Rough Ride

[savage120]

I recently replaced my front shocks and the explorer still rides bumpy as hell.
the RAB's are still good, the only thing clinking around is the brake pads need anti rattle clips. Any suggestions?

 

[JStrider]

whats the pressure in your tires?

if its higher then what the door says lower it...

 

[savage120]

ok the side of the tires say max 43psi so I have about 40 psi in it now, to much you think? It just doesnt feel like the front shocks are taking the impact

 

[JStrider]

seems a bit high to me... look at the sticker on your driver side door it will have the recomended pressure for the vehicle

 

[Jason94sport]

Don't follow the sticker. Not on an Explorer. It's set way way too low. Set it at 32 cold see if it feels any better.

 

[savage120]

Thanks, I appreciate the responses! Yeah I will lover it to about 32-34 PSi

One more thing, Someone told me whe you press down on the front of the vehicle and if it bounces more than once then the shocks are bad. That is false, I just replaced the shocks last week and for the hell of it I pressed down and it bounced 2.5 times.

 

[adam45356]

my tires say 60 psi

 

[Vanquish502]

Running your tires under inflated, plus the suspension of an Explorer with just wear your tires out quickly. Keep in mind your truck isn't new, so the front coils are guaranteed to be worn out. Measure how much space there is between the bump stop and axle.


Also about shocks - that 'bounce more than once' thing theroy is faulty. Depending on the size of the bump the truck can still bounce more than once.

Also check your radius arm bushings.

 

[savage120]

The RAB are intact and the one is new. I might just get new coils. So whats the verdict, go by what the tire says or what the sticker says?

 

[94xlt4x4]

not necessarily either..my tires say 44 and the sticker on the door says (if i remember) 28..i run them at about 38..it depends on the tire and the type of driving you do..also just wanted to say hey because you're about 10 miles from me..

 

[Jason94sport]

The RAB are intact and the one is new. I might just get new coils. So whats the verdict, go by what the tire says or what the sticker says?

On Explorer's only, don't follow the door sticker. It's not right. Ford changed it with the whole tire recall thing. Some say 26 some say 28. After the recall they set it to 30, or 32.

 

[savage120]

not necessarily either..my tires say 44 and the sticker on the door says (if i remember) 28..i run them at about 38..it depends on the tire and the type of driving you do..also just wanted to say hey because you're about 10 miles from me..

Hi yeah I was up that way not to long ago up at a junkyard up there, I needed parts for my jetta.


Also My sticker does say 30psi so i set it around 34 and it feels good for now. I guess the explorers suspension setup isnt for a smooth ride!

 

[Jason94sport]

Also My sticker does say 30psi

Really? Does it look like it was always that way? My 94 says 26 My other 94 had 26 also.

 

[ExploderHOKIE]

one way you can check and see if you have too much air in the tire is get a piece of chalk and draw a nice thick line on the tread (1 1/2 or 2 in wide) and take a short trip around your neighborhood, then check the chalk line, it should be worn evenly, if the line is lighter in the center, its overinflated, and if it lighter on the outside then its underinflated

 

[JStrider]

i'm pretty sure the chalk method is only good if its a new tire, the tread on an old tire would have already worn differently, depending on the pressure it had been at previous to the chalk test

 

[savage120]

I know alot of eople who just go by the side of the tire, and they go max whatever psi. What happened here was this past winter i needed air in my tires so I put it up to 39 psi and I have never touched it since yesterday, and take notice that the hotter it is outside the more air expands, so I had way to much air in my tires.