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Shocks to use on DD with no lift

R

Robert D

1/2 ton status
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Oct 2, 2005
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Location
Austin, TX
What do you recommend? I know Bilstein makes shocks for my truck and they were great on Porsche's I've seen run with them in the past. Any recommendations? I'd like to get a cheap set that will work for a DD; would the budget shocks from an O'Reilly/Autozone/Pepboys work for now?

I don't plan on adding a lift until I get out of college next December...so heavy duty offroad shocks aren't necessary. Just run-of-the-mill DD shocks...
 
I would sure hope they would last one year. Especially if alll you're doing is basic DD type driving...

I was going to pick up a set of these in the next few weeks (after Christmas or my wife will kill me...) as temp shocks until I put my lift in.
 
I wanted the bilstein 5100's, but i settled for the Monroe HD Gas shocks on special order from kragen. I think they were like 30 or 40 a piece, vs 70 or 80 for the bilstein's

I've liked them so far...but i think its time to change them after 40k or so
 
Sweet, 40k miles is more than what I need. I'm only going to be DD'ing this truck until I have my EE degree next December. Then I'll be buying a new DD after finding a job. I'm leaning towards the Chrysler 300 with that big hemi in it...power and style. I don't think I'll be getting back into the Porsche scene for a while...:D Oh and the truck will end up getting serious R&R for off-road "retirement" once I have the money/time to put into it!
 
I use Gabriels on my DD and like them. Ordered from JC Whitney, I got the second from the bottom models (cant remember which models, there red). All six cost me about $120 delivered. Ride is nice, much better than I thought.
 
You know, I went through some FUN times yesterday with shocks. I ended up buying 4 Monroe shocks from Autozone. Monroe is a junk company and I will never purchase their parts again.

I purchased Monroe sensatracs for the rear and monroe-matic for the front (all Pepboys had in stock). When installing the rears, one of them came missing a nut for the upper mounting bolt (different from stock shocks which I took off). So I went to O'Reilly and bought another shock and installed it (Pepboys is far from the house, but close to work).

The fronts are listed as the correct direct replacement for the K5, but they do not have the extra 1-inch sleeve on the top mount. The bottom mount is also too wide to fit on the truck. Frustrated and not willing to bend/modify anything to make them fit I decided to stop by the Sears autocenter to see what options they had. It turns out the only shocks they had in stock were Monroe Rancho shocks. They too were a different size...WTH. They're contacting Monroe today to find out what the problem is with the shocks they have been shipping. I'm done with Monroe.

Now, I think I'll leave the rear Monroe's on the truck, but I have learned my lesson for buying cheap parts. I'm going to go to autozone after returning these and ask about Bilsteins...

Sorry had to vent.
 
I ran the skyjacker hydros for 100k miles and they were around 35$ each. They were a little stiff but I liked 'em.
 
Were they a direct replacement? The issues I've had is finding shocks which mount exactly like the stock shocks without modifying the mounts.

On a side note, my father wants to buy a K5 now and I think I've found an 85 with a rebuilt motor for 2500. The paint is bad, but the motor was built with a different cam, holly carb, edelbrock intake, headers, and dual flowmasters. 10k on the motor...unless something else comes up I may get this for him.
 
They bolted right in. My buddy just got some pro comps for around $30-40 and they bolted right in also.
 
I picked up a set of Gabriel's from Autozone (Gas Ryder LT??) for around $20 each. They fit right and ride decent. It's pretty common to have to slightly spread the lower mounts to get new shocks to fit. The brackets get compressed by the bolts being overtightened. I use a large adjustable wrench closed down to fit the bracket and just pry each side out slightly. Then the new shocks slip right into place.
 
What about the front upper mounts? I wasn't too worried about separating the lower mounts, but bending the upper mounts ~1 inch to fit the new shocks does not seem like a good idea.
 
I put Bilsteins on my 2500HD. They are fantastic, and worth every penny on a truck that I intend to keep for at least 10 years.
 
For anybody who has replaced the front shocks. On the upper mount was there like an extra inch-long sleeve to extend the width of the shock? The problem I have is the original shocks have this sleeve, making the upper mount of the shock about 2.25 inches wide. So if I install the Monroe shocks I have the upper mount will compress/bend about 1 inch to fit the smaller shock mount. This does not seem correct or safe to me...
 
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