Our 2003 Expedition (4.6L, non-air suspension, 2WD) drives like it has 80 lbs. of air in the tires... We feel every bump in the road. Very harsh ride. We've owned it since 2005 and it now has 110K miles. Tires are General Grabber HTS with proper amount of air.

I've scanned the posts about replacing the struts and the majority seem to replace the struts when the bouncing gets excessive. If I push down on all 4 corners, it only rebounds once. No squeaking or unusual noises.

Anyone else have this same issue, or is this normal?

 

Could be that it's out of alignment. When the tires are not parallel to each other they take a bump slightly to the side instead of straight on.

 

Are the struts/shocks stock? If the original owner changed them within the first two years, they could have put a higher performance shock on that's stiffer then stock. I agree, that if the truck settles with depressing the corner, just once, the shock is probably good, just stiff.
There are newer units that have some adjustability to provide a variety of ride comfort.

 

How much psi do you have in the tires? My tires are 65psi max. Last week i was low on all 4. So i filled to 56psi in all tires. The truck was noticeably rougher over bumps just like you describe. I lowered back down to 50 and all good again. Other than that as mentioned, alignment or maybe a front end issue.

 

Thank you for the replies... I plan on getting it up in the air over this next week to see what is on there, perhaps they were replaced within those first 2 years. I've used the Monroe QuickStruts on another vehicle in the past and had good results.

Tire pressure on the stock-sized tires is at 35, following the suggestion on the driver's side door jam.

 

I took a picture of the P/N label on the rear driver's side strut (attached). Definitely stock, and in there since 2003.

Is this the "standard" strut for the XLT RWD?

 

I'd say that's a pretty normal ride for the Expedition. It's likely that the tires just ride rough the older they get. If you bounce the suspension up and down and it rebounds the same as it ever did then that eliminates that. At your next tire change try the Michelin LTX's tires. I've been very happy with those on the Expy. If you're going to change the struts out I would recommend the Monroes or KYBs for comfort. The Bilsteins will be very firm.



-Mike



Michelin LTXs at Tire Rack

 

Yes, there was no heavy duty strut from the factory.

 

Thanks guys, much appreciated. The Monroe QuickStruts at Rock Auto look like the way to go.

 

I put a set of Monroes on the first expedition I owned and they rode real nice.

 

i want to replace upper and lower ball joints , when looking up parts " upper control arms " is says for adjusting suspension what does that mean

 

Air suspension instead of just coil springs.