Lewa1200
Member
- Joined
- September 8, 2012
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Ohio
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Mercury Mountaineer
Hey guys, just had a couple questions about my 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. edit: AWD
I recently replaced all of the ball joints myself with the exception of the upper passenger (should I change this one? it wasnt as bad as the lowers and the upper driver's side, so i neglected changing it...). Seeing as I have to get an alignment...I thought about saving some money down the road and going ahead to replace all of my shocks (they are all stock) as well.
The suv has 82,000 miles on it. No major sagging, no leaks, the shocks arent too bad. It's just that I anticipate them going bad above 100K miles--just trying to be proactive here. I don't haul big loads of anything (at all--my suv is empty 95% of the time) and will never tow. I dont offroad either. My mounty is basically a commuter I use to get to and from college.
That being said, I wanted to get the best shocks suited to my needs. The suv vibrates uncomfortably at highway speeds over 60mph and I wanted to fix that. Preferably a shock that is not going to foster a terribly hard ride--something that would dampen vibrations a bunch and make for smooth driving. (and I don't expect new shocks to make it drive like a BMW, I just want the smoothest possible SUV experience).
-Autozone told me to get Gabriel Ultras --but after researching, I've found that this is a very hard shock and doesn't last very long.
-Car review sites and Amazon really recommend Rancho RS5000's. These look like they're really high quality stuff, but they're geared toward on/off road capability. I dont want to compromise comfort for the offroad feature I'll never use. **Big plus to buying these: buy 3 get 1 free rebate on amazon.
-Some people on this forum recommend Monroe Sensa-trac's. There's also KYB, Bilstein (these are a little pricey), Gabriel ProGuard. So many dang choices.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Should I even be changing the shocks at 82K miles?
I recently replaced all of the ball joints myself with the exception of the upper passenger (should I change this one? it wasnt as bad as the lowers and the upper driver's side, so i neglected changing it...). Seeing as I have to get an alignment...I thought about saving some money down the road and going ahead to replace all of my shocks (they are all stock) as well.
The suv has 82,000 miles on it. No major sagging, no leaks, the shocks arent too bad. It's just that I anticipate them going bad above 100K miles--just trying to be proactive here. I don't haul big loads of anything (at all--my suv is empty 95% of the time) and will never tow. I dont offroad either. My mounty is basically a commuter I use to get to and from college.
That being said, I wanted to get the best shocks suited to my needs. The suv vibrates uncomfortably at highway speeds over 60mph and I wanted to fix that. Preferably a shock that is not going to foster a terribly hard ride--something that would dampen vibrations a bunch and make for smooth driving. (and I don't expect new shocks to make it drive like a BMW, I just want the smoothest possible SUV experience).
-Autozone told me to get Gabriel Ultras --but after researching, I've found that this is a very hard shock and doesn't last very long.
-Car review sites and Amazon really recommend Rancho RS5000's. These look like they're really high quality stuff, but they're geared toward on/off road capability. I dont want to compromise comfort for the offroad feature I'll never use. **Big plus to buying these: buy 3 get 1 free rebate on amazon.
-Some people on this forum recommend Monroe Sensa-trac's. There's also KYB, Bilstein (these are a little pricey), Gabriel ProGuard. So many dang choices.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Should I even be changing the shocks at 82K miles?
