Round 2 - Rear Shocks

[MNgopher]

Looks like this is going to be a recurring problem. Several reports of members on this site with leaking shocks at lower miles, and now I get to do them again...

Found the right rear shock leaking oil badly when I swapped the winter tires off and put the summer tires on last april at just shy of 45k miles.

Was out doing this years swap of winters back to summers, and the replacement right rear is leaking badly again... fluid runs all the way down the body. Not dripping on the floor yet, but still. Less than 1 year in use and just shy of 14k miles this time.

Replacing under the Motorcraft warranty this time, but that covers only the one that blew, and I pay for shipping the return part back since I bought online (RockAuto).

This is going to be annoying... Really simple to swap on and off, but annoying. And options outside of Motorcraft are still very limited.

 

[SClark08]

I feel this pain. I have multiple requests in with Bilstein and Fox to develop an aftermarket solution for 6th Gens. The Explorer ranked as the #1 selling SUV in North America in 2020. Add to that the blue fleet... they could make a lot of money off of it.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Sucks there is literally zero options.

 

[Pedro504]

I replaced the stock shocks on my Platinum a year ago because they were leaking. I installed the PIU version.
This year when I took off the Blizzaks they both looked good. No leaks whatsoever
I put 8,800 miles on them.

 

[SClark08]

Our first answer. Did we really expect a different outcome?

 

[2020FordRaptor]

On the ST side of things, a lot of us have reached out to the major companies and all got the generic response.

 

[SClark08]

As an added data point, my car is 1.5 years old with 16,050 miles on it. My front and rear are both doing fine (no weeping to note). It could be that the Motorcraft "cop shocks" (standard for the hybrid and Timberline) are more robust than the other models'.

I'll track down some potholes, railroad crossings, and curbs, drive over them unceremoniously, and report back.

 

[SClark08]

Cheers

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I had my rears replaced at roughly 18K miles on my 21 and hope this isn't a trend but judging on this thread... could very well be but does appear that Bilstein will have an option too

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Cheers

View attachment 463786

That would be awesome.

 

[themishmosh]

As an added data point, my car is 1.5 years old with 16,050 miles on it. My front and rear are both doing fine (no weeping to note). It could be that the Motorcraft "cop shocks" (standard for the hybrid and Timberline) are more robust than the other models'.

I'll track down some potholes, railroad crossings, and curbs, drive over them unceremoniously, and report back.

I'm guessing the same about PIU rear shocks. I would use those over stock rears in a heartbeat. Bet the ride wouldn't be much harsher either. And they are cheap and easy to install. Not holding my breath for Bilstein. Will they be coming out with a replacement for base Explorer struts/shocks or ST equivalents. My bet is base.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

I'm guessing the same about PIU rear shocks. I would use those over stock rears in a heartbeat. Bet the ride wouldn't be much harsher either. And they are cheap and easy to install. Not holding my breath for Bilstein. Will they be coming out with a replacement for base Explorer struts/shocks or ST equivalents. My bet is base.

Yeah that’s what I’m going to email them now about.