Bouncing Suspension

[albeegood]

I have an 98 ford explorer sport 4.0 SOHC and my question is what can I do to my truck so it doesn't bounce so much, I'm thinking on changing the 1 leaf spring suspension with a more stiffer one. Is there one from another vehicle that will fit. Thank You

 

[koda2000]

replace your shock absorbers.

 

[SoNic67]

^+1
I would recommend KYB gas-a-just ones because they are cost effective monotubes (better than the regular dual-tube design), but... price is something that you should judge.

 

[koda2000]

I also recommend the KYB Gas-A-Just shocks.

 

[Blue91Ex]

Changing to a 4 leaf pack from a 4 door explorer o something similar will only make the ride stuff, but still bouncy if not moreso. Your truck needs shocks like Koda said, they are what keep the truck from bouncing after hitting a bump, they are the long tube shaped parts on the suspension next to the springs. Also much cheaper and easier to replace.

 

[XLTrunner]

Ride quality is highly subjective. Some like a softer ride...others, like a firm ride. Another brand of shocks to consider are the Gabriel Maxx Controls. I did as much research as I could stand on using Monroe Sensa-Tracs or KYB Gas-A-Just. What's frustrating is, for every person who likes a particular shock, there's someone else who doesn't. After weighing all the opinions, the overall consensus seemed to be the Monroes didn't last and were too soft. KYB's were too firm. Gabriels were ranked in the middle for ride quality. So, I took a chance and installed the Gabriels and it made a big difference in ride quality. But, make no mistake...it will never ride like a big car. Time will tell how long they last...

 

[ranger7ltr]

If your truck is a road warrior...

Like mine I use my Explorer Sport 100% on the road...I use KYB GR-1 shocks and still have the mono leaf spring...I kinda like the ride on the highway and the stability is very nice...

I can't tell you what the off-road would be like though...I have never taken my Ex off-road in the last 7 years that I have had it...

 

[J_C]

Easiest way to make it less bouncy is put a load (weight) in the back. Shocks do make a big difference but it's still going to ride like a short, leaf springed vehicle without some weight to get rid of the initial leaf spring travel. I'm not suggesting to do that, only that it is what it is.

 

[SoNic67]

After weighing all the opinions, the overall consensus seemed to be the Monroes didn't last and were too soft. KYB's were too firm. Gabriels were ranked in the middle for ride quality. So, I took a chance and installed the Gabriels and it made a big difference in ride quality. But, make no mistake...it will never ride like a big car. Time will tell how long they last...

I had bought Monroes Sensatrac with the deal "buy 3, get 4th free". Rears lasted 2 weeks before I took them off, ride was worse than it was with the old ones (soft, like a boat, rear not controlled). Installed KYB Gas-A-Just and the 5th damper and made a sensible difference. Fronts followed when I had more money and time (a year) and at that time, one of them was blown already (no pressure to oppose movement).

Now I have KYB Gas-A-Just and they are very good for highway driving, not harsh, KYB rep told me they have 30% more damping than the OE - that's perfect because IMO the OE damping was too soft to begin.
KYB has another level of monotubes, MonoMax and those have stronger damping, similar with Bilsteins (both have 46mm diameter). I was told by KYB rep that MonoMax have 50% more damping than OE, better for off-roading.
When I did my research I corresponded with Gabriel and I almost bought their monotubes (mentioned above) MaxControl. At that time I had read several bad reviews and I decided not to chance it. Right now I see that they offer MaxControl V2.0, so something was iffy I suppose.

Anyway, any monotube shock will provide a better ride than a dual-tube (that was the OE) and definitely any shock will be better than the 15 year old shocks in our trucks. Reaction time and progressive action added by the high-pressure nitrogen cannot be matched my any multistage mechanical valving.
As for the positional two-stage provided by Sensatrac, I think that even Monroe gave up on that technology, it just doesn't work as good as newer solutions.

But nothing will change the fact that our trucks are just that... top-heavy trucks, with a fairly short base (at least not so short as a Jeep), with not so modern suspension (torsion bars and leafs).

 

[matthurd]

iv'e got a 98 5.0 , personally i like a very stiff suspension, but i'm very happy with my set up, almost no bounce and almost no nose dive on hard breaking. the ride doesn't seem harsh to me. warrior shackles in the back, with leaf spring helpers, and monroe sensatracs.

the leaf spring helpérs made a huge difference. the front is just torsion twisted and sensatracs. keep in mind my leaf springs were sagging when i bought the truck 3 years ago, so my set up may not work for you as well as it did for me.

 

[koda2000]

If the OP's issue is with "bouncing" any shock will be a huge improvement, as he apparently effectively has no shocks to control his suspension. As I said earlier, I like the KYB Gas-A-Just's, but there are less expensive (and more expensive) shocks on the market. He'll have to decide for himself.

 

[J_C]

I too had a sagging rear end, about 1/2" more on the left side too. I put Monroe load adjust on and it completely cleared up the sag, now about 1/4" above level, and instantaneously I noticed the difference...

MORE bouncy, particularly on bumps in the road. It used to have regular Monroe Sensa-Tracs with about 40K mi. on them. The increase in bounciness reminded me of how it was when newer before the leaf springs started sagging. In both cases a load makes the ride a lot smoother.

On the other hand it sways a lot less on turns and makes fewer bounces on each event before settling down. I should mention that around here every road is nothing but hills, curves, and bumps. It rides fine on highways and is settling down to a less bouncy ride compared to when I first installed them.

Overall I do consider it an improvement that is getting better as it ages, though I've only had them on for a few (single-digit) thousands of miles so far but I don't put that many miles on my X these days (currently around 100K mi.) so with the roads the way they are, they're hard miles on the suspension.

I have KYB Gas-A-Just montubes on the front. Perfect, almost, might have benefited even more from the KYB Monomax (Higher dampening). Much better than the Rancho 5000's I had on my last SUV and I couldn't bring myself to spend the kind of money Bilstein wants on a 17 yo vehicle. Some "might" feel they are too harsh for a 2WD vehicle but I have 4WD.