New Shocks or Not? That is the question!

[ACerf]

This may seem like a silly question. I have a 03' 3500 with 83,000 miles, and OEM original shocks on her. I have been thinking about changing them, but for some reason I am not sure they need it. We use the the truck for pulling our 12,400 lb trailer, and that amounts to about 10,000 miles or less a year. This year so far it has only been about 1,500 miles. I have not had any unual tire wear, we don't normally use to haul anything heavy any other time. They are not leaking, and the ride appears to be about the same! So, what say ye good fellows of TDR?

 

[Allnew2Me]

I changed mine at 53K and I could push and pull them with my hands very easily. I put Bilstiens on my truck and it made a very noticable difference in ride and handling. I saw no leaking either but they were most definately shot.

 

[231jasonS]

I changed mine with about 1200 miles on them. No leaking, but they didnt work for crap.



My 7100 bilstiens work very well though. I think the OEM shocks are pretty poor. On my 04 they were "floating" at 40K miles and i swapped them out for some MX6 adjustables. Those worked well too.

 

[MChessick]

I changed mine on my 03 Dually at 80k, they were cooked. I installed some premium NAPA gas units and have 163k on the truck now. I think they are cooked as well. I'm switching over to Bilsteins. You " think" they are good until you change them out and see the difference. Good luck.



Mark

 

[Regcabguy]

What shocks.

I pulled mine@1,000 miles. An accordian offers better resistance than those pitiful cylinders. The Bilstein 5100's are a very cost effective shock for most guys. You'll love them.

 

[jeepit]

Stock shocks I have to agree are junk. I pulled mine off with 4,000 miles on them. .

 

[MMeier]

Trust us here, the stockers were shot by the time you got that truck home when you bought it!

 

[Grizzly]

With that many miles, I'd say change them with one of the better brands already mentioned.

 

[ACerf]

With that many miles, I'd say change them with one of the better brands already mentioned.

I think I can follow a trend here, and I appreicate the feed back. One thing that somewhat confuses me is how can you test the shocks? It isn't like a car where you can get it to bounce! I find the ride on the truck as harsh as the day I bought it, less I am towing the trailer.

 

[231jasonS]

Take one off and compress it by hand and watch it NOT rebound. My 6 yr old could compress the stock shocks.

 

[donnier]

I changed out the stockers on my 05 at 30 000 miles.

THey were just about gone.

Went with Bilsteins and ordered them thru Bilstein - KYB - Rancho - Monroe - Edelbrock Automotive Truck Shocks and Struts - Shockwarehouse.com

Got the set for something like 250 plus free shipping.

 

[CookJ]

Not to hijack here, but, what shock would you guys recommend for my lifted '03? It's a 6" Superlift I installed about 20K ago. I've read that the SL shocks aren't the best, as I really could not tell an improvement over stock. I was kinda leaning towards the Bilsteins, but not sure which one. TIA.

 

[ACerf]

I changed out the stockers on my 05 at 30 000 miles.

THey were just about gone.

Went with Bilsteins and ordered them thru Bilstein - KYB - Rancho - Monroe - Edelbrock Automotive Truck Shocks and Struts - Shockwarehouse.com

Got the set for something like 250 plus free shipping.

If I do change the shocks, which looks like I need to do. When I do this I was planning going with KYB originally, because last year Bilstein did not have shocks for the 03' 2WD. I was waiting for them to come out with ones that fit my model truck. I had spoken to someone at Bilstein who told me they were working on this. I knew it was just a matter of time. Oo.

 

[BNH4221]

70K on my rig when I swapped to the Bilsteins. Best $350 I have spent on it. Made it drive like a different truck. Better than new.

Do it. You won't regret it.



Steve