rear suspension

[vincent]

thinking of getting rid of the self levelling suspension and installing some normal shock absorbers and lifting the rear of me explorer with add a leaf or recambered springs just wondered if anyone else has done this and did it work well. also can I loose the 3rd shock absorber on the rear end or will it cause problems. cheers for any advice

 

[tenny]

well.......its totally your decision, if you want to lift it, then lift it....

i would personally lift the **** out of it...hahaha (but thats just me)

how is the ride with the factory air ride...???? do you like the ride???

alot of times lifting the truck will stiffin the ride a bit....

 

[janolsson]

How much lift do you want??
Kev p is gonna make some 2" lift shackles if he get 3 orders ( see the thread a couple down) you can then raise the front by the sam as the rear by doing the torsion twist, just turn a couple of bolts!!

If that is not enough then you should look at the superlift kit but that is $$$$$.
As for the 3rd shock some have removed this with no adverse affects but you would need the dampers on the rear to be a whole lot stiffer. you can get a new 3rd shock from Monroe, if you search 3rd shock and the user name jcasey you should get the part number. If you need new air shocks, Monroe also do these at a fraction of the cost of oem (you can get the Monroe stuff from Rockauto.com)
HTH
Jan

 

[vincent]

me brothers just give me a brand new 3inch add a leaf kit (for a jeep Cherokee) and ive got some old chevy blazer leaf springs knocking about so gonna do a bit of a home brew lift on the explorer and see how it goes.

 

[tenny]

me brothers just give me a brand new 3inch add a leaf kit (for a jeep Cherokee) and ive got some old chevy blazer leaf springs knocking about so gonna do a bit of a home brew lift on the explorer and see how it goes.

what you gonna do about the front....????

look to see what set of torsion bars you have...
it will determine how much lift you can get from a TT....

if you have a 5.0 then you have the "A" which is the strongest
and ive the most lift..

let us know how it goes

 

[ihpj]

I disconnected my ARC soon after I got her as this system appears far too finicky. As she has never towed (and never will) I switched mine off and she's been fine (been switched off maybe 2 years?).

My plan is to replace the entire system with Bilstien shocks, specifically:

Front Shocks (2) Bilstein HD F4-B46-2133-H0 (24-021333)
Rear Shocks #(2) Bilstein HD F4-B46-2134-H0 (24-021340)
Axle-wrap # # (1) Bilstein HD F4-B36-2135-H0 (24-021357)

Full set avail. for $360 (£200'ish) which I will bring back when I return from the US.

If you are going to replace your shocks, I would suggest going with standard as they're much less complicated and easier to get hold of especially if you're buying in the UK (I wouldn't discount importing from the US as with shipping and duty they might work out cheaper than buying in the UK).

 

[Sparkey]

Rear Lift Springs Available

Hi Vincent,

Still looking to lift your rear end?

Just got a 2000 North face that has rear spring lift, as I tow and the back
end is now at the limit of my twin axle jockey wheel - I'm thinking of going
back to stock springs - so if you fancy a swap could sort us both out!

I'm only down the road in Worcs

 

[vincent]

hey sparkey I had some more leaves put into my rear springs by a company called jones springs in darlaston so know the explorer sits slightly higher then standard il try and get some pictures up so you can see the difference. How high has yours been lifted over standard

 

[blofeld69]

Did you replace your rear air levelling shocks? How did it go cos I wanna do the same...

Thanks

 

[vincent]

hi I just been using the explorer at the moment with the air shocks switched off it seems to ride ok, probibily gonna swop em for normal shocks in the future

 

[vincent]

also the spring place have added slightly more curve to the passenger side spring so know the car sits level

 

[ihpj]

Did you replace your rear air levelling shocks? How did it go cos I wanna do the same...

Thanks

I'm off to the USA in next couple of days, so have just bought them (ordered a full set of Bilstiens) and they should be waiting for me with by the time I arrive back home - then its the journey back and finding time to fit them

...so a little while yet; I don't anticipate any issues fitting them (aside from rusty bolts!).

 

[blofeld69]

I'm off to the USA in next couple of days, so have just bought them (ordered a full set of Bilstiens) and they should be waiting for me with by the time I arrive back home - then its the journey back and finding time to fit them

...so a little while yet; I don't anticipate any issues fitting them (aside from rusty bolts!).

These ones?
Front Shocks (2) Bilstein HD F4-B46-2133-H0 (24-021333)
Rear Shocks (2) Bilstein HD F4-B46-2134-H0 (24-021340)
Axle-wrap (1) Bilstein HD F4-B36-2135-H0 (24-021357)

I would like the slightly longer ones, I think the 5125 series 11" for the rear
maybe this part number ...
11"TRVL OFF-RD ZINCVAL 255/70,EXT 28.01/COL 17.0

46mm Monotube Shock Absorber Part Number: 33-104652 Old Part Number: F4-BE5-A465-H7;F4-BE5-A465-H8 Setting: 5100 Series Drive Type: 4WD Position: Rear Descriptor: Rear Lifted Height: 2-2.5" Quantity Per Vehicle: 2 *Collapsed Length (IN): 17.01 *Extended Length (IN): 28.00 *Collapsed Length (MM): 432.0 *Extended Length (MM): 711.2 Finish: Zinc...

 

[ihpj]

Yup, I'm deliberately keeping mine stock (in terms of height and load) so the F4s are my pick. They seem to get excellent reviews and plus they come with a limited lifetime warranty if bought in the USA.

 

[blofeld69]

monroe

well I bought Monroe because I just couldnt get Bilstein where I am in eastern europe. At least they are all black which suits my Black edition

I also put 2" shackles on not the warrior ones but true 2" lift ones.

The back end seems to be very bouncy, I guess thats because the leafs are soft on self levelling rear air versions? Should I do an add a leaf to stiffen it up? The truck is like a rocking horse going over bumps....