Originally Posted by johned (Post 2130896)

Dear friends and fellow travelers....the saga has come to an end.

With $150 invested in the God awful Gabriel Ultra +++ I had the truck in a shop for an emergency clutch master replacement. While it is in there i thought I might as well have those KYBs that have been rattling around in there installed. Been raining here for two weeks and I lost my garage so the driveway was OUT. Shop started the work and then told me I had 4 front shocks and wanted to have a plan. I talked to the "order lady", a really sharp young woman, and KYBs were a day out but she could get MONROE LT OEM shocks for a price that indicated that they were full competition. Lucky move on my part as these shocks are just superb around the city and pot holes. So I have trashed the kidney belts.

Not saying this is anything other than a great street shock but I am out an awful lot of money just trying to get a good street ride.


I was disappointed in the @$180 each Mich street tread 31's I bought recently. They corner like a race car but they rode terrible over tar strips. It was the shocks. now, with the Monroe's, they ride superbly and I expect them to last the life of the truck (40+K) and me. Mich. has always been a superb investment regardless of the vehicle in my experience.

Originally Posted by IN2 FX4 (Post 2128912)

I have not experienced Bilsteins being too stiff. In fact, I thought the original Bilsteins that came on my 02 FX4 were a little soft. They did OK on the pavement but a little too soft for off-road. At around 100K miles the dampening was starting to deteriorate and I bought new Bilsteins with Bilstein tuning instead of the Ford tuning. The new shocks were just right for off-road and still good on pavement. I am still running them with 225K miles on the truck. I have noticed one of the rear shocks is showing a little sign of getting damp with oil. I am guessing they will need to be replaced before too long but they are still performing like they did when new.