I have a 1998 Ranger 3.0L 2wd and wanted to know if anybody has tried the Monroe OE Spectrum light duty shocks and if they are any good. Not using it for any off road use just normal driving.

 

I installed them last year. They are similar to stock shocks i replaced, OE original equipment. I would recommend them.

 

I bought them twice. Once when my stock shocks were toast and then a second time after I lifted my truck... To be honest spend the extra money and get bilsteins. I did and couldn't be happier. I now look at why I wasted money buying the oe spectrum's twice when I should have just bought the bilsteins once and been done with it...lol

The spectrums were pretty wavy when driving on the highway. Not horrible but not firm and kinda gave this cloud feeling but not in a mercedes float over anything type of ride. Just vague in a way. I read all the reviews on how bilsteins were super firm and meant for off road... I dd my truck and it's mainly all highway. The bilsteins were nice and firm without being harsh. Made the highway drive much more enjoyable to me.
Just my .02 cents.

-Nigel

 

Nigel, I have only the 2wd but it has the 16" wheels/tires on it. Not going to do any off road at all. It is all highway driving. You said they were meant for off road so do you think I should still go with the Bilstein's................... And did you go with the 4600's

 

My 2001 xlt rwd has 16" sport wheels. Initially it had the stock 15" chrome wheels. I do zero off road as well and travel 60 miles a day to and from work. Everyone always described them as off road but in reality they aren't at all, so I don't know why people always push that. Seems to steer people away and I know that's what it did for me in the very beginning. I went with the 4600's. Yellow and blue. Their silver/blue version 5100 are meant for a different thing I believe.

Here's my truck apart but you can see the bilsteins.

Had I know how the ride quality is with these from the beginning I would have bought them first. The ride is firmer and more predicative than stock but not harsh where I am dreading my commute. I guess I could describe it when I hit a certain stretch of highway that is all crumbly/ bumpy before it used to jar and shake/rattle me. But with these it just goes over them and I don't get that feeling at all.

I will note that my oe spectrums already had the rear shock not performing as it should. When I would compress it it stayed compressed. Did not expand at all which was not a nice feeling knowing that I only had them on for about a year or two and they were already showing signs of failure. I believe they have a lifetime warranty but the time and effort to ship them, wait for new only to have to go through that again possibly was a turn off to me.

-Nigel

 

This right here, listen to him......I too had the monroe OE Spectrum =Garbage... point blank I didn’t get but 20k . I had originally wanted Bilsteins but cheeped out the 1 st time, needless to say I went with Bilsteins the next Time around. Couldn’t be happier at least until I get around to installing all of my poly bushings...but that is another story:

 

Nigel, Thank you for all your efforts here on the shocks. I am 56 and never paid $65-70 for one shock but I think you have me talked into it. I see that you bought yours from Amazon. So do I need to look for anything else except for 4600's.

 

Nigel, What paint did you end up going with on your frame. Mine is terrible so I need to do what you are doing. Can one man take that bed off or do I need help. I was just going to give it a couple coats of 50/50 water and vinegar and then coat it with Rustoleum rusty metal primer and then paint it with Rustoleum black

 

Nigel, I am in the process of installing upper control arms with new ball joints. I made sure and took the camber bolts out the same way they were installed. However, the drivers side camber bolts that have the angled slopes were facing up and the passengers side were facing down. Is this normal and should I put them back in the same way. Before I started this project the truck drove fine and the alignment seemed fine. Just don't know what to do. It looks to me like you have done just about everything so thought I would ask if you have replaced yours and what you did.

 

No problem at all. I'm coming from japanese and german cars so paying $70 a shock to me is super cheap considering I used to pay $500+ per corner ...etc. All in perspective right..hahah

The paint I used was Chassis saver paint. I read the reviews on amazon and it all had great reviews. I believe it's just like Por15. Prep is key before applying it. Knock off the loose scale, then wire brush it. Clean, clean, clean and the paint.

I read that two people can lift the bed off. I asked my wife to help me and that proved to be useless...ahaha I had to ask my neighbor to help me with the bed. It's not heavy just awkward to pick up. I used to spray the frame with rustoleum and it would last about a year before having to reapply. Hoping this stuff lasts. It seems much thicker and better than the spray cans. Time will tell though.

As long as you put the bolts/camber the same way as you took them out you should be OK with alignment,.... but to be honest if you are messing with it, take it in and get an alignment. Paying $70 to get it aligned properly is a small price to pay than having $700 tires get ruined because something wasn't aligned back to specs.

Seems like I've taken the majority of the truck apart now looking back and many things...hahaha

-Nigel

 

About the camber bolts........... I understand that I should get an alignment done afterwards, what I am concerned about is why the angled side of the camber bolts were facing up on the drivers side and the passenger's side were facing down. I thought they both had to be facing up. What would you do put them back in the same way and go get an alignment or would you buy one of the Moog camber kits. I have read some confusing info on that your Ranger will only benefit you by buying the new round camber kits if you have the torsion bar suspension. I have the coil spring on the front so not sure what to do.

 

Not sure about the stock camber bolts to be honest, I replaced those a few years back with the Moog camber kit and haven't looked back since. It was a good thing to because once I got my spindle lift they had align it twice before they could get it right and with the stock bolts they wouldn't have been able to do so.
I too have the coil spring setup. I'd just go and replace the camber bolts with the kit. Kit is cheap and it makes the life of the alignment dude easier and they can dial it in better thus saving ya $$$ on tires ;-p

-Nigel

 

Nigel, Thanks so much for all your replies. OK so I found the Moog camber bolt kit with the round plates. Do these have to be put in a special way. I have new upper control arms with new ball joints that I am ready to put in. So do I just run the new camber bolts thru the upper control arms and torque down the nuts.

 

Where did you buy your Bilstein shocks

 

I am pretty sure with Moog camber bolts they came with directions on how to install them so I can't 100% say because it's been a while. I believe I did what you said, and just tightened the bolts after installing them, then drove it to the alignment shop and they did the rest as far as setting it up. I do know that they can dial in the alignment much better with the MOOG kit compared to the stock ford camber bolts. I can take a picture of mine when I get home this weekend. I'm visiting my parents till Sunday.

I bought my bilsteins on amazon because they were cheaper and were prime. Normally I just do a search and see who is cheapest. Most places were charging at least $30 for shipping plus the cost of the shocks. Amazon was cheapest and 2nd day free shipping was a no brainer to me.

-Nigel

 

I think I can change my own shocks..I bought my truck a few months back 2002. 4x4 Edge.. wioth automatic.. do i have to remove the tires to change the front shocks? When i got the oil changed someone said the reas had been changed// course I dont know when...

 

Yea shocks are very easy on our trucks. My coil spring ranger did not require removing the wheels nor jacking anything up to remove/install new ones.

You might be different if you are torsion bars but overall it's not a hard install at all. Hardest thing might be breaking the bolts loose if they are super rusty. Installing should be 5 minutes per corner.

-Nigel

 

Nigel, I was watching Chris Fix on installing the new camber bolts on the upper control arm and he put some copper anti seize on the 2 bolts that hold the control arm on. Also it is recommended to put blue thread locker on the bolts. However, if you take it in for alignment right after you put the thread locker on don't they have to loosen the nut to align it.

 

Nigel, Your paint job looks amazing on your frame. Where did you get your chassis paint that is like POR-15. My frame is rusting bad. Did you simply take a wire wheel in a angle grinder or drill and remove the excess rust and do nothing more then paint the chassis paint on with a brush with no primer. How many coats........ I guess there are many things like electrical and other things to disconnect before removing the bed. Seems like a all day job just getting the bed off. If you had it to do all over again would you still remove the bed.

 

Nigel, I was going to order the Bilstein shocks 4600's online. Is there a stock number other then 4600 for 98 ranger 2WD

 

All that stuff about The Bills being the SUPREME SHOCK is absolutely true. TRUE TRUE TRUE! I even put them on my Winnebago and it performed amazing.

Now for the bad news. I went thru 12 shocks for the Ranger way back when and they were all replaced by Bill after they were run on the factory Shock Dyno down in Ca. Then 10 yeaRS later I needed shocks again and heard the the Bills problems were resolved so I, being the Bill lover that I am and hard to convince, ordered another set of Ranger shocks from Poway, Ca (the home of Bill) and PAID to have them installed. They were "without fluid" and worked as well as you might expect. Paid to have Gabriel's installed and they are almost good.

Try the bills if you do your own work but keep all your paperwork and packing. Mt experience says there is a good chance you will use it. After 12 shocks they suggested that their stock must be bad and suggested I go elsewhere even though they verified that all were defective...as I did.

I found the common problem with our shocks: It ain't the shocks. It is the spring. All the 4x4 trucks have different spring rates and my STX must be the stiffest. Way back when I replaced my springs and MOOG had a different number for each model. I bought the number that was right for my STX. That spring was SOOOOO much stiffer than the others that all the shocks that I installed were overpowered by the spring rebound and the truck bounced harshly. I put up with that for a long time and wrote it off to how a Off Road Oriented truck rode. Not true. It is hoe an un-dampened truck rides...harsh. Even the Ford Co says that the shock specified for ALL 1996 has the same P/N but he remembered that they used to be different for each one.

Rancho makes a shock that has Compression and Rebound adjustable dampening and those worked very well on my FJ55 but not as well as the Bills mounted on the front axle.

Go with the Bills if, and only if, you do your own work.

And to conclude: Bills were the absolute best shock I ever dreamed of having.....when they worked. get the warranty paperwork!!!!!

 

Well I have my steering knuckles off and replacing my upper control arms and lower ball joints and thought it would be easier to replace the shocks since all that stuff was out of the way. So I removed the 2 front shocks these are from the factory but only have 105K on them and they seemed pretty good still. I pushed them in and out and they still had a lot of resistance so not sure how long the factory shocks last. Before I started the ball joint job the truck ran fine with no slopping around. How many miles did you get out of your factory shocks. The Bills are $70 each so not cheap. If I do decide to buy the Bills do I ask for any stock number other then the 4600's

 

Nigel, Did you paint your steering knuckle with the chassis paint you were referring to. Just wanted to know what the name of the paint is and if you were pleased with the outcome.

 

Sorry was a way for a little bit, I'll answer all in your quotes.

Got the chassis saver paint on amazon. This is the exact one I bought.

It is satin black. However it's still somewhat shiny so I can't image what their "gloss" black is like...lol I wanted satin because I didn't want a shiny frame. It has a light gloss but nothing crazy. I bought a gallon. Looking back I could have probably bought two quarts. But it was cheaper to buy the 1 gallon. I believe I did 3-4 coats. I started with the bed, then realized that there was still a ton of paint left. So I did the rear of the bed frame. Then ended up doing everything I could reach/get to under the frame/body. Then moved to the front and did the spindles and all other components like control arms...etc. I ended up throwing out still about a 1/4 of the gallon. Once opened you really have to use it up within a few days... otherwise it gets some weird layer and starts to harden up.

Removing the bed is not bad. I kept reading that one person and a helper can remove it. Had my wife try and help me lift the bed and it was useless. Had to have my neighbor help me. It's not heavy just awkward. I had to remove the bed anyways because my fuel pump finally died. So while the bed was off I replaced the fuel pump, filler neck, hoses, and tank straps. Figured I'm there why not. Once the bed is off you really have access to everything to do it right.

I knocked off all the loose scale that was on the rear of the truck. My worst part for rust was the top of the tire carrier. After hitting it and probably loosing around 2lbs of metal I then wire brushed it and degreased everything. Then washed it multiple times making sure no grease was on the truck frame or where I was going to paint. IF you can't get everything that's OK. I actually found the paint likes something to stick to so if there is rust it actually sticks better to it than smooth perfectly shiny metal.

I only disconnected the rear harness which is one plug that is attached to the taillights and license plate/tow harness. Then it all comes out, maybe 3 minutes worth of pulling the harness of by undoing the plastic clips holding it to the frame/bed.

Good question. I am not 100% sure. Check your year with the Amazon compatibility.

With my factory shocks I believe they were shot at around 109k miles when I bought it. But I didn't know at the time they were shot. My rotors were warped and calipers seized but also didn't know enough then to realize that. It wasn't until I test drove another ranger after buying mine that I said to myself " this one doesn't jolt up and down like ranger nor does the brake pedal vibrate when I brake..." I'd check online or call Bilstein if unsure they have really good customer service.

I painted anything and everything I could. The paint is really good. I am quite pleased with it. It's called "Chassis Saver Paint".


Attached some pictures of before/after. Not in complete order or when I replaced everything like the filler neck, hoses, rear diff cover...etc.
Hope that helps :-)

-Nigel

 

So no primer used before painting the frame. Also when taking bed off was the rear wiring harness the only thing you had to disconnect outside of the bolts that hold it down.