What type of shocks do I have

[Bednarski1]

I have a 2014 Ford E450 3010 and I want to find out what type of shocks I have. Any help would be appreciated. I want to upgrade to a better shock for a better ride.

[Kevin & Judy]

Ford OEM shocks are not very good, Not sure who they are made by. Maybe Monroe or some body like that. I replaced mine with Bilsteins at 20,000 miles. They had had it, Once they were off you could collapse them and they would just stay there, They were binding up, gas shocks normally will rebound. Big difference in the handling after the change.

[Awilson]

Bilstein or Koni FSD are great replacements. Much better ride and handling than original.

[Duckogram]

X2 on the Koni FSD’s I had highly touted Bilsteins on my F-53 and they were ok but wore out in 35,000 miles.

[Bednarski1]

My thinking is I’d rather spend a little more on the Koni’s but I don’t know if there is s clear cut favorite among the two. If you have had good luck with either one then you probably will stick to your favorite.

[mackco]

I have a 2012 2500 HD and installed Rancho RS9000XL adjustable shocks last year. They have a 0 - 9 adjustment to set for a variety of road and travel conditions. I keep mine at 1 in front and 2 on the rear but when pulling I set the rears to 3 or 4. You need to experiment a little but it took the hard (no rebound) ride out and smoothed things up quite a bit for me.

[67L48]

Ford OEM are often made by Monroe and Rancho, but that doesn't mean they're the same shocks as store-bought Monroe and Rancho.

In most of the F150 forums I read, Bilstein B8 5100 (or B6 4600) and Rancho 9000 are the two that rise to the top. I don't know if that changes with the larger heavy duty trucks like the OP.

I put standard Monroe on the rear of my truck (half price of the others) and I put Rancho 9000 on the front. If cost were no option, I'd have gone with Bilstein 4600 in the rear.

I changed out the rear shocks with 115,000 miles on my truck. Not smart at all. Even though I maintain my truck, I just hadn't really thought about shocks for some reason. No surprise, the shocks I removed were dead ... I could compress and pull out with little resistance (and I'm not a strong guy).

Anyway, after changing them out and then driving on washboard roads, it made me wonder if my truck's shocks ever had any life in them. Rode better than it did brand new.

OK, I'm an idiot. I completely missed the forum this was in. Thanks, Duckogram, for the help below. I'll leave my post intact, but it obviously doesn't help the OP much at all.

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by mackco

I have a 2012 2500 HD and installed Rancho RS9000XL adjustable shocks last year. They have a 0 - 9 adjustment to set for a variety of road and travel conditions. I keep mine at 1 in front and 2 on the rear but when pulling I set the rears to 3 or 4. You need to experiment a little but it took the hard (no rebound) ride out and smoothed things up quite a bit for me.

We are talking about E-450 Motorhomes here. Rancho does not make shocks for our application according to their website.

[A32Deuce]

If they are yellow and blue, they are Ford spec Bilsteins. Go for aftermarket and you are good to go.

[charles l]

No clue who makes them. I put Koni fsd shocks on at 10,000 miles. Seems to drive better now.

[muddyrode]

bilsteins are the way to go i just took a set of my 1998 chevy half ton 4x4 with 217,000 miles on it, and they are still good, i was actually surprised at how good of shape they still are
had to go with air shocks so i could overload it to haul fire wood