Rough Ride / Suspension Issues

[WABronc]

Hi All,

'94 eddie bauer bronco, 5.8L, 151k miles. I believe it's stock ride height. Usage is just city driving on some rough local roads.

Problem: I'm starting to get tired of how "soft" the suspension feels. What it really feels like is that when I am going down the road and hit a bump, the truck will bounce a couple of times before settling. On rough roads it's honestly pretty terrible and contributes to a lot of dash creaking, etc. as well. Had to swerve at 60+mph recently and it didn't even feel safe.

What I've done: One year ago I replaced all 6 (quad shocks in the front) shocks with monroe-matic brand and I felt that it improved the ride at the time, but they either didn't hold up very well or I need something else.

What should be the checklist for suspension problems?

• Should I try replacing the springs themselves? I can almost guarantee they are original.
• If I need better shocks, does it matter what I get? I see people talk about valving and things like that but all I went off of with this set of shocks was "does it fit?". If I really want a sure-fire fix should I go for adjustable shocks?
• Are air shocks a good idea? My dad put some on his truck specifically to haul a very heavy trailer, and he really likes them but I'm not sure if they would work for just general city driving.
• Is it likely that the rubber bushings / frame mounts would contribute significantly to the overall ride quality?
• How can I check that the ride height is stock?

There are a few easy photos attached here, if any more would be helpful I'm happy to take some more.

Any help appreciated!

 

[WABronc]

So I've come to the conclusion that it would probably be a good idea to inspect and replace the ball joints, radius arm bushings, tie rod ends to begin with. Will keep this thread going with my progress.

Can anyone tell me if that usually has a significant impact on ride quality?

 

[johnnyreb]

Hi All,

'94 eddie bauer bronco, 5.8L, 151k miles. I believe it's stock ride height. Usage is just city driving on some rough local roads.

Problem: I'm starting to get tired of how "soft" the suspension feels. What it really feels like is that when I am going down the road and hit a bump, the truck will bounce a couple of times before settling. On rough roads it's honestly pretty terrible and contributes to a lot of dash creaking, etc. as well. Had to swerve at 60+mph recently and it didn't even feel safe.

What I've done: One year ago I replaced all 6 (quad shocks in the front) shocks with monroe-matic brand and I felt that it improved the ride at the time, but they either didn't hold up very well or I need something else.

What should be the checklist for suspension problems?

• Should I try replacing the springs themselves? I can almost guarantee they are original.
• If I need better shocks, does it matter what I get? I see people talk about valving and things like that but all I went off of with this set of shocks was "does it fit?". If I really want a sure-fire fix should I go for adjustable shocks?
• Are air shocks a good idea? My dad put some on his truck specifically to haul a very heavy trailer, and he really likes them but I'm not sure if they would work for just general city driving.
• Is it likely that the rubber bushings / frame mounts would contribute significantly to the overall ride quality?
• How can I check that the ride height is stock?

There are a few easy photos attached here, if any more would be helpful I'm happy to take some more.

Any help appreciated!

If you used air shocks---the only time you,d put say 75 lbs in them. Would be to haul with. About 40-50 lbs is for a softer ride. If you went-70-90 it will beat you and cause your back to hurt--and you,d lower them quick. I have air shocks on about all my vehicles and run about 40-50 lbs--no more for a good ride. Your shocks might be wore out.They should have a warranty on the, One thing about air shocks is it doesn,t take long to shange

 

[Tiha]

So I've come to the conclusion that it would probably be a good idea to inspect and replace the ball joints, radius arm bushings, tie rod ends to begin with. Will keep this thread going with my progress.

Can anyone tell me if that usually has a significant impact on ride quality?

I was going to say ball joints.

They will not affect ride quality but they certainly affect handling.

Those are bottom of the line shocks, but there is a lot more to shocks than just the name on them. I like cheap shocks, softer ride but you sacrifice handling for that. So you have to find a middle ground.

Your springs should be okay, unless you find a broken coil or leaf. I can't help with factory ride height.

There is a lot that affects ride and handling, but they really are two different things.

Anything with a rubber bushing like body mounts, track bar, pivot bushings. They affect ride and handling.

Ball joints, tie rods are more about handling.

Getting off track here.

Springs support the weight. Shocks dampen the bounce. It is that simple. If you are getting an extra bounce or two then your shock are not holding up.

The movement of a shock, in and out, up and down. That creates heat. Doesn't matter gas or oil. As the shocks heat up they do not control the load as well. So leaving the driveway it feels great, but an hour down the road you may ask yourself if there are even shocks on the truck.

I went through this on my F350. It had oem shocks with 170k on it. I put monroe on there, Not the cheapest but like one step up, maybe two. But still cheap.
It rode decent, soft. But I had a lot more deflection than what I had with the OEM shocks. Like you feel the extra bounce, I felt like I was getting shot to the moon when I hit a bump.
That is when I really started digging into shocks because I was blaming springs and it didn't make sense that springs would change like that. I had no sagging. No leaning. Even with a trailer on they were still carrying the load just fine.

Upon reading and researching and against what I thought I should do, I bought some bilstien shocks. I got what they recommended for my truck.

Right off the bat I hated them. I could feel every crack in the road. I thought it was a huge down grade. But after a 1000 mile road trip I saw the difference. They really tamed down the ride over all. So I had a loss of ride comfort at the lower speeds basically, but the upper end was a huge improvement.

So they can make a difference. In my case, I have a better shock on there, but I still don't think it is the right one. Thinking about remote reservoirs next.

So I do think your shocks are letting you down. Broncos have a shorter wheel base and carry more weight on the back than an empty F150 so they are kind of unique when it comes to ride.

Don't over look your tires either. If you are not towing and just street driving a E rated tire is too much. I would even say a D rated tire is too much. A C rated tire will give a better ride even at full PSI. IF you are running a D or E rated tire, lower your tire pressure. It can hide a lot of road discomfort. but you sacrifice some handling and fuel mileage by doing that.

 

[ablediver]

I've used Rancho 5000's on several different trucks and they ride pretty well. On my 96', I've got quads on the front axle and singles on the rear. I can be wrong, but I believe Bilstein has adjustable gas shocks.
Just my $.02

Ablediver out

 

[King Daddy Rabbit]

Hi All,

'94 eddie bauer bronco, 5.8L, 151k miles. I believe it's stock ride height. Usage is just city driving on some rough local roads.

Problem: I'm starting to get tired of how "soft" the suspension feels. What it really feels like is that when I am going down the road and hit a bump, the truck will bounce a couple of times before settling. On rough roads it's honestly pretty terrible and contributes to a lot of dash creaking, etc. as well. Had to swerve at 60+mph recently and it didn't even feel safe.

What I've done: One year ago I replaced all 6 (quad shocks in the front) shocks with monroe-matic brand and I felt that it improved the ride at the time, but they either didn't hold up very well or I need something else.

What should be the checklist for suspension problems?

• Should I try replacing the springs themselves? I can almost guarantee they are original.
• If I need better shocks, does it matter what I get? I see people talk about valving and things like that but all I went off of with this set of shocks was "does it fit?". If I really want a sure-fire fix should I go for adjustable shocks?
• Are air shocks a good idea? My dad put some on his truck specifically to haul a very heavy trailer, and he really likes them but I'm not sure if they would work for just general city driving.
• Is it likely that the rubber bushings / frame mounts would contribute significantly to the overall ride quality?
• How can I check that the ride height is stock?

There are a few easy photos attached here, if any more would be helpful I'm happy to take some more.

Any help appreciated!

Are your body bushings original? I replaced my 90’ model and saw huge improvements. But it was a royal pain in the **** job. Easy on paper. But removing the 30 yr old originals was tough.

 

[ablediver]

My bushings on my 96' are original and riding like it. I'm getting a fair amount of body sway, particularly when I'm pulling a 2000lb GVW trailer. My 90' has the originals and there is a lot less body sway, but it has the original shocks to--go figure....The replacement for the 96' bushings is on my Fall/Winter list, it's about 30 days from summer temps here in FL.

Ablediver out