Which shocks do you guys prefer? Rancho, Edlebrock, or has anyone tried the Explorer Pro Comp shocks?

bilsteins :)

Gabriel VST shocks. They work great in all situations, and they're inexpensive.

I have edelbrocks....excellent customer service...I had a slight problem and had the new parts in 3 days no cost or questions asked

I have the Gabriel VST's on and I love 'em. Can't beat 'em for the price either. $20 each at Pep Boys.

i have the monroe reflex shocks. they're great for me.

What did you guys do about the small shock absorber that does between the body and the rear axle.

I swapped out my OEM shocks for Edelbrocks. I was hoping that would eliminate the outrageous amount of body sway. As I was installing them I found that small shock (or dampener) and realized this would be the most important element in reducing body sway.

Nobody seems to make a replacement one.

Any thoughts on this????

Thanks,

Rod

Most people on this site just leave the stock 5th shock or remove it. The anti-sway bar and normal shocks are much more important than the 5th shock.

BTW, welcome to the site!

Originally posted by Alec
Gabriel VST shocks. They work great in all situations, and they're inexpensive.

They worked great for me for the 1st 6 months, then I got pissed off at them after having them for less than 1.5 years & replaced them with Bilsteins. I noticed the difference immediately, and I still notice the difference. It drives better than new right now.

The Discount Auto Parts guy tried to deny my warranty claim on my Gabriels since he said that they are still good, until I asked if I could put them on his vehicle and let him drive on them for a week. He shut up & told me to run to the main store in Jackson, MS since they actually had the replacements in stock. I guess that they either sucks on my Mountaineer or that that Mississippi roads are hard on everything.

After reading about the edelbrocks and seeing them perform on a friends truck, I'd say I would go with Edelbrocks based upon the Million Mile Warranty and the IAS system.

Why would you not get Bilsteins? It was the best modification I have made. They also have a lifetime of the warranty. Get them and you will be more than amazed.

I wish I had gone with my instinct and installed bilstiens on my '96 XLT. But I made the mistake of talking to a guy that runs an Off-Road shop and he said to go with Edelbrocks because he had never heard anybody complain about them so he felt it was the surer bet.

Having said all that, I'm still not sure that back and forth swaying (not body roll-athough there is a lot of that) will be cured by shocks alone. I think it needs a rear swaybar.

Somewhere I read that the 'add-a-leaf' springs are the culprit and that replacing them makes the most improvement to that sloopy ride.

Rod

I replace my stocks with Gabriel VST's on my `96 and they made no noticable difference at all. Who knows, maybe my stocks were in better shape than I thought, but I would check out Bilstein's or Edelbrocks.

Monroe Reflex here.... great for me also!

Originally posted by jjue


I guess that they either sucks on my Mountaineer or that that Mississippi roads are hard on everything.

I'm not saying they suck, i've never had a pair, i have some rancho's on the way. BUT being that i am from Biloxi, MS, MISSISSIPPI roads BLOW! They are hard on everything.

What's the model number of the Bilsteins that you guys are running? I have about six more months to let the crappy Michigan roads beat up on my Monroes and then I want to try some new shocks.

peace

Mike

i put bilsteins on the 96 and 97.also had them on my old
93 that my sister drives now.love them on all.

I had the Gabriel VST gas shocks on the explorer. I had to take em off though. The gabriels caused a lot of vibration at higher speeds.. They were a good stiff offroad shock though. (for stock veicles)

ASP84

What kind of shock do you have now? The reason I ask is that I'm also trying to compare shocks. I'm leaning on to Bilstein also.:bounce:

I replaced mine with Monroe Refelex. A little bit better than the stock but I wanted more.:shoot:

Bilsteins for sure. The difference between a 4WD Ranger Edge, and my FX4 is amazing.

--Sean

I have edelbrocks and would do it a second time.;)

Originally posted by DuaneD
I have edelbrocks and would do it a second time.;)
I second that!

dont get the sensa tracs they are harsh as heck! firm and very controlled no sway but stiff as heck

I have edelbrocks on mine and they're great. Haven't used any other shocks yet, so I can't compare them to other shocks but I think ANY aftermarket shocks would be a big improvement over the stock ones! I've heard good things about the bilsteins and monroe reflex shocks too.

GET BILSTEIN!!!

They are absolutely worth it!!!!

--mark

i need new shocks too and the gabriel VST's are most cost worthy but there isnt a pep boys here, so is there any other place that carries those brand of shocks?

i just ordered some old man emu shocks that are made for 1.5" of lift for the explorer. heck, if they're made in austrailia for the outback, you know they're tough :)

This is all my experienced opinion, but:

best inexpensive shock for explorer= Gabriel VST
best hi-line shock for explorer= Bilstein

I have experience with VSTs on Explorers and they were good shocks for the money...well let me put it this way, the $30 Gabriels could hang with the $70 Edelbrocks any day of the week.

As you can see by my sig I currently have Edelbrocks, and they are ok, but imo not worth their expensive price tag. One of my Ed's had a leaky O-ring within a week of installing, and I see by reading this thread I am not the only person to have to warranty out an Edelbrock shock. Seems like if you are paying $60-70 a shock, quality problems should be rare rare. But I will say this, Edelbrock gave me no problems and sent me a replacement FAST.

Still, next time around I will probably buy a set of Bil's.

Bilsteins used to be the ticket for all the offroad baja type racers. I used to have a V.W. beetle, and got all the proformance mags, and bilsteins were the offroaders choice, and konis were the ticket for onroad.

:us: Running Rancho RS 5000's on my 96' with real good results both on and off road (approx. 50K miles on this set). Ive got 2" and 2.5 " of lift front/rear with the torsion bars torqued and add-a-leaf on. Shocks cost about $180 for a set of four and are readily available.

I'm considering RS 9000's or Edelbrocks for the next set.
Good Luck:)

I dont know where that guy paid $180, Desert Rat sells a set of 4 Rancho 5000's for $147 no shipping charge. I have had them for 3 weeks now and just completed a trip to KY and love them. For a shock comparo check out the latest Petersons 4 wheel off road. They compared a wide range of shocks.

well i got my old man emu shocks today and installed them. they're pretty nice. heavy as anything, and are tough. going on bouncy roads where i usually had to slow down a lot in order to keep the bouncing to a minimum is no more with these shocks. i wouldn't be able to compare them to anything other than the stock shocks though.... because that's what i had before, but they're a heck of a lot better than stockers. those aussies know what they're doing :D