Recommendations for shocks please

Chum lee wrote:

1976-G30-Chevy wrote:

FunTwoDrv wrote:
We have a 32' C on a Chevy 4500 chassis. I replaced all four shocks with Bilstien about 15k miles ago. They did make a difference in overall ride and handling. Ours also has front and rear sway bars and front Sumos. Between them all, sway seems to be very minimal. If your shocks are worn, replacements will make a difference in handling. Although, shocks are not specifically designed to eliminate sway, good shocks will certainly help.
One thought is to contact salvage or recycle center for a set of sway bars from a one ton chassis.

Gary

Thanks very much for the advice. I think I'll also try to find a sway bar in a salvage yard as you suggested. Do you by chance know of any salvage yards in the U.S. that would be a good place to start?

Just a suggestion. Before you start ADDING NEW suspension components to your 40 year old vehicle, look at ALL THE EXISTING suspension components (bushings, shocks, mounts, etc.) to make sure they are in serviceable condition. You might be surprised what happens if/when they are freshened up, . . . a little.

Chum lee

Thanks very much for the suggestion! Much appreciated.

1976-G30-Chevy wrote:

FunTwoDrv wrote:
We have a 32' C on a Chevy 4500 chassis. I replaced all four shocks with Bilstien about 15k miles ago. They did make a difference in overall ride and handling. Ours also has front and rear sway bars and front Sumos. Between them all, sway seems to be very minimal. If your shocks are worn, replacements will make a difference in handling. Although, shocks are not specifically designed to eliminate sway, good shocks will certainly help.
One thought is to contact salvage or recycle center for a set of sway bars from a one ton chassis.

Gary

Thanks very much for the advice. I think I'll also try to find a sway bar in a salvage yard as you suggested. Do you by chance know of any salvage yards in the U.S. that would be a good place to start?

Just a suggestion. Before you start ADDING NEW suspension components to your 40 year old vehicle, look at ALL THE EXISTING suspension components (bushings, shocks, mounts, etc.) to make sure they are in serviceable condition. You might be surprised what happens if/when they are freshened up, . . . a little.

Chum lee

Bilsteins @ shockswarehouse

FunTwoDrv wrote:
We have a 32' C on a Chevy 4500 chassis. I replaced all four shocks with Bilstien about 15k miles ago. They did make a difference in overall ride and handling. Ours also has front and rear sway bars and front Sumos. Between them all, sway seems to be very minimal. If your shocks are worn, replacements will make a difference in handling. Although, shocks are not specifically designed to eliminate sway, good shocks will certainly help.
One thought is to contact salvage or recycle center for a set of sway bars from a one ton chassis.

Gary

Thanks very much for the advice. I think I'll also try to find a sway bar in a salvage yard as you suggested. Do you by chance know of any salvage yards in the U.S. that would be a good place to start?

We have a 32' C on a Chevy 4500 chassis. I replaced all four shocks with Bilstien about 15k miles ago. They did make a difference in overall ride and handling. Ours also has front and rear sway bars and front Sumos. Between them all, sway seems to be very minimal. If your shocks are worn, replacements will make a difference in handling. Although, shocks are not specifically designed to eliminate sway, good shocks will certainly help.
One thought is to contact salvage or recycle center for a set of sway bars from a one ton chassis.

Gary

ron.dittmer wrote:
I imagine it would be hard to put significant money into a 43 year old rig, but I agree it would be good to re-spring your front and rear suspensions, maybe upping their rating more than OEM spec. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, shop on Rock Auto and save a big pile of money on front springs. In-general, rear leafs tend to get pricey.

I have heavy duty Bilstein shocks on our 2007 E350 and am very happy with them. I bought mine from Tire Rack at the best price I found when considering shipping and sales-tax-free.

Thanks kindly for all the suggestions. I put on new springs all around 2 years ago. Just didn't do shocks at the time. I'm not sure how much shocks really do on these rigs with 10,000 pounds sitting on the back axle. I was thinking that new rear shocks might help with the side to side sway. I'm also looking into installing a sway bar but having trouble finding any in stock anywhere in the U.S. Hellwig and Roadmaster are both sold out nation wide. Anyway,..about the shocks,.. do you think that new shocks help with side to side sway?

I imagine it would be hard to put significant money into a 43 year old rig, but I agree it would be good to re-spring your front and rear suspensions, maybe upping their rating more than OEM spec. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, shop on Rock Auto and save a big pile of money on front springs. In-general, rear leafs tend to get pricey.

I have heavy duty Bilstein shocks on our 2007 E350 and am very happy with them. I bought mine from Tire Rack at the best price I found when considering shipping and sales-tax-free.

I would consider replacing the springs as well. I bet after 40+ years, they're a little tired. Shocks will help, and I agree that Bilsteins are great, but they won't work well with 40 year old leaf springs.

I have always gone with Bilsteins on all my heavy duty vehicles and have not been disappointed.

Try Shock Warehouse