let's kick a dead horse about shocks

[crash]

in the next month or so I'm hoping to spend a bunch of money on the 99. first item on list is brakes. second, shocks.

I find that the rear sags with only, let's say 4 rims and tires in the back. the front isn't full on floating yet but it's getting there.

I know much of the input is opinion based due to ride quality (hard or soft).

I'm looking for something firm, that doesn't make me feel every seam in the road.

for the rear sag... I don't like the timbrens personally, had a set on my 94, helped but not worth the price IMO.. so they're out. LOL from the sounds of air shocks.. from what Jim says they are too firm when rear is empty and cause a bit of bouncing?

thing is that I don't mind if the rear sits 1" higher empty.. I just don't want it looking like an auto load leveling system is stuck on UP!! LOL

I checked some pricing on bilstiens, holy crap they aren't cheap.

thanks guys..
Rob

[ihatemybike]

You sag with that little weight?

I'm no expert, but I'd be looking at your springs as they are what is supposed to be carrying the weight. Shocks are mostly meant to dampen movement.

Bad shocks allow too much spring movement which leads to springs wearing out and thus an increase in sag.

[Smiliesafari]

It sounds like you are budget conscious as most of us are. IMHO you can't beat good old American made Monroe shocks. I have them on the 96 and they work just fine. I don't expect racecar performance and lets face it these vans are not excellent road handling machines. When I loaded all of the balloon equipment in the rear (800-900 lbs) it saged quite a bit also. I added a rear anti sway bar and air shocks. It corners much better and the air shocks leveled the van. It's a simple and effective fix.

[Rileysowner]

I have Monros front and back now as well. I didn't like the gas-a-justs I had on the front and either the supplier shipped me the wrong one or they wore out really quickly, either way they ate up a pair of front tires while I was sick. Thankfully I paid for the extra coverage on the tires and the warrantied them so I only had to pay $10 each for balancing for replacements. I switched to a much heavier Monro Sensatrac, and I much prefer the ride from it. I have the Monro air shocks on the back, and it is nice to be able to adjust the ride by adding or removing air.

[crash]

thanks for the replys guys..

yes, i too have thought about the springs themselves. that is a cost that I don't think I want to get into. even just adding a leaf might lift the back end up too high for my liking. and with no weight in the back could make it a rough ride.

Jim.. I read another post of yours commenting on the air shocks being a bit rough.. is that not the case? I would have thought that air shocks would actually soften the ride up a little?

monroe might be the way I end up going. as for which line, I'm not sure. either sensatrac or reflex. I had reflex on my dakota and they were decent. I first had the sensatracs on the front and literally wore them out within a year, with not much driving. seemed to me they were more suited for a passenger car than a truck/van

[Rileysowner]

It was user error I had them at a pressure for towing our trailer which have about a 350 to 400 pound tongue weight and had not let off the air pressure. Fiddling with the pressure got a good ride out of them. Of course I can only compare them to the old shocks that were pretty much dead so it isn't a fair comparison. Now that I have the heavier Monros in the front I find the ride overall much better.

[Cobra]

i have an add-a-leaf you can see it's higher but not much maybe 1 inch, mind you i rarely have my seats out and empty. i can't give much opinion on shock the only ones i've used are my current rancho RS999 series even on softest setting they are pretty firm on hardest setting you can feels 98% of the cuts in the road lol
and on our other vans the shocks never got changed.....
edit well i have the seats out of my van quiet a space in those wheel wells




I'm almost ashamed to post pics it's oh so dirty

[kings-x59]

#1 Bilstien..as mentioned 'spensive
# 2 KYB Monomax...more reasonably priced and really good shocks
Monroe sensatracs were mush on my van.
my 2 cents

[crash]

thanks for posting the pics cobra.. from what i can find the RS9000 shocks have been either discontinued by rancho.. or maybe just through our supplier for the 2wd vans. besides that .. how are they even controlled without buying that expensive controller?

I've been doing some thinking. either the sensatracs, reflex or even the kyb monomax on the front, monroe has the better warranty. for the rear, I think I may try the monroe max air shocks. i have access to the working onboard (small) compressor off the 87 olds that I've had disconnected for about two years ago due to a leak at the left rear shock. car doesn't carry anything heavy anyway, it was part of the FE3 handling package. now if only i was smart enough to figure out how to monitor the pressure and wire in a switch LOL. the olds system was a "levelling" system I think. no clue where the level sensor would be? .. there's only 3 wires that run to the compressor.

only concern on the rear is (yes, I hit the search button again) if I utilize the air shock to get let's say 1/2" of rear lift when empty will it ride too harsh and bounce a bunch in the back end?

[Smiliesafari]

The beauty of air shocks is that when the van is empty you can release some air and adjust the ride to your liking. Your idea of using the Olds compressor is cool. Let us know how that works.

[Cobra]

thanks for posting the pics cobra.. from what i can find the RS9000 shocks have been either discontinued by rancho.. or maybe just through our supplier for the 2wd vans. besides that .. how are they even controlled without buying that expensive controller?

oh i forgot you were 2wd they don't have them for the front on them, they are controlled by a dial mounted on the body of the shocks. if you bought the expensive controller it's a little compressor just like for the max air

I have no experience with KYB on any trucks but on the cars we've used them on it was a nice ride

The beauty of air shocks is that when the van is empty you can release some air and adjust the ride to your liking. Your idea of using the Olds compressor is cool. Let us know how that works.

i totally agree

[crash]

well.. after dropping a whack of coin on parts in the last 3 - 4 days on "the fleet" i am totally thankful that i work at a parts store. i'm also thankful that i now have a tech that i trust to take on the stuff that i either don't want to do myself or that I simply don't have the time to do myself.
i spoke with him today about the idea of using the compressor from the olds to run the max airs. he thought it would take some creativity to set up with a switch to air up or release.. but that it'd be doable. something to think about. and i'll have to check out what the 3rd wire is going into the compressor actually is. we think it's something to do with the auto leveling. one power, one ground, one to the sensor for leveling.

i have plenty of time to decide and figure it out .. now just have to decide what to use on the front .. heck maybe simply fixing the rear will make the front seem that much better lol

[reaper]

Just a suggestion,Since you work at a parts store,Couldn't you locate a
airbag kit with onboard air & guage for a reasonable cost?.
Kidhauler & I did a airbag system with onboard air in his 99
& he loves it.

[crash]

for an airlift kit w/o compressor I'm around $300 .. then add the compressor which is around another $200. so, not too inexpensive.

my discounts are greater on OE replacement parts and minimal on the aftermarket

[Cobraearl]

NEW to this forum.

my 99 seven passenger 2wd has a Saggy butt. My friend has the same vehicle and it sets 3-4 inches higher at the step bumper. His looks SLIGHTLY jacked up in the rear. Maybe 1" higher in the rear (at the rear wheel opening) than the front. My astro sets down in the rear.... the rear wheel opening looks at least 1" lower than level..

my astro has 150k... nice ride. ive put 60k on it.

Ive crawled under mine and crawled under his.. cannot tell any difference in the parts.

?????????????

earl