Replacement of KYB Shocks

[Efebert]

Folk,

Replacing all 4 shocks on my 1997 Explorer XLT and had purchase a pair of KYB GR-2 for the rear and a pair of KYB gas-a-just for the front. Is there any issue with put different shock on front than rear. I thought of putting the gas-a-just mono-shocks on the front due to engine weight. Any opinions out there?

 

[koda2000]

I find the KYB Gas-a-Just's to be an excellent street-use shock. The most important thing is to replace the left and right side shocks at the same time. Front and rears can be different, as the front and rear of the vehicle respond differently anyway, but i would personally stick with the same shock unless i was adding something like Monroe Load Levers to the rear to prop up sagging springs (or to increase carrying capability).

 

[Efebert]

I find the KYB Gas-a-Just's to be an excellent street-use shock. The most important thing is to replace the left and right side shocks at the same time. Front and rears can be different, as the front and rear of the vehicle respond differently anyway, but i would personally stick with the same shock unless i was adding something like Monroe Load Levers to the rear to prop up sagging springs (or to increase carrying capability).

Do you for see a sagging issue if I use KYB gas-a-just in the front and KYB GR 2 in the rear? I will be replacing them as a pair "left and right".

 

[1992fordgreen]

I used gas-a-just all around and they do fine.

 

[koda2000]

Do you for see a sagging issue if I use KYB gas-a-just in the front and KYB GR 2 in the rear? I will be replacing them as a pair "left and right".

regular shocks have no effect on ride height. many explorer's tend to experience sagging (aka "the gangsta lean") believed to be caused by age and the extra weight of the fuel tank, battery and driver being all on the left side of the vehicle. shocks with external helper springs can help this condition. they will also give extra support for heavy loads and during towing, but can put extra stress on the, somewhat weak, rear x-member.

i don't see a problem with mixing Gas-a-Just's on the front and GR 2's in the rear, but curious as to your logic. and don't forget about the "5th shock".

 

[colintrax]

regular shocks have no effect on ride height. many explorer's tend to experience sagging (aka "the gangsta lean") believed to be caused by age and the extra weight of the fuel tank, battery and driver being all on the left side of the vehicle. shocks with external helper springs can help this condition. they will also give extra support for heavy loads and during towing, but can put extra stress on the, somewhat weak, rear x-member.

I don't think the cross member is an issue. Remember explorers did come with air shocks from the factory

 

[swshawaii]

I don't think the cross member is an issue. Remember explorers did come with air shocks from the factory

Ditto. Of the MANY people that have installed Monroe 58617 load adjust
rear shocks w/ springs, I have NEVER heard of a single cross member failure.

 

[chefduane]

I put on Monroe Sensa-Trac 37122's on the front, and Load Adjuster coil-over 58617's on the rear of my 98 XLT 4x4 about 6 months ago. Could not be happier. I did have the "Exploder Sag" and the Load Adjusters gave me about 1-1/2" back. Rides/handles nice. UCA/Ball Joints are next.

Chef Duane

 

[Efebert]

regular shocks have no effect on ride height. many explorer's tend to experience sagging (aka "the gangsta lean") believed to be caused by age and the extra weight of the fuel tank, battery and driver being all on the left side of the vehicle. shocks with external helper springs can help this condition. they will also give extra support for heavy loads and during towing, but can put extra stress on the, somewhat weak, rear x-member.

i don't see a problem with mixing Gas-a-Just's on the front and GR 2's in the rear, but curious as to your logic. and don't forget about the "5th shock".

So I am have a limited budget this month and was needing to get shocks on the explorer asap. I thought that the most weight is in the front of the vehicle(engine) and the front shocks seem to wear out sooner than back. So my thoughts were to put the monotube shocks which are a better quality shock in the front and twintubes in the rear. This may be way off thinking this way but I will see.

 

[swshawaii]

So I am have a limited budget this month and was needing to get shocks on the explorer asap. I thought that the most weight is in the front of the vehicle(engine) and the front shocks seem to wear out sooner than back. So my thoughts were to put the monotube shocks which are a better quality shock in the front and twintubes in the rear. This may be way off thinking this way but I will see.

Another thing to consider is the 2-door Sports short wheelbase contributes to a rougher ride. Using "firmer"
shock such as Bilstein, Rancho, Koni, KYB, etc. may not be ideal for street ride comfort, monotube or not.

 

[koda2000]

Another thing to consider is the 2-door Sports short wheelbase contributes to a rougher ride. Using "firmer"
shock such as Bilstein, Rancho, Koni, KYB, etc. may not be ideal for street ride comfort, monotube or not.

i suppose this may be true of some of the aftermarket shocks (and i don't have any 2-dr's) but i don't find the KYB's to be any harsher than the OE's on my 4-dr. i ended up putting a cheap set of Gabriels on the front of my AWD recently, because the mounting bolts broke off during axle seal replacement and my daughter didn't have the money for anything better at the time., they seem to be working ok for now. i think they were around $20 each from the local auto parts store.

to the OP, if you are thinking of going with the KYB's, there much cheaper from RockAuto and we get a 5% discount.