Strut/Spring recommendations - possibly lower ride? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Strut/Spring recommendations - possibly lower ride?

SgKukov

Member
Joined
December 21, 2012
Messages
33
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0
City, State
CT
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003 XLT 4.0
Hey Guys,

New to the forum... just bought me an 03 Explorer 4.0 XLT AWD w/ 90k miles. Liking it so far. The transmission problems i've read about are starting to scare me but so far mine seems to shift smooth.

However it rides a little rough... no broken springs yet but it could definitely use some new front springs, i'm on the fence about the rears. Maybe i'll buy all 4, change the fronts and see how it affects things.

I'd like to get some stock replacement springs that keep the ride height the same or possibly lower it an inch or so... any recommendations?

Are the Monroes good? Is there a noticeable difference between the econo ride and the step up offering from them?

i did do a search before posting this, a few searches actually but i didn't find any conclusive spring/strut reviews, mostly people talking about how much it raised the ride or how the rears were raised more then the front with some of strut/spring combos.
 



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Hey Guys,

New to the forum... just bought me an 03 Explorer 4.0 XLT AWD w/ 90k miles. Liking it so far. The transmission problems i've read about are starting to scare me but so far mine seems to shift smooth.

However it rides a little rough... no broken springs yet but it could definitely use some new front springs, i'm on the fence about the rears. Maybe i'll buy all 4, change the fronts and see how it affects things.

I'd like to get some stock replacement springs that keep the ride height the same or possibly lower it an inch or so... any recommendations?

Are the Monroes good? Is there a noticeable difference between the econo ride and the step up offering from them?

i did do a search before posting this, a few searches actually but i didn't find any conclusive spring/strut reviews, mostly people talking about how much it raised the ride or how the rears were raised more then the front with some of strut/spring combos.

I can vouch for the Monroe quick-strut assemblies did all four corners and I'm very pleased. Their economatic line is just a cheaper version whice won't last as long, but isn't that much cheaper I think. RockAuto.com has a good selection of those struts for an excellent price.
 






Welcome aboard SgKukov!! :salute:

Both my rear springs were broken & my front struts were leaking when I bought my Ex in Feb 2010.

Now I'm running the StrutTEK's on all four corners and have nothing but good things to say about them! The ride is awesome and the price is right. I can't compare them to the original struts since they were FUBAR when I bought my Ex.

The rears were installed on 11/29/2010 & the fronts were installed on 2/20/2012.

I love them. The ride is great.

Click here to find out more about the StrutTEK Struts.

Struttek1Custom.jpg


Struttek2Custom.jpg


Here are some threads for you to check out:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=309630
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375910
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180806
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370786
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294593
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362908
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368015
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293355
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363452
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360617
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284280

Good luck. :biggthump

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!
 






Hey Rondo! Thanks for the heads up, i have to do some research on the StrutTeks.

Nice to meet a fellow Masshole, i used to live in Springfield. I moved down to Manchester CT this year.
 






Hey Rondo! Thanks for the heads up, i have to do some research on the StrutTeks.

Nice to meet a fellow Masshole, i used to live in Springfield. I moved down to Manchester CT this year.

You're welcome. It is a small world!!! :D
 






Amazon.com has cheap struts (lots of brands).......they have some new brand called Unity........55 dollars each! I wonder if they are OK ???
 






I have struts in the rear of my 03 that are blue, with black shock. What brand are these??? I have original fronts, springs are ok. I probably wouldn't hurt from a new strut/spring change (133,000). Is it best to keep brands or does it matter ?
 






Any struts on amazon or eBay that are abnormally cheap with an unknown brand are the cheapo-China-products. My experience with them was sub-par (not the same kind of coils, too stiff, wouldn't compress under load, lower quality materials, etc)
 


















I have a 2005 explorer with 225k miles with original struts, they seem okay but i do have a shimmy doing 70mph i had new tires mounted and balanced and it hasn't gone away. My question is has anyone eliminated a shake/shimmy in there explorer by swapping out the struts?
 






I have a 2005 explorer with 225k miles with original struts, they seem okay but i do have a shimmy doing 70mph i had new tires mounted and balanced and it hasn't gone away. My question is has anyone eliminated a shake/shimmy in there explorer by swapping out the struts?

Have you had an alignment?
 






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