Soften the ride

[Lowndex]

My 04 Marauder has air shocks in the rear that cause the ride to be a bit stiff. Has anyone removed the airbags and replaced them with a quality shock?

[jgc61sr2002]

My 04 Marauder has air shocks in the rear that cause the ride to be a bit stiff. Has anyone removed the airbags and replaced them with a quality shock?

Not that I know of.
It's more than the shocks , you will also need springs and mounting hardware.

[fastblackmerc]

I think mine rides fine with the rear air bags.....

[Rider90]

My ride is real soft right now. It took 16" steelies, snow tires, and 400 lbs of salt where the back seat used to be.

I can't stand it. Go away, winter.

[jimlam56]

No offense, but if you wanted a softer ride why'd you buy a MM?
I have to occasionally drive CVs and GMs as rentals, I can't stand the slushiness after being used to my MM.

[ridinclean]

No offense, but if you wanted a softer ride why'd you buy a MM?
I have to occasionally drive CVs and GMs as rentals, I can't stand the slushiness after being used to my MM.
Agreed, I much prefer the more stiff feel of the MM as opposed to the CV/GM feel. Enjoy it man, after all you paid more for your MM to be different!

[Bootlegger]

Strutmaster has the springs and shocks that will fit..I just changed out the bags on my Town Car. They show on their web page they have the conversion kit for our MM's.

[ctrcbob]

Lowndex,

I agree with you 100%. (All you detractors, please keep your comments to yourself :puke: , unless you can answer his question). My MM rides like yours. HARD. I normally enjoy driving European cars that have a firm suspension, but this car is HARD. Although I am used to it, I really don't like it. Further more, MY WIFE HATES IT. The MM does go around a curve great, but so does my Continental when I have it's suspension set to Firm, with the optional Driver Select System.

You are just going to learn to live with the ride. I have tried many things, but none of them work. When it comes time to change out my tires, I will be going with something else (Don't care about OEM size). I, like you want my car to not ride like an old truck.

[Marauderjack]

I....like the rest of you.....think the ride is fairly firm but certainly very "In Control"!!! I like it and really wouldn't change it!!

A friend tells me how smooth it is every time he rides in it??? He has a Lincoln LS and constantly complains about the ride!!??

Marauderjack

[Lowndex]

Thanks all for the feedback, but I am seeking a real solution; not criticism to my choice for change. To quoteBob CTRC USN Retired, "All you detractors, please keep your comments to yourself :puke: , unless you can answer his question." Also, thank you Bootlegger for your suggestion.

For the record, Eibach makes a high quality replacement front coil spring for the Marauder: Pro-kit, P/N: 3596.120. The kit lowers the front 1.4 " and claims to improve handling. Eibach, Monroe or Koni do not make a replacement kit for the rear air bag suspension system- I have not found anyone that does.

Thus, I continue to search for a solution. Anyone who has actually changed the rear airbags with new springs, shocks, etc. and would recommend the same, please respond.

[Rider90]

If you want a softer ride, from what I hear, Eibach is going in the exact OPPOSITE direction.

[KillJoy]

This site has Front Kits, and Front & Rear Kits.

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com/marauder.shtml

KillJoy

[RR|Suki]

This site has Front Kits, and Front & Rear Kits.

http://www.seanhylandmotorsport.com/marauder.shtml

KillJoy

Oh dear $300 for front springs... wow

[KillJoy]

I didn't say it was cheap, only available.

Killjoy

[merc6]

Going from 18's to 16's notiocebly made the ride alot softer. Anyone swap out to non PI front shocks and convert bags over to the springs?

[jstevens]

Yeah, I understand the spring change will make it hell to ride.

[DirtyDog]

There was a post back in 2004 and I did a search for it and came up blank.

I did copy it because I planned on doing it. Here is step one. If you're interested I'll send you the rest. This is for the back leaving the air bags in place. He said it softened it up just right.

1. Get a set of '65 Galaxie rear Monroe Sensa-trak shocks #5803.

[Pantherman]

The easiest (and free) way to soften the ride is to drop the tire pressure. Like everything else pressure is a compromise. Lower pressure will slightly decrease fuel mileage and tire life, lessen cornering grip and steering precision, and allow a leak to get you into trouble/danger quicker. That said, if I really wanted a softer ride, I would personally have no qualms about going down to about 28 psi. The next really practical step is to trade for a Grand Marquis. The last directionally workable approach would be to install OEM Motorcraft base Grand Marquis or, softer still, Town Car shocks--they all physically interchange. Unless you are really good with wrenches, considering cost, hassle, shop risk, and the fact that you are playing development engineer, the Grand Marquis trade is a better solution.

[TooManyFords]

1. Get a set of '65 Galaxie rear Monroe Sensa-trak shocks #5803.

Yep, I poineered that one because SensaTraks were not out for our car yet. That and I happen to have a pair on my shelf from one of my old 65 Galaxies.

Keep looking for that soft ride, I know its out there somewhere. I'm doing the same thing too. BTW, the galaxie shocks are no longer on my car because I wore them out. Rather than spending money just yet, I put my factory ones back on. (cheap bastard)

I am currently engineering a shock relocation setup for my back end so I can use different shocks to achieve this goal and put w-i-d-e-r tires on too. Not to steal your thread, but I'll post progress as it goes into the shop next weekend.

Cheers

John

[Pantherman]

John

If you are thinking about moving the rear shocks inboard of the rails, I don't really recommend it. The shocks were moved outboard in 2003 to control a concern called "axle skate". With the earlier cars, if you hit the right series of bumps, the rear would step noticeably sideways.

[TooManyFords]

This big of a car can't jump -that- far... I've driven big cars for many years and don't ever recall that being a problem. Hell, sometimes I used to -try- to get them to do strange thing like jumping sideways! LOL!

Nope, they're moving along with the control arms. How else am I going to get a tire like this under there?

http://john.frieltek.com/images/sportsman_sr_small.jpg
[Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R #6687 (http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/street.html)]

With these big boys, it won't jump to the side too much, that's for sure. Besides, I'm going to soften the ride a bit in the process...

:D

Cheers!


John