The rear (Motorcraft) shock absorbers on my Grand Marquis were shot, and since I have a suspension upgrade coming up a couple of months down the road, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a temporary fix. Also, I always replace front and rear shocks together. Might not make much sense, but I'd rather have new shocks from the same manufacture all round so everything's equal.
Initially I wanted to go with Motorcraft's Police Interceptor shocks for the firmer ride, as they are a great bang for the buck. But as with everything, only the front shocks (AS-1064) are imported. The only available Motorcraft rear shock is for applications with rear air springs (AS-2010-G). The rear PI shocks I wanted (AA-527) were no longer available. So I thought I'd pass.
The other option available were ACDelco shocks, but I was advised against them by my suspension guy. Even when we redid the entire suspension on my Avalanche, we did not use ACDelco shocks. The guy modified a set of KYB shocks for a Land Cruiser Pickup instead, and the difference was night and day compared to the 6 month old ACDelcos that were on there. Those shocks are pretty stiff (stiffer than Bilsteins), so if I were to jump on the pick up bed, it won't budge. So I had a word with him about modifying those shocks to fit my Grand Marquis instead of going with the Bilsteins I initially planned to put on.
The last option available were Gabriel shocks. I had a look at their website, and decided I would go with their Ultra series for my application. Considering you get what you pay for, I wasn't really expecting much for $73 (front and rear). But I'm extremely impressed by them, and I reckon it would be safe to say that's probably the best $73 I ever spent. The ride is MUCH firmer, there's noticeably less body lean at turns and it soaks up bumps very impressively.
I realize some might say I had worn rear shocks to begin with, so any new shocks would give the same result. But this isn't my first fullsize Ford, so I know how it compares.
Initially I wanted to go with Motorcraft's Police Interceptor shocks for the firmer ride, as they are a great bang for the buck. But as with everything, only the front shocks (AS-1064) are imported. The only available Motorcraft rear shock is for applications with rear air springs (AS-2010-G). The rear PI shocks I wanted (AA-527) were no longer available. So I thought I'd pass.
The other option available were ACDelco shocks, but I was advised against them by my suspension guy. Even when we redid the entire suspension on my Avalanche, we did not use ACDelco shocks. The guy modified a set of KYB shocks for a Land Cruiser Pickup instead, and the difference was night and day compared to the 6 month old ACDelcos that were on there. Those shocks are pretty stiff (stiffer than Bilsteins), so if I were to jump on the pick up bed, it won't budge. So I had a word with him about modifying those shocks to fit my Grand Marquis instead of going with the Bilsteins I initially planned to put on.
The last option available were Gabriel shocks. I had a look at their website, and decided I would go with their Ultra series for my application. Considering you get what you pay for, I wasn't really expecting much for $73 (front and rear). But I'm extremely impressed by them, and I reckon it would be safe to say that's probably the best $73 I ever spent. The ride is MUCH firmer, there's noticeably less body lean at turns and it soaks up bumps very impressively.
I realize some might say I had worn rear shocks to begin with, so any new shocks would give the same result. But this isn't my first fullsize Ford, so I know how it compares.
