What is UP with the suspension on these things?

[jagarundi]

:fire: I have a 98 AWD XLT. I recently changed ALL 4 SHOCKS due to the TERRIBLE ride these things have. When going over the SLIGHTEST bump, it's a bone jarring experience. I'm afraid to take corners going over 10 mph because when it hits bumps, it moves. I've changed the shocks, so why is the ride still so damn hard? I'm afraid to let my wife drive it because if it hits a bump, it might THROW HER! HELP!!

 

[Texplorer]

Welcome to one of the drawbacks of owning an Explorer. Your new shocks might be to stiff, try some ofter shocks or some adjustable ones where you can set it where you like it. It also dosent help where your living, nothing short or a baja suspension is gonna soften these potholes and road cracks.

 

[X~FACTOR]

Which shocks did you replace them with? Also, check your tire pressure. I find there is a big difference in ride quality between 35 psi and 30 psi.

 

[jagarundi]

Well that's a MIGHTY BIG drawback, would you say? I mean, I feel like somebody kicked my azz after I get out of my truck! Why is it that I feel EVERY crack, peeble or bump in the road? Is this how these trucks were MEANT to be? What kind of shocks are out there that can be adjusted? Air shocks? Who makes some good ones that I can purchase without taking out a second mortgage?

 

[jagarundi]

Which shocks did you replace them with? Also, check your tire pressure. I find there is a big difference in ride quality between 35 psi and 30 psi.

X, I replaced them with some Monroe's from Autozone. My tire pressure currently is 30 - 34psi in each tire. What's optimum to help soften my ride?

 

[X~FACTOR]

Monroe Sensa-Trac or Reflex should be "soft" enough. 30 psi should be just fine although your mpg might suffer a bit. To tell you the truth, after a while, you'll just gonna end up having to just "live with it". The ride quality, I mean. That's just how the Explorer ride. If you get a chance take a ride at somebody else's 2nd gen Explorer to see if your truck has the same stiffness and bone jarring experience.

 

[OneShotBandit]

Texplorer is right on the money. If you'd read Consumer Reports you'd know that they complained about (on the Exlporers): the AC (not good-weak), gas mileage (poor) & the ride (too stiff as the X is truck frame based). Matter of fact CR complains about the ride quality on ALL ladder framed (truck type) SUV's, Yuppie basta*ds love the car based mdl's!

Virgil

 

[410Fortune]

OKay I hear you complaining about the stiff ride of the truck, but it seems to me that you think something is wrong with it. I mean these guys say the Explorer is just a rought riding truck, which it is, but I am asking does your truck seem abnormally stiff?

You might want to check the bushings on the front and rear sway bars, also take a look at your torshion bar damoers or whatever they are called.

There is a difference between driving a truck and driving a truck that has worn out suspension...throwing $$$ at it (new shocks) is not going to solve the problem.

Do you think your Explorer has an excessive rough ride? or are you just getting used to driving a truck?

 

[Goober]

Throw a stiff suspension lift on and 32" BFG KO's on and see how rough the ride can really be..LOL

 

[410Fortune]

I had a stiff suspension on my truck for a few years I HATED IT
I had:
Duff 3" VR coils with a F-150 spring seat (1-5/8" coil spacer)
Duff 70/30 shocks
Explorer leafs with short and long add a leafs

WOW did it ride like CRAP!
Of course I didnt know it rode like crap until I ditched all that stuff.

Now I have:
Skyjacker 6" coils
Skyjacker 4" leaf springs
Rancho 9000's

And the flippin truck rides better then any car I have owned on road with the sway bars connected and like a dream off road with the shocks on soft, sway bars disco'ed and the tires aired down....

 

[ToneDog]

If you do a search on me you will see that I have often complained about the ride harshness in my '98.

I used to live in Brooklyn also and know what you mean Jagarundi.

Is your '98 a 4dr or a 2dr? The sports are a little harsh'r due to a shorter wheel base.

What tires do you have on it? some tires have harder side walls and can contribute to your ride as well as a higher load rating.

Maybe you might want to try an adjustable shock like to fellas said above. Ranchos make an adjustable model (9000's), they have 9 positions and can go from really soft like an old caddy bouncin' all over and really hard like an RX-7 (sporty) Something like this might help you dial in a setting that fits you best, seeing that you are sensitive to ny's fine (ha) roads!

Hopefully you can find something that you can live with.

I must say I have riden in my friends Yukon and my girls sisters Grand Cherokee and all I have to say is don't accept rides from anyone in those trucks because they ride 10X better than ours. These trucks have a relativley simialr suspension to ours and I can't for the life of me accept the "it's a truck dude" comments that I get when I post on this subject.

Now if you were talking about my girls 2004 XLT, I would say yes a very different setup is contributing to the ride difference. But really we should atleast be somewhere in the realm of a yukon or a grand cherokee.

It's funny, sometimes I don't think it's the suspension components as much as the design. Try this one, the suspension on our rides is so sensitive that if someone lightly kicks on one of the front tires you can feel it in the cabin, at your feet and sometimes even in the steering wheel. So would'nt you expect to feel even the slightest crack or pothole when driving?

It's like there is no dampening between the tires and the interior (seat,pedals,steering wheel). No blocking of any road condition, disturbance, or shock that the tire might get before it makes it to your butt, feet or hands. Something those other vechicles with relativley similar suspensions (also "trucks") don't experience.

ToneDog

 

[EricM]

What kind of tires are on it now? On my '98 EB, new shocks improved things a little - mainly the rocking motions over bigger bumps more than the ride over sharp bumps. But getting rid of the Firestones improved things a lot.

People always say that's just how trucks ride, but that X never rode as good as my truck (a 2000 F-150). The F-150 soaks up potholes that would've had my old X bouncing off the road.

 

[Rhett]

I must say I have riden in my friends Yukon and my girls sisters Grand Cherokee and all I have to say is don't accept rides from anyone in those trucks because they ride 10X better than ours. These trucks have a relativley simialr suspension to ours and I can't for the life of me accept the "it's a truck dude" comments that I get when I post on this subject.
ToneDog

Yukons generally have a longer wheelbase; Grand Cherokees are unibody. That's why Grands will ride 10x better. It's also their undoing..hehehe

As has been said many times here, you 2nd gen owners trucks ride like caddy's compared to 1st gen trucks.

 

[Majisto]

Seriously, what do you expect it to ride like? I think my 2nd Gen. Explorer is quite nice on the highway, and I like the bounciness around town. I just move with the vehicle when it hits a bump, and I have never had a problem. That "moving" around turns is because the suspension does not take yaw movements very well. No suspension does. It's the problem with having a front sway bar. I got used to it, and I think the Explorer turns VERY well. Much easier to drive than our Taurus and my friend's Accord.

You sound like you expect this thing to ride like a Lincoln, and that just isn't going to happen. Some people just can't handle SUVs. They aren't cut out for it. Yelling at it and us will not make it any better. Sell it if you really don't like it, but don't blame Ford for the suspension. They use what every other truck-based SUV uses. I love my suspension setup. 127K miles now and I am all stock components. You do that with a uni-body SUV and see how long until you start snapping control arms and tearing up the sub-frame.

 

[BBQ_HotDogs]

My 98 rides real smooth. I wonder if it has anything to do with yours being a AWD?

 

[ToneDog]

Yukons generally have a longer wheelbase; Grand Cherokees are unibody. That's why Grands will ride 10x better. It's also their undoing..hehehe

As has been said many times here, you 2nd gen owners trucks ride like caddy's compared to 1st gen trucks.

Good Info on the Yukon and the Grans C.

FYI, I was the owner of a '91 sport for 4 years before the '98 and the improvment in ride quality is minimal in my opinion. My girls '04 XLT is where the ride difference has really changed.

So, now: my brother owns my '91 Sport
I own my '98 Sport
My girl just reurned her 2001 sport for the '04 XLT

I get to ride all of them often enough that I can honestly make the statement above.

Tonedog

 

[ToneDog]

Seriously, what do you expect it to ride like? I think my 2nd Gen. Explorer is quite nice on the highway, and I like the bounciness around town. I just move with the vehicle when it hits a bump, and I have never had a problem. That "moving" around turns is because the suspension does not take yaw movements very well. No suspension does. It's the problem with having a front sway bar. I got used to it, and I think the Explorer turns VERY well. Much easier to drive than our Taurus and my friend's Accord.

You sound like you expect this thing to ride like a Lincoln, and that just isn't going to happen. Some people just can't handle SUVs. They aren't cut out for it. Yelling at it and us will not make it any better. Sell it if you really don't like it, but don't blame Ford for the suspension. They use what every other truck-based SUV uses. I love my suspension setup. 127K miles now and I am all stock components. You do that with a uni-body SUV and see how long until you start snapping control arms and tearing up the sub-frame.

M~

It's not about the bounce we're talking about here. We are talking harshness in ride quality.

You are the type of person I was talking about in my original post in regards to "if you can't handle it ect... ect..."

Check out my first post again carefully and you should see what I am talking about.

Tonedog

 

[bhults]

This all sounds to me like it's in the perception of the driver. When I first got my 95 EB, I thought it was a little weird to drive having come from a sports car. And I also thought the ride quality wasn't too hot...I remember thinking when I first drove it: "I thought this was an Eddie Bauer." Now I know that has nothing to do with the ride qualtiy. I put on Rancho 5000's, did a double AAL and TT, and just put my 32's on...and even so I think the ride is good. Have I gotten used to it? The AAL's certainly didn't help matters, but I think for the way the truck is set up it provides an adequate ride, though my mom thinks it's "rough." Around town might be a bit stiff, but on the highway I think it rides great--Just as good as my parents STS, IMO.

 

[Hartman]

Being lowered, I can't really give an accurate opinion, and I don't really remember what the ride was like when I was at stock height. After riding in friends Exs, I think that the Explorer front suspension has a lot of droop but not a lot of rebound, meaning that it will "fall" down into a pothole but is hesitant to come back up in the normal position after. This makes it a little stiff.

 

[FDNYEMT]

its a truck not a corvette.