Shock Absorbers

Post project writeups, ideas, DIY mods and off the shelf modifications and improvements. Also "Known Issues" and their resolutions.
pdemarest
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Re: Bilstein Comfort Shock Absorbers

Post by pdemarest »

Picked up my rig this afternoon and Wow! What a difference. The ride around town (I live in California so our streets look like they've been bombed) was greatly improved, especially in the front. Expansion strips and small bumps no longer send a shock through the entire rig. Took it up on the freeway, got up to 65 mph and twitched the steering wheel from side to side detected very little sway. The tire/suspension shop did further research after I told them they had installed the wrong shocks and confirmed that the valves are set to allow for a lot of give but firm up as load on them increases, like on turns or hard braking. The back end is better - its hard to imagine a smooth ride with a solid rear axle, leaf springs and duallies - but I still haven't measured my rear sway bar yet so I may wind up changing that out as well. I also found a shop about an hour away that installs the Schulastic shackles but I haven't seen anything on this forum about how well they perform. Reviews online are mostly for large diesel pickups so it could be a gamble.
Paul Demarest
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poner1
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by poner1 »

Many thanks for all the good info!
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kdarling
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by kdarling »

After getting the Bilsteins, I decided that the replacement OEM Ford steering damper shock deserved its own blue boot :)

So I bought this inexpensive one off eBay as it seemed long enough for the ~10" of steering movement left to right.
image.jpeg
And it fits just right. I put it on with the wheels turned hard right (compressed) so I'd know how far onto the shock body the boot had to go. And here it is before I trim the extra bent worm gear metal tape, with the front wheels hard left (almost fully extended):
damper_boot.jpg
In the background you can vaguely make out a new rear shock, and the freshly wire brushed and painted propane tank, exhaust system and driveshaft. In the foreground is the new Hellwig antisway bar and its I-beam U bolts.

Many of our Chinooks are old enough now to need new shocks and steering dampers. If yours look original, and your ride isn't relatively smooth and solid feeling, it's likely time for new ones. As pdemarest noted above, new ones can make quite a difference.
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
pdemarest
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by pdemarest »

Just back from a 350 mile round trip over a wide variety of roads and I can say for sure that the new Bilstein Comfort shocks I had installed not only improve the ride but they actually feel more stable than the OEM one that rode so harshly. There's a stretch where we always get wind gusts and the rig recovered better than before.

Still considering the Schulastic Shackles to improve the ride quality but I'm holding off pending the verdict of my new fridge that quit working on the last day of the trip. I'm learning that an RV is like a boat; you're never done tweaking it.
Paul Demarest
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Scott
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by Scott »

Kevin already provided some great information regarding shocks installation. I just wanted to add a bit from my experience yesterday installing Monroe 34760 and 34761 Gas-Magnums. The night before, I applied penetrating oil to the fasteners. I used rebar tie wire to hold the shocks compressed.
wire.jpg
Installed the bottom end first, clipped the wire, guided the top through the hole. The OE top bushings are one piece and a pain to get out. Push down on one half with a prybar and slit the stretched rubber with a utility knife; they'll let go fairly easily. Another thing I did was jack the front just to the point that a wrench would go between the spring windings so I could get a greater rotation angle.
wrenches in action.jpg
An angled ratcheting box wrench proved very useful to hold the top nuts.
ratcheting box wrench.jpg
In most rigs, there's a rubber grommet under the brake pedal, which in theory looked like it was going to provide very convenient access, but once I actually started working, I realized it didn't really offer too much. Our van bodies are no friend to the home mechanic, and cranking on old rusty nuts can be physical work, and certainly not a breeze of a job, but not a total killer. Lastly, I have a bottle jack/jack stand combo that I've been using for about a year; it's much faster and takes up less room than dealing with a floor jack and separate jack stands. Big fan.
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kdarling
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by kdarling »

lol

I swear, I bought an angled ratcheting box wrench too, but couldn't get it to catch the nut.

Which side did you come in with it, front or back? Nm, looks like back. Hmm.

Love the jacking up idea!

Oh. And how's the ride now?
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
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Scott
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by Scott »

kdarling wrote:lol

I swear, I bought an angled ratcheting box wrench too, but couldn't get it to catch the nut.

Which side did you come in with it, front or back? Nm, looks like back. Hmm.

Love the jacking up idea!

Oh. And how's the ride now?
Those wrenches have saved me many times on many vehicles. You can get a decent non-professional-grade set for about $40. I advise having metric and English, especially as an owner of a mid-90's Ford. Annoyingly, there are both types of fasteners, which I'm sure you have discovered and/or knew.
Correct, I came from the back; you can just see the top wrench in the photo. I do not have small hands, but I could get up/in there OK. I think the ABS pigtail was in the way a bit, but not a barrier.
The ride is great. No complaints, but It's still an RV; it ain't a Miata and it ain't an Eldorado either. I don't have a rear sway bar, and the front sway bar is stock. The stock shocks were not technically "worn" (low mileage) but they were old, so this was a notable improvement.

BTW, here's the jack that I use in case anyone is shopping. Time/space saver. Quality unit (so far).

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Powerbuilt-3 ... /203116783
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FatBuoy
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by FatBuoy »

So, I tackled the job yesterday. Took right at 3 hours for all four corners. Scott- SUPER helpful suggesting the flex-head ratcheting wrench set. I would have not been able to do it without. I was fortunate, in that the threads on the shocks were pretty clean. I still prepped them with penetrant oil the day before.

I was able to do the job with zero cutting of anything, other than the grommets with a utility knife. Another great suggestion by Scott. I tackled the "toughest" shock first (left front) as I wanted to get the worst out of the way. That one probably took an hour for R&R. All downhill from here! So I thought. The right front only took about 20 minutes R&R. Now that I have the two hardest out of the way, I'm feeling pretty darned good. On to the rears. Left rear- SUPER quick removal. One more rear removal to go, then install the new rears and done. Screeeeech! That right rear is a bear to get to with all of the heat shields/exhaust and stuff going on there. I had no idea! I think that one was about as challenging as the left front. But I got it done, and BOY is there a ride quality difference. I think it was Blue who told me that with the old shocks, he felt like the RV was on a giant rubber ball. Spot on. I didn't know what I didn't know since this is my first RV. So stable now over dips and bumps. I went with the Konis, by the way.

I do have a question for the group. That right rear- as I was installing the new shock, the e-brake line was in the way to where it's up against the shock. Since I didn't take a before pic, I'm not sure if it was like that before, but I would assume so. There just doesn't seem to be any other position for it, and routing on the other side of the shock was even worse. There's also a "spring" like thing on the line with a straightened end that sticks out. It just free floats on the line. Please take a look at the pictures and let me know what I'm missing. As you see, the line touches the leaf spring AND the shock. Did I do something wrong? Is there any way someone could take a look under theirs as a comparison? Headed out for a trip this afternoon and don't want to mess something up. It just doesn't make logical sense for an e-brake line to touch ANYTHING.
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Shock1.jpeg
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2001 Premier aka "Anookie"
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Scott
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by Scott »

Well good job man! You got it done and you saved some cash👍👍

Glad my tips were helpful, and thank you for the credit.

For the brake line... my rear end setup is slightly different since I have drum brakes, so I can't speak from direct experience. But generically, under no circumstances should a brake line be touching anything that isn't intended to keep it positioned. It's hard for me to tell from your photo cuz it's pretty dark but that spring thing is usually a retainer to keep lines away from items that might cause abrasion. It's not something to panic about, but I would definitely want to correct it.
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FatBuoy
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Re: Shock Absorbers

Post by FatBuoy »

Scott wrote: July 2nd, 2020, 7:56 am Well good job man! You got it done and you saved some cash👍👍

Glad my tips were helpful, and thank you for the credit.

For the brake line... my rear end setup is slightly different since I have drum brakes, so I can't speak from direct experience. But generically, under no circumstances should a brake line be touching anything that isn't intended to keep it positioned. It's hard for me to tell from your photo cuz it's pretty dark but that spring thing is usually a retainer to keep lines away from items that might cause abrasion. It's not something to panic about, but I would definitely want to correct it.
You bet! Credit where credit is due. Upon further assessment, it's the e-brake line. Got back under and found the mounting location. It had pulled out at some point. The mounting location was right next to the lower shock bolt. Issue resolved!
2001 Premier aka "Anookie"
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