This is going to come off as a newb question but how do you guys determine when it's time to replace your shocks. I just hit 90,000 miles in my 04.. I've had the truck in recently to get tires and alignment, but they didn't mention anything about them being bad.

Naturally, I just figure it rides like sh*t because it's t-bars. It does nose-dive a bit on hard braking (san diego traffic) and bounce a bit much on bumps. Pulling in/out of my driveway is like wrecking into a ditch on solid brick wheels, haha. It'll sway a bit when parked at a light (turning left waiting for an arrow) and a car drives by fast and leans quite a bit on a exit ramp curve.

So.. should I replace them? Even if they have no visual signs of damage, leaking, etc. They are the stock shocks I am pretty sure. When do you guys replace them? If I do it.. I might as well ditch the t-bars and go coil-overs. I need an alignment again anyway after some upcoming UCA's I'm gonna do. What do you guys recommend in the rear? To soften the ride a bit in the rear.

 

I have found that factory shocks are typically good for about 50K miles. There are exceptions though. My Ranger came with Bilstein shocks and they were good for about 100K miles.

I can usually tell if the shocks are bad when driving it. When hitting a dip it should bounce once and recover quickly without several rebounds. I usually check by pushing down on one end of the vehicle several times and get it to bouncing up and down. Then stop pushing it and see how many times it bounces before it stops (or near stop). It should stop within 1 to 1.5 cycles. If it bounces more, you need shocks. Even 1.5 cycles could be an indication of needed new shocks. Many people don't believe in this method but it works if done right.

 

Bump because I'm bored on Turkey Day

 

Replace them with the blue/yellow bilsteins