hudsonce

I know, I know... did you search the fourms? I did. I am not sure I even know what questions to ask. I have a very basic 1996 F150 XL 2wd with 75000 original miles. It is in great shape, but the ride is too bouncy, I have bump steer (I think) and my back teeth get cracked when I have to drive down gravel driveway. I want to improve the ride. I do 99% highway driving with occasional loads in the bed or towing a light trailer. I am dirt poor. Should I replace shocks or springs or steering stabilizer or what? I honestly want to try and restore the typical factory ride it had on day 1, but have to save as much $$$ as possible. Thanks in advance.

learningneverends

I doubt the springs are the issue. Go to Midas or some place like that a get new shocks. I bought mine at Pep Boys and spent a little time putting them in. They were less then $100 for all 4 and it rides nicely again.

clarkbre

I agree with this. My truck was very bouncy going down the road and handled any load in the bed terribly. I replaced all four shocks with the KYB GR2/Excels. For the $120 and about an hour and a half of my time it was probably the single most noticeable improvement to my truck.

fltdriver

I got Monroe 58275 for the front


and MONROE MA771 for the rear.



The front are coil over shock load assisting, the rear are adjustable air load assist (20-150psi). $105+s/h from rockauto, $114.75 w/free shipping from amazon.

With an empty bed and the rears on 20psi my ride is smooth, I also leveled the front with some moog 824's but they are pretty much factory ride just a little taller.



I recommend looking up shocks on rockauto, then using the manufacturers part number to search other sites for better deals. Amazon offer free shipping on orders over $35, I've also hit the jackpot on shocks for the Caddy on ebay - brand new in unopened box for half the cost of anywhere else because somebody wrecked there car before they could put them on.

Shop around, google the part #'s, compare the total cost and you will save quite a bit of money by ordering online, especially if you bundle in some basics like filters, plugs/wires, or anything else that you know you will need. I usually order all of my oil and air filters once a year (4 vehicles), usually save about 25-35% even with shipping compared to the autoparts stores. Rockauto usually has "wholesale closeout" items denoted by a drop-down box that says choose:, picked up some killer deals using those, Bosch blade styles for this truck for $2 each. Also think ahead on replaceable items like bulbs and fuses, auto stores sell fuses 5 for $4-5 rockauto has 120ct assortment for $12, auto stores have bulbs 2 for $3-5, rockauto has them for $0.18 each. I would bet I save more every year buying stuff online than I pay a year for my internet and cell phone combined.

Digem

Thanks for the tip on rockauto, I really thought by there commercials they were a joke and a waste of time and money. But I will for sure give them a look before I do any purchasing.

fltdriver

I have used them for a few years and there commercials just started playing here. My GF is like isn't that where you buy parts and started making fun of me. But yes, commercial is super cheesy but I put them in the same category for parts as crutchfield for electronics, if they say it'll fit or it's the right part it is. Plus they have a variety of different brands, I always shop around for better prices with shipping, but a majority of the time they are the cheapest. Especially if you google rockauto discount code, RMN always has a 5% of code for rockauto so that's always a bonus.

Digem

RMN?

fltdriver

retailmenot.com, they have online discount codes for just about everyplace you can order online from. It doesn't cost anything to use them, just copy the code and insert it in (on rockauto) the how did you hear about us box below where you put in your zip code to get the shipping costs.

Crownman

I put some KYB Monotubes on the front and rear with some Moog CC824 springs on the front and mine rides nice and smooth but is nice and firm. Body roll is still there but not as bad, but I also don't have sway bars on the truck yet.

hudsonce

After some searching, I decided run of the mill auto parts store shocks would be fine for my very stock F150 driven 99% highway. I ordered Gabriel Guardian front and rear from Auto Zone and got a discount code from RMN. Ended up with the oil filter I needed and 8 new spark plugs for $97.09, free shipping, and an Auto Zone gift card for $10.00 on it's way in the mail. Will let yall know how the replacement goes.