I picked up some Monroe Sensatrak shocks tonight and put em on.

The front of my truck still bounces if you jump on the bumper.

(always thought that was 'bad')

And my OEM shocks I removed are still stiff, and nearly as resistant as these new ones I got.

I took it for a drive, and the new ones take some of the waterbed feeling out of the ride, but she still doesn't handle like she's on rails

Not that I was expecting that.. I just was not expecting the front end to fail the bounce test.

Also was expecting the OEM ones to be really squishy, but after 125k miles, the things are like new.

I've removed some off of cars before that just fell up or down, due to gravity

 

A lot of the not feeling like it's on a rail anymore is the idiot at the alignment shop. You cannot set a FORD anything back to spec. without replacing EVERYTHING and expect it to work. I have had this problem in ever Ford we ever owned. We just add or remove a few degrees of camber and/or toe-in and it handles like new.

 

How many times does it bounce? Maybe try a stiffer shock.

 

The sensatracs are for cars, they arn't really for heavy trucks because they are not stiff enough. You'd want the reflex shocks if u were going with monroe's.

 

Sounds like the old shock were still good, so you won't be able to tell much difference at all. You want "Rail" handling, do a complete Polyurathane installation. I thought most Mustang's had pretty tight suspension off the show room floor. I've owned a '66, '67 and '68 Mustang. The latter purchased new, a 428 CJ with GT 500 body style, similar to the California Special, came out of a Shelby-American Dealer in '68. It was just about the best handling car I ever owned.

 

Many styls of gas shocks allow the "bounce" that indicates a blown shock with the old style hydraulic-only shocks.

 

pfogle, you may have a good point there. I need to learn more about it.

When I got my truck aligned, I took it to a shop that loved Ford trucks, and that did alignments the 'old' way - no electronics. Just the pivot plates and measurements, and I was off. These are the guys who the garages recommend when the other, more high-tech, alignment shops fail miserably with a vehicle for whatever reason.

Between the new front springs, alignment, the polyurethane bushings (only one set on the radius arms - I really hope to get the rest done soon), and the Pro Comp 9000 shocks (admittedly not the best, but perhaps they are better than Monroes?) the truck hadnles really well. Just last week my fishing buddies were surprised at how well it handles at high speeds.

But I wonder if a good part of my handling is coming from the new stiffer front springs? My old ones, and I'm sure many others' current ones, were rusting away at a good rate. Losing spring steel (and thus spring diameter) on already 10 year-old, worn springs can't help your handling any.

Best,

 

new front springs might be my best option to stiffen up the ride.

My springs are actually still painted black, and not rusty, which amazes me.

the previous owner never hauled anything with the truck, so I figured that's why the rear shocks were so stiff, and the fronts were so bouncy.

We had about 600# of roofing goodies in the bed this week, and it made the truck ride like a cadillac I am guessing that trucks just ride rough as hell when unloaded all the time.

I won't complain yet, but for the 45 dollars I paid, it was really kinda like I tossed money up into the air. BUT I have the OEM shocks I can put back on at any time

The OEM upper bushings are a better design than what the Monroes came with. they came with 2 identical pieces that fit in, whereas the OEM had a one piece bushing that pops through the frame (after substantial greasing with silicone)

 

I am surprised at your lack of rust, but then maybe Iowa doesn't use the amount of road salt that Pennsylvania uses?

Passing on what I've been told, Ford springs have been weak from the 1960's. I always thought this applied to the front coils only, but after owning this truck and having a rear leaf simply snap and fall apart, then researching such instances, I have come to the conclusion that Ford springs are, indeed, junk.

That being said, you obviously haven't lost much spring material due to rust, and there is the chance, since they are still black, that the previous owner replaced them.

But I went with NAPA's heavy duty springs (there is a huge post about it in the suspension forum - probably archived though), and have been quite happy.

From my days at working at a garage, my boss used to actively avoid buying shocks from certain places since many would sit on shelves for sometimes years - and of course they sit compressed the whole time. He would special order them in instead.

In hopes of buying a shock with a more sporty valving, I went with the Pro-Comps as they were made specifically for trucks. In the end I questioned if they weren't really made by some big shock manufacturer anyway (the specs seem an awful lot like Monroes I believe), but they are doing an OK job. If it is rails you want, you can easily spend $60 a shock, or more, for the good ones - and I suggest you do so if unhappy with the regular shocks most buy with the hope of getting a plush, smooth ride out of them.

With an XLT model, do you have a front swaybar? If so, it is, at the very least, time to change the bushings on it. For the absolute best result, go with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings for the swaybar - that alone, if you have a front swaybar, will impress you greatly.

Best,

 

That would be this argumentative post of a long time ago! haha

https://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/...20/1461_3.html

 

Well, we were just working through it.

Best,

 

GammaDriver: I believe I DO have a front swaybar on it. Now in the parts magazines, I see they sell complete urethane bushing kits for the truck for about 90 dollars.

But only for 4x4. My truck is 2wd. would this truck have a smaller bushing than the 4x4?

I need to get under there again after this weekend's severe back sunburn subsides, and check out any suspension rubber, for possible problem areas.

I like the height my truck sits at, and the response to bumps. It just bounces a lot, as if the front end is too heavy for these shocks.

I imagine this is the OEM style ride though, so I guess I won't complain

I'm a several car owner guy.. Never owned a full sized truck, so I'm use to kicking down on the bumper and having no bounce.

Then again, my v8 Volvo has 28mm sway bars, urethane bushings, and bilstein HD all the way around, so it's pretty much like a rock.