Shock Absorbers

[tmartin]

I have a 2015 Legacy on a 2014 Freightliner chassis with 55k miles on it. I started to get some cupping on the front tires and pulled the shocks to inspect them. Both front shocks had failed, had some resistance on the expansion but nothing on compression. The rear shocks had failed the same way. The shocks are Sachs, front 16-18920-000, rear 16-16736-000. I did not want to replace with Sachs but had a very difficult time finding a comparable match. Most companies did not show a listing for shocks on this chassis and there are a lot of variables in the front suspension for the XCS chassis. I think the key items are that we have a mono front axel with an air ride. Freightliner could only help with the oem part number. I did find Koni shocks for the front are 8805 FSD but they are on a lengthy back order. I read some on line reviews that recommended Bilstein. Their dealers could not help me cross reference but the corporate office was able to help me. The Bilstein shocks for the front are 24-234498 and for the rear are 24-234504. I won’t take it out of storage for another month or so but I’m sure it will be a lot tighter than it was last trip.

[Inlineskater67]

Good luck with the new parts. I have the Sachs on my new rig, I hope they last longer. Thanks for the info.

[formerFR]

back in 2017, on the way into the Yukon and toward Alaska, I had some cupping up front, too, and a little vibration to go with it - in Fort St Johns, BC, I found a great INTEGRA TIRE big rig shop right off the main drag thru town - and had my front swapped, for only $35, and took 15 minutes - they have the tools!
That swap helped for many miles, and when we returned to the states a month or so later, I had new Falken RL150's put on the fronts at LES SWABS, in Missoula, Montana - another great BIG RIG shop, with lot of tires to choose from, and a covered drive thru exterior bay, where they had it done in only 30 minutes, even with balancing beads installed. A lengthy big rig pulled in right next to me, with some HUGE(!) irrigations machinery, apparently made for some 'big' irrigation needs at a large facility of some sort. There was room for both of us.

Later, when back in N Georgia, in Blairsville, I had the rear swapped out for the new FalkenRL150's, too, at THOMAS TIRE - good pricing, and again, a covered bay for big rigs, and done in a relative few minutes, with the right tools. : )

I say all that because I've realize one thing about the 'ride' on the Palazzo, or the Legacy, or any vehicle built on the XCS chassis, like the Pace Arrow from Fleetwood, and others: Correct PSI for each axle tires is critical for a smooth ride, which requires weighing the coach, and each axle.
I've not looked at or even thought about my shocks - maybe they help, maybe they don't much, but I've not felt anything to tell me otherwise, though I'm sure they can 'go bad'...