What kind of shocks are people using?

[IronMike]

Hi! Out riding around and enjoying my rebuilt (from a nasty accident ) and have what I think is a shock vibration. It's a '97 and they appear to be stock shocks! I'm wondering what brands people are partial too and what about Rancho's? The truck is stock (for now) but am adding a MAC intake in the next couple of weeks. Thanks in advance for any info! ~IronMike

 

[TheJMan]

I've got Monroe Reflex shocks on mine. They really smoothed out the ride, and softened it up a bit. I really like them a lot because they are not too stiff, yet not too soft, either.

 

[sk1er17]

Are you going for an offroad set-up or street?

 

[Billy177]

i love my ranchos now the car dosent lean as much when you turn and some of my tools dont go flying up in the air when i go over a speed bump anymore

 

[sk1er17]

I run Rancho 9000X... waste of money because i dont use the adjusting feature.

If i had to do it again id get the Rancho 5000's .. just put them on my friends 97 sport and they ride awesome...

 

[IronMike]

Re: Shocks

I'm leaning towards the Rancho 5000's as i've had pretty good luck with them with other 4x4's. I'm mostly doing straight over-the-road commuting but every now and then will go off roading due to the occasional police-helicopter-chase ~IronMike

 

[XGRUNT]

I see alot of guys recommending the Rancho 5000's, How stiff are they? I use my truck for a daily driver over lots of curvy mountain roads most days and I do some light wheeling on the weekends (We do alot of sightseeing down washboard dirt roads also) I've been thinking about going with the 9000's for the adjustment but the 5000's are way cheaper...

 

[BBQ_HotDogs]

The truck is stock (for now) but am adding a MAC intake in the next couple of weeks.

If you want quality shocks, go to www.explorerexpress.com or call them and ask for John V and get you a set of Edelbrock Shocks, you will pay a little more for them, but you will be glad you did.

HotDogs

 

[Alec]

Originally posted by BBQ_HotDogs
The truck is stock (for now) but am adding a MAC intake in the next couple of weeks.

If you want quality shocks, go to www.explorerexpress.com or call them and ask for John V and get you a set of Edelbrock Shocks, you will pay a little more for them, but you will be glad you did.

HotDogs

Except they often crap out after 2 years and Edelbrock doesn't honor the warrantee.

I usually recommend Gabriel VST on the cheap end, or Rancho 9000.

 

[Flounder]

Rancho 5000s are stiff shocks. If you ran stock and then switch to 5000s, you're going to know you're riding in a truck-based SUV.

I had 5000s on the '96 for off-roading purposes. If you will only see the unpaved path 1 out of 365 days per year, I recommend using a softer shock. Your body will thank you.

 

[410Fortune]

A monroe sensa trac is not far off from a 5000, Monroe makes Rancho last time I checked.
The 5000's are typically thought of as too stiff, but we dont know if that is because people who buy them have lifted trucks and you can use softer shocks from time to time with many lift kits.

I had the Monroe's and they rode excellent, also replaced with lifetime warranty, they lasted me 3 years I think (Lift)

Try searching these forums, there are alot of shock talk threads going on.....

 

[EBInterceptor]

I went with the Rancho RSX's....I wouldn't say too stiff...I like the ride, long distance though the bumps get annoying at first but then you get use to it. I would recommend them.

 

[Bill Kemp]

Monroe Reflex ...

 

[nissanboy]

what size Ranchos are you guys using? do you have a part number for them. I got a 2" shackle lift with a 2" TT ready to be done and want to get the most flex out of the setup that i can and dont want the shocks limiting me. What size should i order?

 

[21robbie21]

is it hard to install shocks yourself? or can anybody do it?how much do those rancho 5000 cost?

 

[EBInterceptor]

Truckaddons.com has a set of 4 for like $160 I believe. I got the RSX's from there for $203.96 and because it was over $200, the shipping and everything was free. No tax, no shipping...and a decent price too. I installed my own. For my first time it took 7 hours, but that was with a decent amount of drinking and several trips to the store...the first of each (front and rear) are the hardest, but then after you figure out how to do it it was really easy....After we spent all the time figuring out how to do it the next shock would take maybe at most 10 min. Another thing that takes some time is finding the right sizes that you need. We ended up heating up the nuts on the rear shocks to get them off. That took quite some time to finally decide to do that. I would recommend doing it yourself if you have the time.....oh...and another thing....if you shocks have the boots on them....that took a long time to get those on....I probably should have heated those up too to soften them, but hindsight is 20/20.

 

[21robbie21]

thanks dude that info is great!!!!!

 

[EBInterceptor]

You're welcome...my friend and I did it will all hand tools even though there was rust. When you're taking off the bolts, you can place a wrench on the other side, and when you're wrenching on it, it will spin around and butt up against something so you can focus all your energy on one side. For mine, on the rears it spun around and braced against a rubber bumber, and the fronts also braced against something but I don't remember what. Another thing, is that with the driver's side rear, there was some unit that it in the way of the upper bolts, but if you unbolt the unit, it will give you some more space.

 

[21robbie21]

again thanks a lot, now i just have to buy them!

 

[nissanboy]

so what size shocks did you end up getting? Do you have any problems with them topping or bottoming out?