Ok, finally got my trackbar and steering dampener replaced and got the truck in for an alignment and two new tires. Next two tires come next month.

While looking at the suspension the mechanic said I probably need to replace my shocks soon (assuming I still have OEM shocks at 126,500...). On one hand, he may be right. On the other hand, he's also a salesman... He said my right front tire had some uneven wear on the inside which he said was caused by bad shocks. (My alignment was dead on.)

So, does that add up, and what do you guys recommend? He recommended napa's premium shocks at $89 each, and said I would need four. Also said he could install all four for $125. Does that sound reasonable? How hard is it to install shocks? Something I can do myself in a couple hours with a torque wrench that goes up to 80ft/lbs and a good mechanics jack and an air gun? Anyone have pics of the install?

I know I have two in the front... Are there two in the rear also, or four in the front? I know the rear has leaf springs, but I'm assuming it also has shocks?

 

check ur knuckle bushing right by the outer tie rod area. it's just inside the wheel. if the rubber bushing is cracked or torn or leaking, then it can cause uneven tire wear as well. most of the time, tats usually the culprit. i've had to change out a bunch of them.

i do have pics of that install. check out my gallery. also, i used the bilstein 5100 racing series shocks all around. they're fantastic. lifetime warranty. i've also changed my front coil springs out as well. also went with the matching bilstein coil springs which leveled my truck by adding a couple of inches, but the new shocks already add about 4 inches, but when the truck sits on them, it's about a couple of inches all around height increase.

the rear has shocks as well. i paid a good bit for my shocks. about $389 for the front coil springs and front shocks, and another 200 odd bucks for just the rear shocks. i think they work out to be about 130 bucks per shock. i could be wrong, but check out shockwarehouse.com and ask for ross edwards. he was the one who took care of my order. good guy.

air gun just makes the whole job a lot easier. it'll be better if ur torque wrench goes to 150 ft lbs, but u can go to harbor freight and get their digital torque wrench attachment tat goes to 150 ft lbs for about $20 to $30. i think. i could be wrong.

i'm currently looking at a trackbar tats completely redesigned and severely upgraded over our original design. baja customs makes it. it's called the tracinator. i like the design in the blueprint, and it costs a pretty penny too. bout 700 bucks. oh well. it's in my shopping list. lol.

 

if the knuckle bushings are worn out, then u'll have to replace the part for that section. unfortunately, ford does not make them parts with zerg fittings. however, i believe Moog might. u might want to go to rockauto.com or summit racing's website to check it out. they may have tat. dont quote me on tat.

some folks like the whole re-greasable thing. me? i've already replaced passenger side outer tie rod end, passenger side outer drag link, inner drag link, and i've also had to replace the steering dampener like u did.

i learnt a cool trick though. the drag link is what adjusts the steering wheel. turn it in 1/8 of a turn in either direction until u figure out which direction u need to go to reset ur steering wheel back to level. lol.

 

Thanks, Dom! So swapping out shocks myself is totally doable huh? I guess I need to learn a lot more about the parts in the front suspension, cause I'm not sure what all that stuff means. I bet wikipedia has a drawing... :-)

 

Yes. If u need more details, send me an email to snuggyworm@att.net and here's my cell. 832-715-0693. Call me or text me. No worries. No question is a stupid one. Even at 10pm no prob. If I don't answer right away, leave me a voicemail or text. I'll do my best to reply ASAP.

 

Thanks man!

 

I don't think shocks would cause uneven wear. Excessive wear on the inside could be sloppy ball joints resulting in too much negative camber. If they did the alignment with the vehicle in the air and no weight on the tires, that won't show up.

 

Ur welcome. I agree too. When I had my inside wall on the passenger tire go out, it was my outer drag link and passenger side outer tie rod end that went out. Then again, I have a 4wd model. Annoying design on the Ford.

 

Check the rubber seals on the tie rod ends and outer drag link. If they're worn, u will have to replace them as well.

 

The rear shocks are so easy and there is not really any thing more to the front ones
at that. I would bet that you don't even get one bear done in the change out.
It may even take more time to get your wrenches out.

Sean

 

Thanks y'all... cartmanea, they had the truck on a lift, but it was a drive-on lift so the weight was on the wheels.

The front end feels really solid now. No more shaking and vibrating like I had before. Nothing else feels out of place to me.

Snuggy, that rubber bushing you talked about... can you give me more details on what that would be? I do have a bushing on the inside of each of my wheels which feels like plastic or stiff rubber. It's popped out of place on both sides. In another thread on had asking about them, somebody described them as dust seals and said they don't matter if they hang, as long as I'm not driving through lakes all the time. Is that what you're referring to? I hope not, cause they look like they'd be a nightmare to get at, cause the entire wheel and all the u-joints and everything would have to come off to get at them...

 

dave,

here below is a pic from my album of a busted seal on the outer tie rod & outer drag link. imagine looking at it from the front of ur car at the passenger side wheel.



on this pic below here is the one which i replaced with new parts. u will see the difference.



note: if any of the seals look torn or busted or leaking, then it's definitely best to change it out with a new part. if not, it will affect the steering. i noticed a difference in mine when i switched out the old one for the new one. world of difference.

hope this helps.

 

Awesome, thanks Dom! Yeah, that's not what I was referring to in my other thread. That doesn't look like it'd be too bad to replace. My hope is that the since the dealer was just under there looking at the suspension (and we all know how they like to replace ANYTHING they can justify) everything else is good to go... But I'll definitely do my own inspection when I get back from the trip I'm about to embark on. "Quick" 5 hour run up and over the continental divide to Manitou Springs with a load of tractor parts for our ranch up there, followed by a couple days of vacation time and picking up my "new" '03 F-350 for my lodge property.

Here's the truck and trailer this morning as we're getting ready to leave:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

 

Nice. Since u got Facebook like i got, would u like to add me? I got block from adding so u will have to send me request. Lol. My name is Dominic khoo. I think u can find me like that.

 

Just added you, Dom! Nice cover pic!