I have been reading these forum Q & A for several months and I have a question about my truck that I hope can get answers. I have a 2001 SCrew 4x4 and the ride is rough, ever since day one. It is my first 4wd and thought it is suppose to be this way. But I have read alot of praises and how smooth the ride is for everyone else and the torsion bar system and wondered "What gives?". I have put new shocks(Bilsteins) all around that helped a little. I do have oversized tires( 35x12.50r-17 BFG AT's) w/o a lift kit. And yes no rubbing, no body lift, 35's do fit with only a minor cut to rear fender flare. When I drive over 30mph it becomes noticable but going over rough road is not that bad. It is just this bouncing going down a highway. This set of tires are new and balanced. I have 87000 on this truck. I was told once before that a full traction suspension lift would fix this. the torsion bars are not cranked. Can they be removed and replaced with coil springs. Thanks to anyone that has an idea or thought on this.

 

No you can't replace the torsion bars with coil springs. There is a company called Rock Krawler Suspensions that makes a lift kit that converts the front suspension to a coilover shock design, similar to the 04-05 F-150's but I doubt the ride will be any better than stock. I have heard plenty of peope say their lifted truck rides as good as stock, or almost as good as stock, but I've never heard anyone say the ride improved.

 

I really don't want to lift it, just wishing to ride was smoother. Would aftermarket torsion bars help?

 

Different shocks will give different ride characteristics. For some reason the most expensive (and most popular) shocks are typically the ones that make your truck ride like a floor jack. I no longer feel it is necessary to feel every bump and expansion joint through the frame of my truck and straight up my spine. I've put Monroe Reflex shocks on a couple different trucks and they improved the ride drastically in my opinion. The last set for my F150 cost me under $150 plus tax from the local parts house ($36-$38 each). They are slightly more expensive than the Sensa-Trac and valved differently.

 

I've wondered about the ride too, as mine ('01 SCrew 4x4) gets awfully bouncy on some roads. The shocks appeared to be okay, so I thought maybe that's just the way this truck is. I also wondered if the one forward and one rearward shocks on the rear-end had anything to do with it. Perhaps I'll look into different shocks.