At what mileage did you replace your shocks? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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At what mileage did you replace your shocks?

spotdog14

Well-Known Member
Joined
December 10, 2002
Messages
341
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City, State
East Lansing, MI
Year, Model & Trim Level
'02 XLT
We have a 2002 XLT Sport that has about 125,000 miles on it. At what point did you change your shocks and did it make much different in the ride quality?

With our 95 when I changed the shocks it was like night and day difference, but with the new IRS in the 02 I am not sure if it is worth the expense if it will not improve the ride quality very much. Its the wifes Explorer and she has not complained or anything but I know its getting to be about that time to service them.

Also what shocks do you recommend for a 99% on road vehicle?
 



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i changed mine at 89K (when i bought the truck) and i got a set of KYB struts(they are struts on the AWIS 3rd and 4th gen's), i reccomend them as exceptional struts for both on and off-road use.
 






I'm replacing mine today & tomorrow with 111,000 on the truck. At around 90,000 miles the started to sound like donkeys (hehaw) , but they still passed the good old bounce / rebound test.

I'm adding a spacer lift and I got my hands on one of the last sets of Rancho RSX's made, we'll see how it ends up.
 






Keep in mind a lot of blown out shocks will pass the rebound test. I just replaced mine last night , and they passed with flying (non bouncing) colors. When I took them off, I could push them down with one finger, there was nothing left. Ride is of course important, but the most important thing is keeping the tires on the road during bumpy stretches of road. Night and day difference on my Ex. If you have 125k, they need to be replaced for safety if nothing else...
 






Replaced mine at around 144k with Bilstein HD's. Huuuuuuge difference. I feel like I can take highway exit ramps at 75 now without falling over :p. Totally recommend them.
 






Still have the originals with 116K, they are shot, I can feel it. Its on my pre-summer punch list.

I was looking at the Monroe Sensa-Trac for the back and not sure for the front.
 






Bob- I've only got a day of driving on mine, but I had the Monroe Sensa-Tracs on my Old Ex, they were decent. This time I put the Monroe Reflex shocks on, (virtually the same price) and I think they're a little bit better SUV shock. I got mine through Rock Auto for something like $35-$38 per shock. I also got the axle dampener shock while I was at it.
 






I'm fairly certain mine are bad at just under 80k.

Keep in mind a lot of blown out shocks will pass the rebound test. I just replaced mine last night , and they passed with flying (non bouncing) colors. When I took them off, I could push them down with one finger, there was nothing left. Ride is of course important, but the most important thing is keeping the tires on the road during bumpy stretches of road. Night and day difference on my Ex. If you have 125k, they need to be replaced for safety if nothing else...


Joe,
Just yesterday I was braking down a hill and hit a bunch of potholes. This triggered the ABS and I was not able to stop my car before the stop sign. Think that may have something to do with the shocks?
 






I have 20" wheels on my 02 with 94k on it, I feel every bump in the road, I did replace the tires a few hundred miles ago, slight improvement but still not as smooth as I would like, any recommendation on what shocks that will hopefully improve the ride?
 






I'm fairly certain mine are bad at just under 80k.




Joe,
Just yesterday I was braking down a hill and hit a bunch of potholes. This triggered the ABS and I was not able to stop my car before the stop sign. Think that may have something to do with the shocks?

It could, basically if your shocks are cooked, they will not re-contact the road as quickly as they should after compression (bump), and it could give a "slipping" read to the ABS sensor either on the spinning in the air, or when the tire momentarily grabs when it touches pavement again when coming back down. My ex-Ex did the same thing with ABS sometimes, and shocks solved that problem for me.

For that particular pothole situation though, sometimes the ABS system will just do that, since you have slipping, etc. inherent in that type of situation. That's probably one of the situations where non-ABS would be nice...
 






Monroe Stuff

Bob- I've only got a day of driving on mine, but I had the Monroe Sensa-Tracs on my Old Ex, they were decent. This time I put the Monroe Reflex shocks on, (virtually the same price) and I think they're a little bit better SUV shock. I got mine through Rock Auto for something like $35-$38 per shock. I also got the axle dampener shock while I was at it.

I want the Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting shocks for the back. I always have it loaded down with tools and stuff and its starting to sag a bit. I'm thinking these might fix it. And the Truck rated Sensa-Track for the front.

sensatrac_loadadjust.jpg
 






Ah ok- I had just the regular Sensa Tracs... I do like these Reflex shocks though. Anyone looking for a regular load scale shock- I give them a thumbs up. (for now!) :)
 






I didnt even think of that pothole issue being related to the shocks *Face Palms*

Shocks are def. on my todo list in the next few months, mine doesnt bounce, but im sure they deff. wouldnt hurt to replace :D
 






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