MM shock absorbers

[TripleTransAm]

The shock absorbers on my 2nd MM feel weak... or maybe it's the body mounts that are not tight, I don't know, something feels loose.

I was told there were two part numbers for MM shocks, and no one is able to tell me what the difference is between them. Possibly a change for the 2004 model year, I'm not sure.

So why would I want to get the old part number if the new part number is improved? Or IS it improved? Or was it cheapened? I don't know. There IS a price difference between the two. Can anyone help?

[JMan]

Steve,
I just replaced a defective rear shock on my car. The cut-off date in the Motorcraft catalog system for both the Sport and the Marauder was 12/03 (Build Date on door sticker.). I was going to replace both rear shocks with the (Post 12/03) MM shocks, but they were on "Galactic Backorder". There was a pair available in Missouri some where but that was as close to FL as we could find. My car uses a similar Tokico monotube shock but has a different part number. The stock shock was available and hence I replaced just one. When my shock was failing, it would literally hold the suspension up or down from normal height. The RAS would compensate until you moved the car and it shook loose. Then it would re-compensate itself. I have never seen a shock absorber do that before. Struts yes, but a shock, NOT. Hope that helps some.

J

[TripleTransAm]

Thanks for reminding me of the details... I recall being told about the 12/03 cutoff date between the two. So what really makes me curious is what the difference is between the pre-12/03 shock and the post-12/03 shock. I recall being told something about a coating on the shaft or something.

And the next question: if the post-12/03 shock is improved in some way, why in the world do they still sell the old one? Is this another case of Ford pawning off faulty stock on Marauders (just like they wanted to replace my cylinder head with the same casting instead of the one offered to Cobra owners)?

I would imagine "normal" auto companies wanting to get rid of faulty old stock would offer it at super-discount prices! Doesn't appear to be the case here, for some reason.

The reason I'm fretting over this is because I don't want to ruin the ride if the 'new' shock happens to be softer than the older ones.

[jimlam56]

Has anyone used aftermarket shocks?
Thanks, Jim

[SergntMac]

Has anyone used aftermarket shocks?
Thanks, Jim From who? The only aftermarket shock I've heard of so far, has been the QA1 offering. Of course, I suppose any shock for the '03-'06 CV would fit, but I can't imagine what it will ride like.

With respect to the OEM shocks, the only 411 I recall was a switch from the engineering/production line part number, to a service/repair part number, something I tripped over last year when replacing my production line shocks. Never heard of any difference in the shocks themselves. In fact, once I got the shocks, I found they had the service/repair number on the box, and the engineering/production number on the shock itself. Both were the same number, except the prefix was changed from ???? to 3W3Z. I can pull my reciepts, just not right now, sorry.

/Steve, I have four OEM grade Marauder shocks (2 F, 2 R) sitting at my dealership. Say the word and I'll ship them up to you. Send your shipping info to SergntMac@aol.com, or call Leo at 708.385.4500, he can ship to you direct.

[Pantherman]

There is one other logical option for replacing Marauder shocks. Crown Vic police shocks are a perfect fit and have slightly stiffer valving. Strangely, you won't find the Motorcraft (Tokico) police shocks on the usual Ford ecommerce sites, but the Rock Auto website has them for about $65 each. I suspect our man, The Dealer, can supply them also.

[fast Ed]

I had a customer asking about this topic earlier this year. Through one of our contacts at Ford of Canada, the info passed along from the St. Thomas plant was that there was a change to the chrome coating on the shock rod for improved corrosion resistance, and minor venting changes. Dampening rate did not change.

Hope this helps ...


cheers
Ed N.

[cvp83]

Regarding the shock part number change between 03 and 03.5. I found this from Ned Nuss

"Someone asked why the 2003 valving changed mid year. During the press show drive in Southern CA our leader became worried about freeway hop and asked us to revisit the valving. Bill C had retired so Raybones, Mitch, and Dennis developed new rear valving to address the concern and also developed an objective measurement of freeway hop which correlated closely to Raybones subjective evaluations on the 405/605/710 near the old Roush facility in Long Beach. John F. had the Tokico trailer out there to support their effort. Dennis retuned the fronts to match the change in rear control. The result in more plushness and better freeway hop. The quality numbers show the Panther customers appreciated the improved plushness."

[TripleTransAm]

Wow. Neat detail... thanks.
Any idea when the change happened? This might explain why my MM#1 feels more 'controlled' than my MM#2 (although the ever-so-slight pull to one side at heavy threshold braking makes me think perhaps one of my shocks is faulty or dying).

FWIW, MM#1 was built in Feb 2003, MM#2 was built in mid Dec 2002.

[DirtyDog]

Here is a replacement by Monroe.


http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=MON&mfrpartnumber=5995&parttype=50&ptset=A

[TripleTransAm]

Holy cow. It actually states that it fits the 2003-2004 Marauder explicitly! That's like the FIRST time I've seen an aftermarket company support the Marauder explicitly! I need to go get drunk, be right back.

Edit: okay, had a few quick glasses of red wine.

So, I wonder how these shocks behave in comparison to the factory units?

[Warpath]

LOL - Cheers. I'm with ya.

Anyway, I'll try to answer the general question of why the old and new parts are still available from my experience. First, the vehicle dynamics engineers will continue to finesse the ride after the launch of the vehicle (start of production). However, sway bars, springs, and shocks could both be tuned together. Therefore, the old shock should not be used with the new spring and/or bar and vise versa. Therefore, the old parts need to stick around so that you don't have to buy all new springs, shocks, and bars front and rear if one part goes bad. If the change was only the coating change mentioned, then the old shock would likely not be produced. It would be available until the stock on hand is sold out. When an improvement such as the coating change is made and is invisible to the customer, it will replace the old part. But, they don't scrap the old parts because its a waste of money. If the change is noticeable to the customer, the old part is usually kept around.

[TripleTransAm]

LOL - Cheers. I'm with ya.

Bah, it ended up being a bust. The buzz wore off somewhere midway while watching a taped episode of Mythbusters with my family. I gotta admit, for a brief while my 9 month old son was just funny as all heck. But this is getting off topic...

Your points make total sense. I wonder if the old style shock is still being produced. For that matter, would Ford care that things were mismatched if there were changes to the internals on the new part, rendering them incompatible with an older car? But yes, I'm right there with you on the importance of matching suspension components.

This afternoon, I did think of a possible solution to a comment I made in another thread, about how sometimes it's hard to diagnose a suspension problem on a high performance automobile. I am wondering if disconnecting the sway bars would help identify a bad shock. This way, there would be no way the shock on the other side of the car might help stabilize the car through the stiffness of the sway bar. I believe this is what has made shock diagnosis so terribly difficult on my Trans Ams, and has forced me to take butt-o-meter sensitivity to silly heights.

SergntMac: your offer of your shocks is very intriguing but before I take any action I need to get to the bottom of whether something did change on a valving basis with the Marauder's shocks. If what I am experiencing is due to some difference between early 2003 and late 2003 valving, replacing my MM#2's shocks with identical vintage units might not help me, if my shocks happen to be in good shape. What kind of mileage are on your units?

As I mentioned to a few others via PM, I just need to clean up the heavy swirls on the paint and get the suspension tightened up, and this car will be absolute heaven to drive (yes, to the point of not even needing aftermarket calibrations, even though I still think the stock shift schedules are gay).