The wife's daily driver is still on its original shocks @180k and they're feeling very worn by now. So, new shock time.
Any recommendations for a good, not too expensive shock for a stock XJ that doesn't seem much more terrain than the odd dirt road?
Koni set on soft
Rancho RSX Reflex or Monroe Reflex, both btw are made by Tenneco. Monroe should be cheaper. I have the RSX on my 1/2 ton PU 4X, I likes 'em. Shopped around online (drop ship warehouse), got 'em cheaper inc. shipping than AA and AZ.
No one ever says "Gosh, I wish I didn't buy those Konis."
I'm assuming you mean 'Jeep' XJ and not Jaguar XJ. I used Bilsteins on my Jeep and am happy so far. I installed them when I added a 3" lift. I too thought my old ones were worn (140k) but was surprised to find when I pulled them that they still had plenty of life in them.
I installed Monroe Sensa-Trac's in my brothers Cherokee and I liked the ride much better then the Gabriels I used in my own XJ. Gabriels were way too harsh.
Rancho 5000 on the TJ, nothing really to compare them to, it's only had the stock shocks and the Ranchos. It's not a smooth cushy ride or anything, it's a Jeep.
I think if I were doing it again on the cheap I'd do the Doetsch 8000. Otherwise I'd do the Ranchos, or maybe spend a little more money on someone's mono-tubes, i.e. Bilstine 5K series, BBCS, Doetsch Mono 2.0 etc.
I tried replacing the rear shocks on my '98 Cherokee (4.0, 4 door, 4x4, auto) and I broke all 4 of the small bolts that hold the 'feet' of the shocks to the body. My dad had the day off the next day and offered to drill them out and finish putting in the rear shocks. I drove 4-5 miles down a relatively bumpy stretch of 55 mph with no rear shocks. Granted I didn't have anything in the Cherokee at the time, but I could not feel the difference. I was actually kind of amazed.
The replacements were from Rock Auto and were some mid-grade brand that I recognized at the time but now I can't remember.
RossD wrote: I tried replacing the rear shocks on my '98 Cherokee (4.0, 4 door, 4x4, auto) and I broke all 4 of the small bolts that hold the 'feet' of the shocks to the body. My dad had the day off the next day and offered to drill them out and finish putting in the rear shocks. I drove 4-5 miles down a relatively bumpy stretch of 55 mph with no rear shocks. Granted I didn't have anything in the Cherokee at the time, but I could not feel the difference. I was actually kind of amazed. The replacements were from Rock Auto and were some mid-grade brand that I recognized at the time but now I can't remember.
yes...you will likely break all 4 bolts. This is common. The good thing though is that they easily come out with an air-chisel.
Hook a utility trailer to it and you will notice you have no rear shocks
Bilsteins or rancho 9000s set on softest setting. The 5000s were really, really stiff on my bronco - which probably had 750-1000 lbs on a jeep.
I swapped to Konis on my '97 XJ at 60K miles, the stock shocks had been dead for about 5K miles at the time. If I do it again, I'll likely go wiht Bilsteins for a slight ly softer ride (although I did set the Konis full stiff when I installed them...).
a401cj wrote: I'm assuming you mean 'Jeep' XJ and not Jaguar XJ. I used Bilsteins on my Jeep and am happy so far. I installed them when I added a 3" lift. I too thought my old ones were worn (140k) but was surprised to find when I pulled them that they still had plenty of life in them.
Yep, Jeep Cherokee. Wife doesn't like Jaguar XJs. The shocks have gone very soft and creaky in the last couple of thousand miles, before that they seemed to be fine.
Rancho RS9000's. With the remote fill/purge so you can adjust the stiffness.
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