Greetings forum members, I'm seeking some advice for replacing the shocks on the truck I drive.

It's a 96 Ram 1500 Sport, 2wd with the 360 V8. I really like it, it's a fun car to drive. One thing about it, though, is that it rides really rough. I recently found a job and considered replacing the shocks for a bit of a nicer ride. If I do dive into it, I would prefer to replace both front and back.

My questions are how easy/hard this would be, and would it make much of a difference if I did it? I won't be able to buy insane shocks or anything (I'm 16 and start at a pizza shop this week) but I *think* I won't need expensive parts to make an impact.

Thanks for any input you can provide!

 

I like the Monroe sensa-trac. (blue). Had some l/t duty shocks that were shot in a year. Keeping good shocks will help other front end parts from taking a beating. So start with the fronts, then do the rear as money allows. A lot of shops mark parts up100 percent or more. Do some price shopping and ask at some smaller shops how much they would charge labor if you supplied the parts. Welcome to DF! Go to cp user acct and fill in your truck signature.

 

Heh...about the front end parts taking a beating...I think they already have AFAIK the shocks have never been replaced...so I'm not even sure if I can call them 'shocks' at this point :O but I will definitely go with the front first...although the back could use them too (both sets of leaf springs are broken). As far as difficulty is concerned...what all will I be getting myself into?

I don't mind a bit of a challenge, I would love to have a smoother ride. It's pretty rough lol...we have some bad RR crossings around here too :P

 

If it's a 4x4 you can change all 4 shocks without even jacking up the truck. The rear shocks are easier if you remove the spare tire first.

I also like Monroe, but the front Sensa Trac shocks died on me in a matter of weeks. I just replaced them again with a set of Monroes that were two steps up from Sensa Trac, these were yellow. They have only been on the truck for a week or so with limited driving...but I just felt like the Sensa Trac shocks weren't tough enough for the front end weight of a 360 4x4.

The only thing I didn't expect, was that in order to get the old front driver's shock out I had to disconnect the master from the booster and unbolt the shock cage. Once the cage is unbolted, the shock pushed it up into the bottom of the master cylinder and there wasn't enough room to move it out of the way and get the shock out without moving the master a little out of the way. I did not have to disconnect the brake lines.

The lower bushings are a little touch to get seated in the lower bolt pocket, so I put a socket over the threaded shaft and tapped it into place with a hammer...being careful to get down and watch the lower hole for alignment.

Leave the compression straps on until the shocks are in place and bolted in. Then you can reach in with some snips and cut the compression strap.

Outside of all that, it's not a bad job at all.

 

I got the cheap $20 ones from rockauto. Gave a better ride that the rough countrys I had on it. Been on for about 6 months now with a plow hanging off the front and still good. It doesnt jar my teeth out anymore.

 

I'm getting the Skyjacker Hydro 7000s when i replace mine. I did enough research on them and they have good feedback for an inexpensive shock setup.

http://www.autoanything.com/suspensi...A2623A0A0.aspx

 

Thanks for all the input guys. It sounds easy enough, but I'm somewhat confused. The shock cage that I should be seeing doesn't seem to exist on this truck...I looked for it and saw nothing (I watched a vid so I have a general idea of what it looks like). This is up front, in case you were wondering.

 

The 1996 may be different than what I have worked on...can you snap and post a pic of your upper shock mount from the engine bay side?

 

If your rear leaf springs are broken you better deal with them real quick in my opinion. Get a set from a junkyard and some help when replacing...maybe free pizza to your buddies.

 

@Sooper, sure thing, it may not be today but I'll get one by tomorrow.

@guzman, yeah...they probably do need attention. Thing is, I don't know how to go about replacing them...it's hard to explain but the whole thing broke off wherever it's connected at a point...so basically the whole bundle of springs on both sides are rubbing on the bottom of the bed :O