Noticed A Change in Handling With New Shocks

[leadman]

When we bought our ;99 Winnie about 1 1/2 years ago it had original shocks on it. The ride was harsh but the handling on the highway was excellent, even in high winds. Almost never got blown to the side by wind or tractor-trailers passing me.
I bought new KYB Gas Adjust shocks and they do provide a pretty good ride but now a passing tractor-trailer or high winds will push the coach around a little. Nothing real bad so I am pleased with the shocks.
The old shocks almost would not collapse when pushed on the top with the bottom on the concrete. Had to give a sharp push to get the shock moving first. These were the stiffest shocks I have ever encountered in 50 years of working on cars and heavy trucks.
My theory is part of the change in the handling, if not all of it, is from the reduced force needed to collapse, or move the shock compared to the original shocks. I think the shocks now allow the body to be blown on an angle which leads to chassis movement.

I wonder how many Ford chassis owners are fighting steering problems when it might be partially the shocks? If anyone wants to try my theory out, I still have the old shocks along side the garage! LOL.

[Waiter21]

I put KYBs on my Southwind last year. They old shocks were worn , no resistant pushing them.

The new KYBs were very, very stiff. The ride is a little stiff but the handling is OK... ALSO - I had a fit problem on the rear shocks. I had to use a die grinder and cut a small slot in the top of the shock cover to clear the rear mount bracket..

Have you done the CHF yet? Between the CHF and Shocks, this made a significant improvements in the handling.

I put Monroe's on my old Mirada the ride is a little smoother.


Replace Shock Absorbers – 1999 Southwind 35S


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[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by leadman

When we bought our ;99 Winnie about 1 1/2 years ago it had original shocks on it. The ride was harsh but the handling on the highway was excellent, even in high winds. Almost never got blown to the side by wind or tractor-trailers passing me.
I bought new KYB Gas Adjust shocks and they do provide a pretty good ride but now a passing tractor-trailer or high winds will push the coach around a little. Nothing real bad so I am pleased with the shocks.
The old shocks almost would not collapse when pushed on the top with the bottom on the concrete. Had to give a sharp push to get the shock moving first. These were the stiffest shocks I have ever encountered in 50 years of working on cars and heavy trucks.
My theory is part of the change in the handling, if not all of it, is from the reduced force needed to collapse, or move the shock compared to the original shocks. I think the shocks now allow the body to be blown on an angle which leads to chassis movement.

I wonder how many Ford chassis owners are fighting steering problems when it might be partially the shocks? If anyone wants to try my theory out, I still have the old shocks along side the garage! LOL.

The original shocks on your motorhome were Autolite. Ford stopped using their own and went to Bilstein in either 2003 or 2004.

We had the same Autolite shocks on our 2001 Adventurer. In our case they wore out at about 22,000 miles. 3 of the 4 had no hydraulic fluid left and the rod would slide in and out with no effort depending on how the shock was held. The 4th shock still had oil but was leaking badly.

As for a rough ride with older shocks we had the same problem with our 2004 Jeep Wrangler. At about the 12 year mark the ride was so stiff I think you could feel it when you drove over a dime in the road. When I changed them, like yours I found they were nearly impossible to retract. I changed them out for Bilsteins (can't remember the model, but they are silver rather than yellow) and the ride improved significantly.

I still wouldn't want to take it from coast to coast on todays roads, but at least I can drive it 100 miles or so without having to get out and walk around to get everything back in place.

[wildtoad]

Ford does use Bilsteins ( built to ford specs ) now but they are different then the ones Bilsteins sells for the F53. Word is the after market ones provide a better ride. Hope so cause I’ve got them on order.

[Sweetbriar]

Its a compromise. A softer ride may get you a bit more body roll. I opted for the softer ride with a different brand of shock. General handling got a bit mushy but improvement in ride comfort was a reasonable trade off. CHP and a rear track bar eliminated most of the mush and all of the tail push related to passing vehicles and weather.

[knightstorm]

I picked up a little more roll when I went to the Koni shocks and the ride improved. The roll will be managed by an aftermarket sway bar. This would be easier if the suspension were designed properly to begin with. I realize ford can’t control what the house builders put on the chassis but the manufacturers could spec out different suspension components and enhance the ride and handling.

[jomo]

Originally Posted by knightstorm

I picked up a little more roll when I went to the Koni shocks and the ride improved. The roll will be managed by an aftermarket sway bar. This would be easier if the suspension were designed properly to begin with. I realize ford can’t control what the house builders put on the chassis but the manufacturers could spec out different suspension components and enhance the ride and handling.

Yep, I'd like to see them do away with the Leaf Springs all together. You can add this and that and in the end it's still like riding in a old jeep.

[leadman]

After putting 4.000 miles on the MH going to Michigan from AZ and back I am going to look at the Koni shocks. The KYBs aren't bad for short trips but the pounding on our fine interstates wore me out.
I think I am going to also do the CHF.