1989 E-150 Cargo Van, 6100GVWR, 124" WB.

As a contractor, I use this van for work, carrying ladders, tools, materials and have shelves and cabinets installed. I bought this van new and changed shocks one time. I think it's time to change them again, but this time I think a better, heavier, shock should be considered. I don't want to do any major modifications, just want to bolt them on, but think a slightly better shock should give a better stable ride. The replacement shocks I used, 20 years ago, were Monroe but I don't remember the model, probably no better than the OEM that they replaced.

Were the Ford OEM shocks undersized for this vehicle? I think the brakes were.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.

 

check eshocks.com for the correct Bilstein shocks for your van. Put them on our 6500# 1993 E150 wheelchair conversion over 2 years ago. Still very happy with them.

 

I realize my personal experience doesn't reflect everyone's reality, but here it is:

I bought mine (07 E350) in June 2013 with 113,000 miles. I noticed it had new-ish yellow shocks on it. I thought "great! One less thing for me to worry about for 100,000miles"

I drove it for about 3years and 150,000 miles and noticed it was feeling "floaty" like a boat on the water. Not terrible, but I thought "well, shocks probably wear out gradually and I can't remember how much better they were before"

i began my 6month over-analytical journey for shock replacement wisdom. One thing that sold me was when I read on Monroe's web site was regarding how many MILLION times a shock will cycle every mile/10miles/whatever. So I thought "man-made moving parts, millions of cycles: ok I'm ready."

I bought a set of Monroe yellow shocks that perfectly matched the ones on the van. Part number for part number.

Test drive... DISAPPOINTMENT!!! Four brand new shocks had ZERO improvement in ride quality. The old shocks had nearly 200,000 miles on them, and the new replacements made absolutely no noticeable improvement in ride quality. Zero.

I was so mad that I called Monroe insisting on a refund. They told me to take them back to the retailer with my receipt. I "was going to" do it but later lost the fire. So I left them on.

Still have them on now, and still a little pissed about them.

 

KYB has some good looking shocks on RockAuto for about $30 per corner. I am always hearing good things about KYB.

 

Bilsteins
/thread

 

I'm very happy with the KYB Monomax on my 97 E250. No wallowing and it usually has 1500lbs in it or 700lbs in it + about 3500lbs of trailer behind it.

I would buy them again.

I have not tried Bilsteins.

 

My experience with KYBs is this, they wear out quickly, YMMV
This didn't bother me on cars where they are easy to swap out.
On Econolines, it's a PITA

 

Shopping for shocks and was thinking about going with Monroes to combine a ship to store online discount and the manufacturer rebate.

Not looking to improve the ride, only to replace the fronts due to a passenger side failure. Also not looking to open a can of worms here, only to ask your opinion on Monroes as a reliable replacement option based on your experience.

My '04 E350 has 87k mlies and is a service vehicle. I never had handling issues with the OEM shocks.

 

Monroe's work and last just fine. They are not premium but are functional.

 

I have a set of Gabriel Ultra's in the garage ready to go on when I get around to it. I have used those on other vehicles and have been happy with them (good performance, good price). I have heard many times that paying up for Bilstiens is the way to go, and it probably is. No personal experience with them, but heard a lot of good things about them all over. As for the Gabriel where I've used them I've noticed a very big improvement over the old ones, largely due to the fact that the old ones were worn way past their usable life; I could compress them by hand.

I have not used Gabriel Ultra's on a big boy vehicle like this though, so I can only relate my experience with them in other applications (minivans, mid-size SUV's).

 

any hon-gas pressurized shock can be compressed by hand
slow movements are easy
quick movements tell you if it's really bad or not
there are not too many humans strong enough to cycle a shock quick enough unless it's wasted

 

Well, I mean, push it shut with almost no resistance, and it stayed shut. Pretty sure that means it's toasted.

 

I replaced the springs and put Blistein on my 2000 e150. I love the handling, but I like firm.
On the 2010 e350 4x4 that I am building I have Fox. I have not driven it much yet but the handling doesn't seem to be much better, but of course is a different beast.

 

i do recommend them as a reliable replacement.
Afterall, mine had about 170,000miles on them and when I replaced with brand new perfectly matching shocks: I noticed absolutely zero improvement. So I guess that means they are good.

 

toast

if it's a gas shock yes, toast
if it is not a gas shock it will not expand even when new