas rim's all year & how are they to keep clean?

Sorry about all the ?'s

 

 

Did they make a big improvement over the stock ride ? I would say a resounding yes! Much more stable around corners and when hitting one of the many thousands of Missouri potholes... a much smoother ride.

Did you put them on yourself ? Yes, the fronts required the front a-arms to be fully exteded. Also, the shocks are pressurized so their normal state is extended. The first set I put on were a bitch! It was almost impossible to compress the shock with one hand while putting the bolt through the other. This time I left the packing strap on until I had the bottom bolt through then cut the strap. Much easier.

Do you have any part number's ? Not off hand. 3125 and 4125 I think.

I know your running big tire's,did you get the stock size or did you have to go bigger ? It is my understanding that different shocks are only needed for lifted trucks.

 

I'm really bad about these things. Anything under the truck, I let somebody else do it. I'll have to dig up the paperwork on it. All I did was, after making my decision on brand, went down to the local offroad shop and told them what the problem was and that I wanted Rancho shocks. They knew what I needed. Whatever model they installed, it was a vast improvement over the stock shocks. I'll post it when I get a chance to dig around for it.