Air ride to standard shock question

[twisted52970]

I have a '97 Eddie Bauer edition AWD V8 explorer and need new front shocks............Can I replace the EXTREMELY expensive front air ride shocks with standard shocks without everything going haywire? I can't bare the thought of paying almost $300 each for new front air ride shocks when I can get a great set for around $70 each

 

[Kainon]

from the research I've done, I'm in the same boat, except all 4 of mine were gone when purchased and didn't have a clue about this problem. just thought the vehicle sit a little low. hmf.

So.. you can go with Monroe's but even with the switch off.. I still get a "ride control Off" msg everytime I start.. and have to hit the reset.

and I guess with the aftermarket ones the shocks only fill when in 4x4 mode ? yea..

the ride stinks with the shocks the pre-po or 2 put on, regular shocks.

1 install different torsion bar upfront and diff leaf's in back ?
2 install correct shocks and get the system working ?
3 install air shocks and still have a dis-functional system.

( just bought less than 3k miles ago, too many miles for warranty, lemon law etc.. replaced transfer case with a 98k one, and it has tensioner tick when cold )

Sell the POS and get some other POS.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Sell the truck?!?

People swap the air ride shocks to regular ones all the time...

CLICK

 

[RomeovilleIL]

People swap the air ride shocks to regular ones all the time...

Second that. Put on regular shocks and have a nice ride.

Disconnect the air pump & associated wiring to avoid running down your battery or getting constant warning messages.

 

[twisted52970]

How do I replace the air ride with regular shocks?

What all has to be done to replace the front air ride to regular front shocks and how will it affect the ride? ...........Do I need to do anything special? Or just unhook the airlines and replace with regular shocks?

 

[Joe Dirt]

Check above link... I was adding it when you asked...

 

[twisted52970]

Thanks a lot but my rear air ride shocks are still good.....What do I need to do to replace the fronts with regular shocks

 

[Kainon]

twisted, my ride height is not what it should be with non-air aftermarket shocks.

the front torsion bar and rear leafs are softer to compensate for the air shocks,

it rides rough and low barely any suspension movement at all when going over bumps

and hits the front lower area when going into a driveway that has a steep incline.

 

[twisted52970]

Thanks a lot Kainon, I'm glad I went aheadd and bought the air ride shocks instead of doing a conversion then....I have 20 inch wheels with 275/50/20 tires and already have a problem with the fronts scrubbing the fender well when I go onto a steep incline driveway. I actually need to increase the ride height about an inch to stop it..Do you know if there is a way to increase pressure to the system to raise the ride height any?

 

[Kainon]

Hi,

Your welcome, glad to hear it worked out.

I do not know how you could increase the pressure,

Except thinking about it, if you could find out where the ride hight is
and trick it into thinking its lower that what its supposed to be, then it might bump the pressure.

did you do factory shocks ? or aftermarkets ?

So does the ARC complain about the aftermarkets ?

 

[twisted52970]

I went with aftermarkets from O'reilys and they have the same ride and feel as the factory air ride shocks for less than half the price . Ford quoted me $205 each and I got the aftermarkets for $91 each

 

[twisted52970]

Ride height question

I didn't realize it until I changed my rims and tires, but my ride height has always been lower with either set of rims and tires than other Eddie Bauer explorers of the same comparable years....I traded my stock rims and tires to an older lady that didn't like hers sitting so high on 20 inch rims and when we finished the swap, hers still sat higher than mine but not as high as it did
Any ideas on why my ride height is lower than the others ?

 

[Anime]

Different spring rates, higher miles, more worn suspension, deteriorating body mounts, heavier body, more cargo, different options (A/C, auto/manual tranny, etc.)

More often than not the 2WDs were lower than the 4WDs, and the ones that came with 235/75R15s sat lower than those that came with 255/70R16s.

If you want to increase the ride height, do the torsion twist/shackle mod.
You can get universal shackles at the parts store, or Warrior/James Duff shackles that lift 1/4-1" instead of the WAR153s that lift more.