Gunnar81

I have an 04 f150 fx4 4.6L V8 and I just took it to get the tires balanced and rotated and the guy said I needed to get struts installed. Is that something I can do myself and if so what brand or type of struts would be best? Or do I need to have it done by a mechanic?

tareed94

They're easy to replace. I recommend buying a "strut assembly". That way you don't have to worry about decompressing and recompressing the spring. Other than that there are 3 nuts on the top of the strut (don't undo the big one in the middle that separates the spring and the strut) then there's the bolt at the bottom. And brand is a huge debate. I'm running Rancho Quicklifts and RS-9000XL's on the rear. I love them. They're much smoother than stock. Others prefer Bilsteins, fox, icon, king, monroe, etc. It mostly comes down to how much you want to pay and what ride quality you're looking for.

Also, how many miles are on the truck?

Gunnar81

There are 130,000 miles on it currently

tareed94

I'd agree probably time for new struts. Like I said the Rancho's are great. A little pricey but they're worth the money. Very smooth ride, significantly reduced body roll, and the stiffness of the strut is adjustable. It's probably time for rear shocks also if they haven't been done. I love my setup and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Gunnar81

Awesome, thanks!