Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
Can someone tell me what that 3rd shock is on the rear end? Mine is sqeaking and needs to be replaced. It is located at the center of the rear end,like a stabilizer or something.
Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year. Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,. Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!.
I agree, I had trouble controlling my rearend when going around corners at speed while hitting potholes. (love those massachusetts roads) Was like trying to drive a dolphin down the road straight, until I replaced this.
Took mine off before the winter and haven't noticed any difference. If it's an off-road truck, leave it off.. better articulation. If it's a DD or street truck, find a nice one like Turdle posted. Monroe I've heard good things about, just haven't tried them. [I use Rancho]
Anyone have a pic of this installed? For whatever reason I do not remember seeing it when doing leaf springs, shocks, rear axle fluid & cover, etc etc... Turdle thanks for posting link to the shock part at Amazon. Have been finding some great buys there for Ford parts, MOOG parts, etc.
Just from what has been talked about on certain threads & various forums, I don't have any proof for myself on it. I could be wrong, but in my case I didn't notice any difference with it removed. [Don't know about articulation though.]
Helps a bit with axle windup too, think about it, when you accelerate the whole rear end wants to turn in the direction of the driveshaft, trying to lift one wheel off the ground a bit and the shock is there to limit that. Gives a tiny bit more traction to your rear end..
Also, limits to some extent lateral -side to side rear sway motion due to the the leaf springs. I'm thinking it may make the difference in an evasive maneuver where it damps the the lateral motion of the body giving you a bit more control.
I believe Ford put it in to kill the vibration issues from the rear that people were reporting. I don't think this shock will change anything when it comes to windup, but side to side it probably helps. I doubt it, but does your rear axle have traction bars? The V8 explorer's come with them.
For fun I removed the original one with 140,000 miles on it and drove around for a week while the replacement shipped. Handling was worse without then with the old one. By hand, the old shock still had some resistance too. With it off, the major problem was the way it would skip through turns. It would get scary hitting uneven road in the middle of a turn.
The replacement shock (posted above) was well worth the $25 and 10 minutes to install. It greatly improved handling, especially in turns. Don't believe the hype, fix it!
My Explorer never had one, to my knowledge. I'm trying to remember from a month or so ago when I was under there installing my locker, but I don't think it even has mounts or anything for it.
Mine has been off for years and I have noticed NO difference,
When I first removed it, I tested it with it off for a week, reinastalled and tested for a week. There was NO difference I could detect in any way.
Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year. Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,. Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!.
