Automatic Air Ride

[JJCollett]

I have been looking for an alternative for the factory replacement Air Ride shocks on my 96 Explorer LTD.

Just found that Monroe is now making them. In stock at partsauthority.com for $159 each. Still alot but better than $250.

Monroe # 4005 Front
#4006 R.Rear
#4007 L.Rear

Have not installed yet but hoping for a much better ride.

 

[liquidx9]

are you sure those are stock replacements?

 

[JJCollett]

Supposed to be stock replacements. New product for Monroe. I will be getting mine next week and we shall see.

 

[JJCollett]

Just installed these shocks. Had no idea how bad my factory shocks had gotten after 95,000 miles.

These are considered replacements by Monroe although the do not include the electronic valving, only the load control portion of the factory shock. I am not sure how much benefit the electronic valving was when the car was new. Just unplug the wiring from the old shock and put a piece of tape over the remaining connector.

Anyway this has cured that sideways rocking and made the Explored feel much more stable. The leveling feature works just like always and there are no air ride messages on the console computer.

 

[liquidx9]

hows your ride height look? mine has always been kinda low compared to other ex's.. im either going to go this route or swap out my air ride... on another note, how difficult was it to remove your air ride shocks? thanks man

 

[BLKLTDV8]

I'm a newbie here, but have been on various boards over the years. I've been watching this thread because my wife's Limited has bad (leaking) rear shocks and I wanted to know how you made out with these new Monroe's. What about the ride quality? I'll be replacing just the rears first, do you think there'll be a problem? I'm half tempted to ditch the air ride anyway, I don't tow and wouldn't mind if the X sat a little lower. Any input would be appreciated. BTW, Limited's are supposed to be 1" lower than a regular X in normal ride mode and 1-2" higher in off-road mode from the info I've accumulated.

 

[JJCollett]

My old shocks still had good air bags, they just didn't ride well. So the ride height is unchanged from the old shocks. The ride quality has improved drastically.

As far as installation, no bigger deal than changing regular shocks, just need a jack and some stands or a lift. The air fittings are push to remove and the electric connectors just unplug.

 

[liquidx9]

good to hear man, thank you for the info

 

[BLKLTDV8]

Yea man, thanks for the great info. It's good to know we have a choice now if we want to keep the air. I think I'll have to crawl under there this weekend with my sudsy water and try to pinpoint my leak. (If it doesn't rain...again) It would really tick me off if it was a connection or a line leaking instead of a shock. Been there done that with a Mark VII I had a few years back. Thanks again for the input.