The ride on my 96 Bronco is crap. It seems that I everytime I hit a pot hole or bump in the road the truck takes the full pounding. I just need some suggestions on what I need to do to get a smoother ride. Any suggesttions would help and thanks in advance.

Shock brand?
Gas or Air?
Do I need to replace all six?
Anything else to replace when doing the shocks?

 

any aftermarket shock would be a good upgrade. ive heard monroe's are good to for a stock rig. check/replace any worn bushings as well.

 

Your truck proably has some newer off road shocks. If the shocks were old your truck would ride like a bouncy cadillac .

Seriously though, just replacing them with monroe or even a facotry ford shock should help out your ride.

But, if your trucks lifted at all, your ride is always going to be stiff. Just remember its a Truck not a car.

 

On a side note, how long do the factory shocks last? I've got a '92 with 123k miles, still looks like the original shocks are in there. Seems like these should be well past their prime, but they appear to function fine...

PS I love the bouncy Cadillac ride just not on my truck. But a '58 Cad Convertible's my dream car.

 

Shocks should be replaced like tires... at least two at a time on the same axle. If you have the factory quad shocks up front, you don't HAVE to use the front set at all they are supplemental to aid in control and ride when towing. (Additional trailer weight lightens the front end so put a couple more shocks up there to keep the front wheels on the ground was the idea). Persoanlly, shocks are one of those items that should be treated like your brakes. They do as much or more for your ability to maintain control of the truck so don't "cheap out" on them.

As for a brand or a type, research the heck out of it. Its simple enough to get specs from distributors or by plugging a brand name into a search engine. If you want real info and not sales hype, go to the manfacturer's websites and start with the high-end units. See how the most expensive shocks out there are made and what they are equipped with then keep dropping in price til you are paying what you can afford for as much of the "good stuff" as you can get for the money.

 

Another item you might want to check is your tires. Load range D or E truck tires are much stiffer than the original equipment tires, and will really make the ride rougher. Also just a simple air pressure adjustment can work wonders, some tire places when they install new tires pump them up to the maximum rating, no what the vehicle requires. Look at the sticker on the door jamb, it will give you the recommended tire size and pressure.

 

i found after installing my procomp 6" stageII lift that my ride improved in all conditions over stock.