Bumpy ride

[RockyLewis2009]

My 98' Explorer feels like your riding in a wagon with wooden wheels. Ive replaced my shocks, had the front end rebuilt (upper/lower ball joints), and replaced shocks with top of the line shocks but its so rough when im on anything remotely rough. Any suggestions to what my problem may be?

Thanks!

 

[gsx220]

i think the 2nd gens are just rough riders mine is the same way riding in my 2nd gen and our 3rd gen is like night and day

 

[contrail]

2nd gen is notorious for being rough. the double wishbone has way better handling than twin I beam though. just not much suspension travel :/

 

[toypaseo]

What tires are you using?

When I went to Michelin LTX M/S from Goodyear Wrangler RT/S, my ride improved ALOT.

 

[eXcali]

If you went with top of the line shocks this could also be part of it. In my experience, the more expensive shocks are a ton tighter. I just put on a pair of $20 Gabriel guardians a couple of hours ago and my ride is much smoother.

Also if you use cheap tires you will see more transfer of energy from the road to your suspension. I'm running 2 BFG AT TA KO's up front and an AT peerless in rear till I have $250 to finish BFG all around.

 

[Bill Kemp]

IMHO no matter what you do the ride of a 2nd gen. X is never gonna be smooth.
You are always going to have to have a top on your coffee cup or you'll be wearing the coffee.
Shocks can make a difference but IMO not enough to notice.

You gotta be Ford Tough!!!

 

[parad1mg]

mine never really rode rough back when it was stock.. it had the oem shocks on it along with michelin ltx m/s tiresm stock sway bars..

The ride went from smooth stcok to hard/sportier ride after i got ranchos, bfg ta ko's, stiffer sway bars, mild tt and custom rear shackles. but imo, i like it better that way.. just a little bit of interior rattle when going over rough roads at highway speeds..

 

[mikepier]

My 99 XLT has Michelin Cross Terrains and Monroe Sensa-Trac shocks, and its probably the smoothest its going to be.

Just an FYI, back in 2000 during the Firestone fiasco, the only tires available to replace the Firestones on my truck were the General Grabber AP's. They were the 108S load rating, which made my truck ride like a dump truck. Check to see what load rating your tires are, they should be 105S for size P235/75R15.
Needless to say, I got rid of my Generals 2 years later and got Michelins. I was able to get $100 for the set of 4 Generals that were still decent.