Shocks going out?

[MattRoberts123]

Ok... well I just put my stock wheels and tires back on my SUT... and it is riding ROUGH! Bouncing all over the place and not handling the road well at all.

I remember when I first got the truck a little over a year ago, and it rode like a dream!!!

Could my shocks be going out this quick? I fear that if I take it to a shop and ask that question, that I instantly will be buying myself a new set of shocks...

Any suggestions?

[MDimitri]

Hi Matt,

Sounds like you have Pitman and Idler issues, not shocks issues. It is highly unusual for the shocks to blow out on you after only a year, to me it is more likely it is your pitman and idler arms, alot of our rigs go through a set or two of these a year, a good avenue to pursue is get the aftermarket fabtech pitman and idler arm support brackets, this will eliminate the need to change them ever again and your truck will ride like it did when new. Another addition is get the Fabtech steering stabalization kit, it will come with a heavy duty shock and a couple of nuts, bolts and washer's in order to mount them on the frame. With all this installed you will see a big difference in handling. Total amount to invest will be about $250.00 to $300.00 and you will be very happy with the end result!

Cheers!

[MattRoberts123]

Originally Posted by MDimitri

Hi Matt,

Sounds like you have Pitman and Idler issues, not shocks issues. It is highly unusual for the shocks to blow out on you after only a year, to me it is more likely it is your pitman and idler arms, alot of our rigs go through a set or two of these a year, a good avenue to pursue is get the aftermarket fabtech pitman and idler arm support brackets, this will eliminate the need to change them ever again and your truck will ride like it did when new. Another addition is get the Fabtech steering stabalization kit, it will come with a heavy duty shock and a couple of nuts, bolts and washer's in order to mount them on the frame. With all this installed you will see a big difference in handling. Total amount to invest will be about $250.00 to $300.00 and you will be very happy with the end result!

Cheers!

Any pics or description of what this does? I would like to have a better understanding of what all is involved before I go spending money at the shop... I assume any offroad place can take care of this?

[MDimitri]

Hi Matt,

Here is a link to the pitman and idler kit:

COGNITO

Here is an image:

[MattRoberts123]

Any ideas if there is anythign else that could be causing the problem? Frankly, the same thing was going on with my aftermarket wheels and tires... so I took them off just assuming that was the issue.... but now that they are off, I am still having the same problem... frankly it almost seems worse at times now with the stock tires back on.

I am just really frustrated... I feel like I am going to shake to death when I drive the car around town, and it makes me feel really ashamed when I am having other people ride with me.

Thanks for all the help!

[MDimitri]

Originally Posted by MattRoberts123

I feel like I am going to shake to death when I drive the car around town, and it makes me feel really ashamed when I am having other people ride with me.

Thanks for all the help!

What do you mean when you say "Shake to Death"? A good indicator that your Pitman and Idler are worn is when you drive the truck, do you get more than the usual amount of play in the steering wheel? Does the truck tend to sway from side to side when driving? What I mean by this is when you are driving down a straight road and you have your hands on the wheel and you jiggle the steering wheel left and right does it feel that there is more than say 1.5" of movement before the truck starts to move left or right? Thats a good indicator that you may have worn Pitman and Idler arms. As for the shaking syndrome, does this occur when you drive at a higher rate of speed such 55-70mph? If so, you may need to balance your tires. A good test if you feel your shocks are shot is when you drive around a bend in the road accelerate a bit more, do you feel the truck bounce up and down more than usual? Another test is while driving hit the brakes a bit harder at an intersection, does the truck bounce more than two times? does it feel spongey? Have you looked at your shocks, do they look like they are leaking any fluids? At the end of the day a good set of shocks will run you a couple of Hundred bucks. For the safety of yourself and your passengers go get your front end checked out, this costs about $50.00 (Any repsectable front end inspection shop can do this) and will give you the information you need to make the right purchsing choice. Hope this helps!

Cheers!