Just recently I've noticed that the truck is riding a lot rougher. Catching every bump in the road and bucking. Is that a sign of bad shocks?

It also has a shake at around 80mph+


I think I need shocks.

 

Bad shocks typically become soft. Do a bump test to check your shocks. Simply push down on one end of the truck. If it rebounds back up quickly and firmly, your shocks are good on that end.

What kind of "shake" do you have? Keep in mind that these trucks aren't speed demons. They're bricks driving faster now than they were designed for 45 years ago. Usually anything above 70mph starts to get wobbly.

 

I'd place the blame on winter recovering roads, doesn't sound like shocks to me.


John

 

Yea usually they get soft or just plain blow out, but I've heard they can get stiff too.

I did the bounce test, it kinda comes back. Not the greatest...

Not likely the roads are getting worse, phoenix doesn't really have winter.

The shake comes on around 80. Feels like driving down a washboard road. Not bad, just not smooth.

 

Sounds like a tire problem to me. Belts starting to separate internally can cause the wierd feeling at speed. Roughness? You got a brother that might have pulled a prank on you and snuck 50 PSI of air in them?

 

That I did, and that I do.

I had a back tire shred on me a couple weeks ago. Got new ones back there and it made a huge difference. The front tires are only about 1-1/2 years old.

I'm going to go check the tire pressures again haha.

 

Well, I decided to take the shocks off and see what difference it made. Holy cow, the truck bounced all over the place and rocked back and forth with the slightest steering. Looked like I had hydraulics when I came up to a stoplight. Haha

So I put the old shocks back on and it rides good. They're not that bad after all.