I went to the saw mill to pick up a load of wood shavings today and the truck rides OK but sometimes I feel like a fishing line bobber floating in rough water going down the road.  I can't imagine that the original OEM installed,17 year old shocks when the truck was built at the factory STILL being installed could possibly be the problem????    

 

I was looking at the Bilstein 5100 but Geno's Garage as far I can tell only carries the 5160 which fits my truck according to their selections.  What is the deal on shock for these trucks or at least this year and model?  Thanks.

On 12/10/2018 at 5:33 AM, notlimah said:

 

Yea I was wondering the same for mine as I have a 1in spacer but all stock springs. I may need to get ahold of bilstein and see what they’d suggest.

I would like to know what the 1” spacer looks like?  

9 hours ago, portlandareae28 said:

I would like to know what the 1” spacer looks like?  

 

This is the one I run. 

 

https://www.topguncustomz.com/i-25499269-1-inch-leveling-kit-1994-2001-dodge-ram-1500-1994-2012-ram-2500-3500-2013-ram-2500-4x4.html?Session_ID=7b8d37b5f09212a4d1d9e88b0d989260

On 12/29/2018 at 8:00 AM, AH64ID said:

 

This is the one I run. 

 

https://www.topguncustomz.com/i-25499269-1-inch-leveling-kit-1994-2001-dodge-ram-1500-1994-2012-ram-2500-3500-2013-ram-2500-4x4.html?Session_ID=7b8d37b5f09212a4d1d9e88b0d989260

 

How do you feel this affects the track bar, steering, alignment, etc.?

10 hours ago, portlandareae28 said:

 

How do you feel this affects the track bar, steering, alignment, etc.?

 

 

It will slightly shift the axle, but I can’t notice it like I could with my 2”. 

 

I haven’t noticed anything with the steering, or alignment and the ride is 10x better than with the 2” spacer. 

1 hour ago, AH64ID said:

 

 

It will slightly shift the axle, but I can’t notice it like I could with my 2”. 

 

I haven’t noticed anything with the steering, or alignment and the ride is 10x better than with the 2” spacer. 

I will have to see if I can measure the ones that came out of my truck.  I bet they are 2”

On 1/1/2019 at 7:08 AM, portlandareae28 said:

 

How do you feel this affects the track bar, steering, alignment, etc.?

 

Sorry for the delay. I went from a 2in spacer to a 1in spacer from daystar and I didn’t need to adjust anything other then the steering wheel alignment. Everything else felt the same.

Just a quick update. The KYB's Gas-a-just has been a good shock on my truck. A bit on the stiff side compared to my 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. Still in all the ride is good I would call excellent but it keeps the tires in contact with the road very well.

A couple years ago I got the bilstien yellow/blue shocks on special from Geno's garage "Shocktober" 

 

The rear is fine but I immediately noticed that the front was super stiff. I mean REAL hard. Like every bump was as if the truck had no suspension at all. BAM BAM BAM!  I wanted to send them back but in my research I could not find any other bilstien variation for this truck .

 

So was like "screw it" and I just left them on the truck. Fast forward one year now they are fine. It's like they broke in and now they are softer not super soft. Truck does not bounce.  I've never heard of shocks breaking in, but that's what it's seems like.

 

Next time around I am not going with bilstien. I know they have a huge following and great reputation but I like a soft ride without bounce.

Edited January 14, 20196 yr by JAG1

I have the KYBMono Max on my truck that hauls the camper. They helped with reducing sway and are soft only when the truck is loaded with the slide in camper.

 

My other truck got the KYB standard factory replacement. No upgrade, just OEM grade basically. They ride very nice for the two years now. Nice break from spending money on the expensive shocks.

Still, in all, the Factory shocks, I had lasted a 150k miles were just weeping oil. The Rancho's that I had last well over 150k miles and never leaked oil at all but lost the gas charge. Now on the KYB Gas A Just shocks and still doing awesome. I'll most likely ditch the shock sooner like 100k miles and freshen up. Shocks seem to degrade slowly and create issues without you really noticing.  

Ive put Thuren coils on several different dodges over the years and when i came across a good deal on a used set the other day, i snagged them up. I had a set of his white body shocks and coils on my last 98 and they were better than the worn out monroe's that i pulled off. I got a set of fox 2.0 piggy back shocks from John Fack and sent those back to fox for a rebuild, then they went on the 2012 with Thuren coils. Again, they were better than the stock shocks they replaced butI should have sent them to Thuren but didnt know he would rebuild them at the time. This time I went with Carli's signature series and these things are the best yet! My stock springs had rubber boosters between the coils and worn out kyb shocks so it road like a wagon. Between the 2" Thuren coils and the Carli shocks, this thing rides like a dream!

Surprising how some people don't jump on the Bilstein wagon and go a totally different route. @98whitelightnin you got a point that over all the miles the coil springs get tired of carrying that 1,100 pound engine and tend to sag over the years. 

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Now on the KYB Gas A Just shocks and still doing awesome. 

 

My Jeep came with these, brand new too. 

 

I can't blame the shocks completely as I've never driven it without these shocks but I am shocked at how harsh the ride is for how soft the suspension is. To me it feels like cheap crappy shocks, but it will take time to tell as I'm likely not going to swap them out anytime soon. 

Now cheap crappy shock is the Monroes I've got on the 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. Those are plain sloppy and rides like the shocks are nearly worn out. A bit too bouncy and leans excessively in corners. 

I'm considering the Sachs 310 178 shocks for the front of my truck. I'm currently running the Bilstein 4600's but they are just too stiff. 

 

My truck is 2wd Independent front suspension, so I'm looking for a shock that will simply allow the suspension to travel and return in response to road conditions and dampen without bounce.

On 12/29/2018 at 11:00 AM, AH64ID said:

 

This is the one I run. 

 

https://www.topguncustomz.com/i-25499269-1-inch-leveling-kit-1994-2001-dodge-ram-1500-1994-2012-ram-2500-3500-2013-ram-2500-4x4.html?Session_ID=7b8d37b5f09212a4d1d9e88b0d989260

 

AH64ID:  Did you install the lift for handling purposes? or just to level it out?  The back of my truck currently sits about 2 1/2" higher in the back compared to front. (Sitting on level concrete - measured front and back from the spot welded pinch seam (which runs straight along the bottom of our trucks) to level ground.  

I'm considering Top Gun's 2" level kit for the 2wd (They don't make a 1" kit for the 2wd).  https://www.topguncustomz.com/2-inchleveling-kit-front-steel-1994-2017-dodge-ram-1500-2500-3500-2wd.html?Session_ID=e26dc85c34caea0c3cffdbe40d8fcac7

17 hours ago, Ironforger said:

My truck is 2wd Independent front suspension, so I'm looking for a shock that will simply allow the suspension to travel and return in response to road conditions and dampen without bounce.

 

Might try the Rancho 5100 those did very well for me for over 150k miles. The KYB Gas-A-Just are doing good as well 

7 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Might try the Rancho 5100 those did very well for me for over 150k miles. The KYB Gas-A-Just are doing good as well 

Thanks Moparman!  Are the Ranch 5100's soft?  My priority is to find a good soft shock which allows the suspension to fully travel but dampens without bounce.   As it is now, my Bilstein 4600's as so stiff that they actually impeded free movement of the suspension. 

18 hours ago, Ironforger said:

 

AH64ID:  Did you install the lift for handling purposes? or just to level it out? 

 

80% added ground clearance for the oil pan, and 20% looks. 

 

The 2” had a negative effect on my ride, but the 2WD suspension is quite different. 

Update,

 

I installed the Sachs 310178 shocks on the font of my 02 dodge 3500 independent suspension truck. I'm very pleased with the results. Nice feel, not too stiff, not too soft.  Does not bounce or bobble.  I

I like these much better than the bilstien shocks (which are way too stiff).

 

I'd like to point out that this particular sachs shock will fit 1994 - 2002  1500, 2500 and 3500 dodge trucks.

 

I may sell the bilstiens if anyone interested. less than 2 years old, about 6000 miles on them.

On 11/20/2018 at 7:27 AM, Mopar1973Man said:

If you would have just changed out the brake fluid that would of all needed to be done. When the brake starts to absorb water from the air it starts to oxidize in the system causing the pistons to stick. So just changing brake fluid and disassembling the calipers and cleaning them out would have done way more good. The problem is all the debris is drop in the bottom of the caliper and the bleeder screw is on top. 

Next on my Long, long list of things to get done..Clean out those calipers & replace the short section of rubber brake line as they start falling apart from the inside.