i took my truck in to the dodge dealer and they said i have some weak shocks and that is contributing to the wandering when i hit bumps on the road/freeway. they wanted to charge me like 900+ for the front 2 shocks and i think like 250+ for the back shocks. i think that is expensive as hell, am i wrong? im doing some research right now on shops to get a general idea on how much i should be paying. also would it be cheaper if i bought the shocks myself and then took them to a shop to have them installed? it pisses me off cause i took it to the dealer where i bought it and i explained the problems i was having and they just jumped in the car and said everything was fine. the one thing that is being replaced under the warranty is the swaybar link. the rotors are warped - not covered, and the shocks are weak - not covered. i dont know how to go about getting this stuff covered as they were pre existing problems when i bought the truck it just took me forever to get them looked at because my work schedule and they service dept isnt open on the weekends.

 

Do the rears yourself, it's a 1/2 hour job. 900 is waaayyy too much to spend on front shocks or struts. Struts for the front should be 400 - 500 dollars if they supply the struts. Cheaper if you buy them. Sounds like someone is trying to rip you off.

 

You can order the new struts and shocks yourself, preferably either Rancho or Monroe, and have them installed at any repair shop. The OEM replacements the dealer would install are pretty much garbage. Installation should be no more than $200 for the fronts and $100 for the rear, and you should be able to do better than that.

A set of Rancho shocks and struts will cost a little under $300 shipped. Myself and others here have them installed and they are a major improvement for the Dakotas. I would highly recommend them. The Monroes would be a bit cheaper that the Ranchos.

 

It should be an hour and half of labor for the struts. That is all it takes, if they take longer you shouldn't have to pay for it. So ask the hour rate and tell them you wont pay more than that. Most place's hour rate is between 60 and 90. This is not custom work so make sure you are not paying for the custom hour rate.

 

Yea I installed my ranchos myself and it wasn't to hard it to me about 1.5-2 hours for the front and like 45 minutes for the back.

I also did mine with a floor jack whereas the shop will probably be using a lift, so the is no reason for them not to be done in like 2 hours for all four, so 900 bucks is pretty outrageous, just my .02

 

I would never pay someone to change out the rear shocks. It is simplier and took me less time than changing the oil. Seriously. 4 bolts and youre done.

For the fronts, I was quoted 250-300 to install 2 ranchos and a leveling kit if I supply the parts, but Im getting some more opinions first.

 

dude seriously just find a non dealer or named brand shop and be like this is what i have this is what i have to spend can it be done...most of the time they'll say yes trust me i used to do that all the time

 

I just ordered Rancho Struts for $165 shipped! Sweet deal! I cant wait to get these bad boys installed!

 

yeah i been thinking about just waiting to drop the rear end till i can get new shocks and struts in...and just do it all at once!

 

WOW, $165 shipped for a pair? where?

LB