Ford Explorer 2006 Rought / Stiff ride - Nwe shocks ?

[Cawe]

Hello. I am an owner of Ford Explorer 2006 4.6l. Recently I have noticed that the ride has become really rough. I feel every bump even on the smooth roads. Riding above 75 mph is really unpleasant. Above that speed, on some kinds of roads, the car starts to shake. I have measured the frequency and it's literally frequencies of wheels and below them. I think the smoother the road is the worse it behaves. Tires are new, Hankook RA33 235/70R16 106 H. My mileage is 170000 miles and there are still OEM shocks. I would like to install better than the OEM, but I can't find any good comparison between models. I am also thinking between struts and just shock absorbers but for example Rancho have only shocks without coil springs. Do you have any suggestions on what I should buy to improve ride quality ?

Best Regards.

 

[94Eddie]

Recently I found that my passenger side lower ball joint needed replaced. My Mountaineer has 141k miles on it so I decided to have the strut assemblies replaced while it was in the shop with Monroe parts. A few months earlier a nagging vibration had developed when driving at highway speeds. After the work was done I couldn't believe the difference in ride quality. I think the bad lower ball joint was causing the vibration but I had no clue about how bad the general ride quality had become as the miles racked up. With new strut assemblies, the vehicle's ride is absolutely smooth and there is no vibration present at all. Since you have 170k miles on the OEM strut assemblies you should notice an even bigger difference. Also, there is a good chance there are other suspension components that are worn and need replaced. If you change the struts, I recommend going with replacing the entire assembly. Doing this reduces the labor required so the cost differential between just a strut replacement and the assembly isn't that much. Then you get the benefit of replacing possibly worn springs, rusted top plates etc. I bought my Monroe replacements from Rock Auto. They were on sale to clear them out to be replaced by a part with a newer model number. This happens a lot there and you can get really good prices when they do this. I think I paid around $200 for all four struts. Also, unless you do a good amount of off roading, buying heavy duty, more expensive struts/strut assemblies is mostly a waste of money, IMO.

 

[J_C]

How new are the tires? If this just started happening after the tire change, I would wonder if they weren't properly balanced or if the wheel weight to balance has fallen off. You can check this by rotating the tires (front to rear) to see if the vibration location changes.

Otherwise, sure replace the struts, the whole assembly as 94Eddie suggested, in case it's the strut mount or spring seat gone bad... considering the whole assembly has worn after this many years. Brands, from what I see on Rock Auto, I'd go with Motorcraft, KYB, or Monroe (probably in that order), and compare against (delivery cost included, total) cost at places like Summit Racing and Amazon.

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Whole assemblies are not too bad to DIY install, but be sure to protect your tire investment by getting a wheel alignment done after.

 

[Cawe]

Thank you for your answers. A lot of people on the internet claim that Monroe is softer than KYB. Maby Monroe will be better for my aplication.

 

[J_C]

Depends on the Monroe series, and KYB series. I don't recall which series they use on their built shock tower kits.

The first set of replacements I put on my '98 were Monroe Sensatracs, which were too soft (except for highway cruising, great at that when new) and got softer still, but I don't think Monroe even offers coverage for 2nd gen Explorers in that Sensatrac line today.

One of the Monroes (Reflex?) is a monotube that should be similar to KYB Gas-A-Just. Monroe OESpectrum are more like KYB Excel-G, though possibly a little softer, both targeting near-factory dampening that the Motorcraft have.

KYB's Monomax are more like Monroe's (Tenneco's) Rancho 5000 except the Ranchos may be softer, and may not be gas charged... seems like in some other SUV application years ago, they weren't but I don't know that as a fact for Explorers today. Edit: Okay I am remembering Rancho's old RS5000 which weren't gas charged but their newer generation RX5000X is.

 

[Cawe]

I have found what was causing my problem... Three of four tires...
I do not recommend Hankook RA33 235/70R16 106 H. Only 1600 miles...
Also one of the pressure sensor unhook from the band and was flewing freelly into the wheel.

 

[94Eddie]

Sorry to hear this. I don't think I have ever heard of three out of four new tires going bad at the same time. Hankook must have a severe quality control problem. Are they replacing them for free? Can you switch to another brand of tire?

 

[Cawe]

I have just written to them. Waiting for the response. I have replaced the Hankook with a Yokohama G015 and the ride quality is night and day. I didn t suppose that tires have so much impact on the softness of the ride. Now every small bums are suppressed. Ride is very smooth. Car is really soft and comfortable.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Wow, just wow! With only 1,600 miles I think I would have taken them back to where you bought them to see what they could do for you. I hope you get some money back because that has to be a manufacturer error.

 

[Cawe]

Update. Hankook honored the warranty and return all the money.
Refering to the talk about ride quality I have visited vehicle control station and all of my shock absorbers have around 85% of wheel contact.I still want to improve smoothness of the ride. I feel too many bumps on the road, especially the smallest ones for example on the highway.

What is really interesting. OEM shocks are mono tube, aftermarket, even KYB, are twin-tube design

What do you think about air bag struts ?

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