Hi guys, I have a 91 F250 w/ about 79K original miles. I also believe it has all original suspension parts. Now granted, it is a 250 suspension so I know it should ride rough...but it seems like it rides really rough! My question is what suspension parts I should replace...just the shocks, or also the front coil springs?

Thanks,

Dan

 

That's really low miles, however they are 20 years old. I would definately start there. Replacing the coils won't do anything to improve your ride.

 

Thanks for the quick reply...any recommended brands, or just a stock brand?

 

You really can't beat Bilstein. If you don't want to spend that kind of $$$ I would just go with Rough Country, great price for just a basic shock absorber.

 

I would see what is worn and needs to be changed just from deteriotion check the ball joints and shocks wheels bearings all put together it will help ur ride quality my 93 F250 granted mine is the heavy duty version above 8500 lbs but just changeing my left ball joints and wheel bearings made a nice improvment in how mine rode grated mine rode rough as a tank so anything was bound to help plus I went from 35 mudders cooper stt's I had on for winter here in NE Ohio to 32's reg street tires were bound to help

 

Well yesterday I replaced the front shocks, went surprisingly easy. Autozone had buy 3 get 1 for their Gabriel shocks. Made a huge difference, will probably do the rear shocks tonight. Mine is also the above 8500lbs version - should that matter at all? I know to expect a rougher ride because of the heavier suspension.

I know ball joints take a specific tool but I am not sure about doing wheel bearings. Are these 2 things difficult? I would need to have an alignment done afterwards, correct?

Thanks guys.

-Dan

 

Wheel bearing are simple...

Step-1
Jack the wheel up, take the wheel off.

Step-2
I am assuming your truck has the wedges for the brake caliper; Remove them, and pull the caliper outta the way...

Step-3
Remove the dust cap, cotter pin, and remove the lock nut; there is a spacer behind that....

Step-4
Slide the whole rotor off, the outer wheel bearing should slide out fairly easily.....The inner bearing can be removed AFTER you remove the wheel seal....Be sure, that unless you are gonna replace it, to be VERY careful to not bend or nick it...

Step-5
Check the races (Sleeves) for excessive wear, heat, etc....If they check out, pack the new bearings...I personally like to get about a 2 tbl spoon size dab of grease, and keep pulling the bearing through it, until the new grease shows through both sides, adding more grease in my hand as neccessary....

Also, CLEAN the rotor....And the spindle...

Step-6
Add new grease to the spindle, and dab some extra in the rotor, in case you didn't get the bearings pack quite good enough...

Replace inner bearing, and gently tap the wheel seal into place. Put the outer bearing into place, slide the whole assembly back onto the spindle, it'll go so far, give it another gould push, it has a sort of "Lip" it will slide onto.....push the outer bearing as far as it will go into the assembly, and put the spacer back on, followed by the locknut, and cotter pin....

Step-7
Tighten the nut SNUGGLY to the spacer, and back it off about a 1/4-1/2 turn...The rotor should soin freely (2-3 turns)...

And then replace the dust cap, caliper, and the wheel and you're done....

Rinse and repeat on the other side....

And for the grease, it can be bought at Advance Auto, Car-Quest, etc...I like the Valvoline brand, but Coastal is decent too....And it is CLEARLY marked for use with front hubs, wheel bearings etc or not....Obviously, get the type designed for the wheel bearings...It should be blue....Kendall is a great grease too...

Best of luck,

-Wes

 

You say that " it really rides rough." Have you or a qualified mechanic checked out the shocks and other suspension parts for leakage, damage, etc.? This to me seems to be more plausible then just throwing parts at your beautiful truck. Sometimes, too much air pressure in the front and rear tires causes "rough riding" problems especially on our famous in need of repair interstates. Check your owners manual or with a tire dealer for the proper tire pressure to maintain with or without a load, then go from there. Good luck.