Does anyone have an idea of the average life span of OEM shocks when only run in city and on highway, no hauling or towing?

 

Depends on the city too. We've got some roads in town with pot holes that are worse than going off road. My '03 Expedition was mostly town and highway and the OEM struts were toast at about 50,000 miles.

 

MY experience with stock shocks is about 20k, and then they start losing their ride. If anyone wants to dispute that, feel free, and then change them and you'll see a drastic improvement in ride.

 

anyone else got an opinion???? and whats everyone running as replacements???

 

mine are just about shot at 32,000 miles..... and thinking of going the bilstein route...that is up to persuasion tho.

 

i got bilsteins on the 99" 7.3 they work great! but the 04" is well over due...cant you just get a whole strut assembly that has the lift in it? if so how much are they?

 

How long do they last? My personal opinion is they are garbage from day one. I have done this for years, I swap out the OEM shocks as soon as I can on any new Ford truck. On my 07 that was at 400 miles. There wasn't much resistance when moving the shafts on these shocks/struts. Can't imagine how ineffective they would be after 20K miles or more.

You wont believe just how poorly the stock shocks/struts are performing until you swap them out with ANY aftermarket replacement. My Bilstien HD's have over 60K on them and are still in great shape.

 

I would like to caveat on my earlier reply about 20k. We have some of the worst roads in the world in Colorado.

 

And hockey teams HAHAHA GO WINGS....

I couldnt resist

 

You wont believe just how poorly the stock shocks/struts are performing until you swap them out with ANY aftermarket replacement. My Bilstien HD's have over 60K on them and are still in great shape.[/quote]

I was thinking about getting the Bilstein HDs because I hear the 5100s stiffen up the ride considerably. Any comments?

HYPO

 

I put Bilstiens on back in December. They are stiffer. But they keep the rear end planted much better and there is less body roll in corners.

In my opinion the stock shocks provided a much smoother ride.

 

I changed mine at 30,000mi and they were just about completely worn out. After conpressing them it would take 5 seconds or more to recover. I put on Monroe Reflerear) and SensaTrac(front). They are stiffer but still provide a decent ride and have a lifetime warranty.

 

I put on the Bilstein Yellow HD's, they are great!....

 

what are the plushest riding shocks available for our truck....mine rarely sees off road and only does towing once or twice a year.....so i've really got a highway truck...

 

If I were a hockey fan, I might take offense...

GO CHARGERS!!!