Shocks

[hogbreth]

We have an 04 Horizon 40AD with 17,000 miles. I need some advice on when to change shocks. 4 Bilsteins for the Coach are around $330.00, so I'd like to make sure I need them.
Thanks

[hogbreth]

We have an 04 Horizon 40AD with 17,000 miles. I need some advice on when to change shocks. 4 Bilsteins for the Coach are around $330.00, so I'd like to make sure I need them.
Thanks

[MrTransistor]

Hi hogbreth,
Need them? We have 35,433 on our 04 40WD Horizon already. Given that it's basically a truck chassis and driven mostly on good paved roads, I wouldn't expect to have to even think about shocks for a couple of hundred thousand miles. I am curious though as to why this question has come up?

[Gary CA]

Hogbreth/Mr Transistor: The shocks on my '04 were worthless at 9000 miles. When I was at 3ts rv to have their handling packages installed, the mechanic compressed the original rear shock with his arms only and they did not rebound. I suggest change the shocks and do a search for Hanlding package or send me a message for information on the 3tsrv.com, products, I'm a satisified customer.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hogbreth:
4 Bilsteins for the Coach are around $330.00, so I'd like to make sure I need them.
Thanks </div></BLOCKQUOTE>4 shocks for my MH are priced at 415.00 including shipping so I would say that $330.00 is pretty much a bargain.

I did try to look up FLXC Shocks (Evolution Chassis) in their matrix however I couldn't find them.

[MrTransistor]

Hi hogbreth,
If I'm not mistaken, the Sachs Tuned Shocks that come standard on the Freightliner Chassis have a limited lifetime warranty. I have checked and they seem to have about the best warranty out there for shocks. If you suspect that there is a problem with the suspension i.e. bad shocks, I suggest taking it to a Freightliner dealer and have your existing shocks compared to new Sachs shocks to see if they have worn out. Articles I have read seem to imply that the only reason for replacing OE shocks with After Market shocks is ˜you don't like the handling' and want something with stiffer valves for a firmer ride or less stiff valves for a softer ride. If the ˜ride' hasn't changed, then I doubt the shocks have worn out. Our coach rides and handles exactly as it did when we picked it up, excellent.

Hi Gary CA,
The Sachs Tuned Shocks are low pressure (60 PSI) ˜Nitrogen Gas Charged' mono-tube design (as are the Monroes) and the Bilstein are high pressure (360 PSI) mono-tube design (as are some others). Different design philosophy but not indicative of a defective shock if the low pressure shock can be compressed by hand and the high pressure shock can not.

Hi DriVer,
For the Evolution Chassis, the Freightliner part numbers for the Sachs shocks are 16-17361-000 for the Fronts and 16-16873-000 for the Rears. The Monroe numbers are 557033 for the Fronts and 557012 for the Rears. I couldn't find numbers for Bilsteins. Are you by chance expecting to upgrade to a Vectra or Horizon soon? The new ones sure lost a lot of external storage.

[PDB]

I may have a prob with the front shocks on my '04 Vectra, with 12k miles on it.

When driving down the interstate, if I hit a pothole, the right front sounds/feels like the shock is 'bottoming out'. It's like a sledge hammer hitting the chassis. Scares the **** out of me!

If I hit a similar bump with the left front, the noise/feeling is not half as bad.

Could this be a bad right/front shock? Or is it normal?
Thanks.
Paul

[FLYTYER]

PDB, I would have that coach checked soon. It sounds like one of the shocks is broke and the other is badly damaged. Shocks should not make noise !! And yes you are definitely bottoming out. If not corrected you might have a higher bill to repair or replace other parts of the suspension.

[MrTransistor]

Hi PDB,
Our 04 Horizon does the same thing. It has since new. I have attributed it to the shock being somewhat stiff and causing the noise not the suspension bottoming out. Had the front end aligned by Freightliner about 3000 miles ago and they inspected the suspension then and had no comments. Since you have mentioned it, I will be sure to bring it up the next time I stop by the Freightliner dealer. Might even take a peek myself soon.