My KYB Gas-A-Just shocks are offically dead. My mechanic says that the shocks don't match the tires (BFG AT KO), which doesn't make any sense to me. There is a vibration that can be felt on bumps and on braking... he says tires but they have 17K..... ANYWAY.... the shocks are probably done. Any ideas?
Cheap shock suggestion
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Bilstein is not the cheapest shock, but they have life time warranty and if you are keeping your Jeep for many more years, it may make sense to pay for Bilstein once only.
Bilsteins are good, so are Tokico but they are competition tuned so you may or may not like them. I had better results with the Tokico on my Accord, now currently I have Bilstein on my G Wagen.
http://www.tokicogasshocks.com/
http://www.tokicogasshocks.com/
i love my bilsteins on my mustang.
The KYBs have an awful warranty policy so I have to buy new ones. I'm trying to spend under 200. So far, ebay has Monroe Reflex for 160 for 4. They do have Bilsteins for 219 shipped.
I should elaborate... the dealer that sold me the KYBs has to approve the replacement of my shocks under lifetime warranty... but that means I'd have to mail them the shock. Which does me no good.
You want them cheap, get some Monroe.
I personally for KYB, Bilstein and Tokicos (or even Showas, if they are available here). The KYBs I bought 6 yrs ago came with factory unlimited warranty and for that they were ok). If you think that sending the units back to the factory/KYB representatives a pain, try that on a FWD car with 4 struts! You need to put on some replacement struts and do a proper realignment before you can put it back on the road again, thus the extra hassle and work required. For that I could only recommend premium struts for worry free long life service.
If you want something even cheeper, get some Gabriels. They are at the bottom of my list these days.
I personally for KYB, Bilstein and Tokicos (or even Showas, if they are available here). The KYBs I bought 6 yrs ago came with factory unlimited warranty and for that they were ok). If you think that sending the units back to the factory/KYB representatives a pain, try that on a FWD car with 4 struts! You need to put on some replacement struts and do a proper realignment before you can put it back on the road again, thus the extra hassle and work required. For that I could only recommend premium struts for worry free long life service.
If you want something even cheeper, get some Gabriels. They are at the bottom of my list these days.
Don't replace them. It's not worth it. As long as they don't leak, who cares.
I don't plan on ever replacing my shocks unless they leak.
I don't plan on ever replacing my shocks unless they leak.
Mike, I think they leaked the nitrogen out of the shock.
I got the Carquest brand for an old C-10 pickup truck years ago and they worked really well. Don't know who makes them for Carquest, though but the price was good.
I have Monroe Reflex struts on one car of mine and they are fine and have lasted about 4-5 years and 80,000 miles so far. Functionally they are fine still but the boot is falling apart on the rear struts. I like the Bilstein shocks on my other car even more however. They are a definite improvement over any shock I have ever felt.
A lot of the XJ guys seem to like the Monroe Gas-Matic LT. I have a set on the front of my XJ. Having put on a rear disc conversion I have really good brakes, and I wish I had front shocks that were more aggressive in their prevention of brake-dive. They are decent shocks though, and cheap.
If you only have to pay an extra $60 to go with bilstein over monroe, you should do that. It is well worth it.
JHZR2
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Youre buying good oil, and chances are your jeep has a LOT of good life left in it, right??? so why not put in the right shocks and get it done right.
While Ive heard good things about KYB shocks (and we have them on a few cars actually), bilsteins are really the ones to beat. I have them on my ZR2 (OEM yellow HD shocks) and have been really happy with them. I have them on my MB and BMW as well - sure theyre cars, but the ZR2 has 31"s and is 4wd, etc.
Often the difference between something marginal and the bilsteins is relatively small... sure you might save $60 or 100 for all four corners, but whats the chance youll be doing it again soon? Ive heard that a lot of companies' shocks have VERY short life if they are not their OEM or high-end products.
JMH
While Ive heard good things about KYB shocks (and we have them on a few cars actually), bilsteins are really the ones to beat. I have them on my ZR2 (OEM yellow HD shocks) and have been really happy with them. I have them on my MB and BMW as well - sure theyre cars, but the ZR2 has 31"s and is 4wd, etc.
Often the difference between something marginal and the bilsteins is relatively small... sure you might save $60 or 100 for all four corners, but whats the chance youll be doing it again soon? Ive heard that a lot of companies' shocks have VERY short life if they are not their OEM or high-end products.
JMH
My 99 Cherokee has KYB mono-max shocks up front and Monroe Air shocks out back.I drive B.F.G All T's all around in the winter with this set-up and the Jeep rides fantastic! http://www.kyb.com/products/detail.php?ID=3
If you off road, be aware that the mono-tube shocks usually have less effective travel than a comparable twin tube damper. eg. in every application I've compared, a Bilstein has less travel than a Koni, which is usually a touch less (thanks to the internal rebound adjuster assembly) than an Old Man Emu.
If you want excellent damping characteristics for reasonable $, stick with Bilstein 6100 series, Koni Heavy track (twin tube) or Old Man Emu, (available from ARB USA or an ARB stockist).
If you want excellent damping characteristics for reasonable $, stick with Bilstein 6100 series, Koni Heavy track (twin tube) or Old Man Emu, (available from ARB USA or an ARB stockist).
My Cherokee has Monroe on it and they've been fine.
Bilsteins... You wont be sorry.
KYB Damping might be to light to control the heavier tires.
KYB Damping might be to light to control the heavier tires.
I meant that unless there's a pool of oil on the driveway, I'm not even touching mine.
Just FYI, I put 4 new Monroe Sensa Trac shocks on my 2000 Cherokee and they are already near shot with just around 35k miles! They are covered by a lifetime warranty, but I lost the reciept - which is required for replacements. I'm not gonna change 'em unless they get much worse. Right now they don't bounce excessively, I just noticed much more nose dive under braking. These were pretty expensive when I bought them falsly leading me to believe they'd last. Heck the original shocks lasted 50k.
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