I have a 2007 Expedition with rear air suspension that has been feeling pretty rough and I am thinking that I need at least new shocks, if not new shocks and airbags.

I have been thinking about converting to springs, but I am worried that it will affect my towing. I tow a 32 foot travel trailer once every couple of months. I noticed that the air springs help level out the truck when hooked up, and I use my stabilizer bars as well. Will the conversion to coil springs be able to handle the same weight?

What about the ride, is the ride any worse with coil springs compared to the air springs?

 

You'll get a ton of opinions on this. Most will say the ride is similar and sagging is minimal.

However, I specifically sourced a truck with air ride and spent more than I wanted replacing the compressor, shocks and bags. (I knew there were issues going in and at 185k miles wasnt surprised). It's worth it to me. My truck comes up an inch before releveling when I unhook my car trailer, and handled the load really well. While still riding amazing. Will you be ok without it? Probably. Many people are towing just fine without it. If your current system is iin bad shape, it will most certainly seem better.

But air ride is just that much better.

 

No basis of comparison, but mine is fine with coil springs and sumo coil spacers. My camper is 36’ end to end with about 1,000 lbs of tongue weight.

it rides fine, but as I said I don’t have any basis for comparison

 

What did you end up going with for the shocks and bags?

 

Ford/Motorcraft is the only option for rear airbag shocks. I got westar brand bags off ebay. Look for my post about this in the forum for more details.

 

What about something like this?
Suncore Industries - Rear Left Air Strut Assembly with Solenoid Valve 2007-2016 Navigator & Expedition

 

I considered suncore bags, but I called and asked some questions and they didnt have answers...notable what's the difference between the standard and hd bags. Gave me no faith in their product and also found several complaints about their service when there was a problem. Wasnt a good choice for me, but I've seen folks use them no problem.

 

My left rear is squeaking now getting in and out of the truck, so gonna need to do this sooner rather than later. I wonder if this O-ring kit, or something like it would work if I just wanted to replace the shocks? 382 Piece O-Ring Assortment (harborfreight.com)

 

are you sure it's the shocks?

And I doubt that kit will have what you need. That said the orings that came with my bags weren't an exact match either.