hey guys. ive been think'n of getting some rough country 9000 series shocks. seem to have good reviews for a decent price. i was think'n also about doing the swap myself. my old shocks are just way too bouncy. there leak'n and i think may be original facorty ones at 160k so.. well past time to change. how hard is it to change the shocks. i have the manual from online and a haynes and it looks like there's just 2 bolts for each and there out. seems pretty straight forward. any tips on grease or dressings i need for bushings or other tips ?

thanks.

 

Shocks are VERY easy to replace. The front shocks use two bolts on the bottom and one nut on the top. Sometimes this nut can be rust-welded to the shaft. But the shaft has a small recess at the top allowing you to hold it still while you turn the nut with a wrench. It's fairly easy. I replaced the front shocks on my '97 about a month ago (169k miles on the originals). I tried the Napa Response first (same as standard Monroe) and they felt about the same as the old OE shocks. Smooth and soft, but a little lax. I took those back and swapped for the Napa Reflex (same as Monroe Reflex) and those are real nice. They've broken in a little bit, and they're firm but still ride well. I haven't replaced the rears yet (they're still fine), but those are just one bolt at the top and bottom. Even easier than the fronts.

 

if you have the 2wd model the fronts have two bolts on the bottom and a nut on top

if you have the 4wd model than its one bolt on the bottom and one nut on the top

very easy as long as they are not rust welded together took me 45 min including jacking the car up and cleaning up all the tools to do the front shocks and bump stops on my truck

 

I just did mine at about 112,000 miles. I think my OEMs might have still been good because the reason I thought that they were bad is that I started to notice some rear end sway at high speeds. Turns out my diff was going bad at that time...

Anyways, I went with the Bilstein stockers and they do fine. It eliminated a good deal of the body roll that I used to feel with my OEMs. I'd say they're pretty good for the money, which was a bit more than $60 each...

 

If you go with RC9000's call them up and ask them to beat or at least match the JcWhitney price and they will. I am very happy with the performance, I don't do any extreme offroading though. They did make my truck take bumps better and improved the handleing. Good shock for the price. Also they told me they are made side-by-side at the same factory as the Rancho's, ain't that interesting?