Shocks

[dwasson]

Has anyone replaced their shocks yet? How many miles did you get on them?

[TripleTransAm]

28000 km on my car at the moment, and sometimes I feel they're just not damping enough anymore.

While our roads are somewhat bad up here, my other cars ride on them too and I've gotten more than 28000 km out of their shocks before wondering if something was up. Perhaps the MM shocks are weak from the factory (weak, in terms of damping, which thereby deteriorates naturally with age). I remember posting something last year that was told to me by an experienced tire installer about how my MM's front tires seemed to be cupped a little early in life. Perhaps this is even the source of that high frequency jiggle / shimmy that is plaguing many.

[SergntMac]

Just my .02c here...

Right around 25K, I found myself thinking about new shocks. I searched the market high and low, to no avail. Just replaced all 4 last week with OEM replacement parts, which IMHO are nothing to laugh at. 71 bucks each, 130 bucks to install the fronts. 79 bucks each, 80 bucks to the install the rears, from my dealership.

With few options to pick from, I am very pleased with the results. Watch your step when you go surfing the 'net. Not all you find will fit our frames...IMHO.

[TooManyFords]

I replaced my rears with a set of Monroe Sensa-trac's at about 2500 miles. Nothing really wrong with the OEM's but they were a bit stiff for my liking. Still have the originals on the shelf, just in case. The ones I used were from a '65 Ford Galaxie and I just had to get a different bolt for the bottom because they are not 'exactly' the same. Height-wise and such they are and I like the ride much better.

Again, for this sort of mod, you really need to be your own wrench to get everything to fit right. I doubt Midas or Sears would even tackle something like this. Now if I could just find a substitute front shock too...

Cheers!

John

[Fourth Horseman]

What about those Bilstein (sp?) shocks that the Crown Vic guys like on their cars. Would they fit and how would they compare to our OEM units?