Gen 1 Upgrade or rebuild for longevity?

Don't get too excited yet. I thought there was a thread a while back about how people were ordering shocks from RockAuto and they weren't coming, they were canceling the orders because there was no product to ship. The order would go through and everything but then RockAuto would end up refunding their money.

Put the 3.0's on my 2012 around 75K don't do a ton of off roading. The ride IMHO is far superior to the 2.5's, Yes it was expensive but like you this is not a DD i have a provided work truck so just basically drive it on the weekends and occasionally a road trip. To me it was worth it but everyone has different values concerning there truck.

Eyespyautomotive said:

Don't get too excited yet. I thought there was a thread a while back about how people were ordering shocks from RockAuto and they weren't coming, they were canceling the orders because there was no product to ship. The order would go through and everything but then RockAuto would end up refunding their money.

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Nah....I've ordered two sets of 2.5s in the past couple of years from Rock Auto...they always have them in stock.

I'd wager that the 3.0s will last no longer than the 2.5s....that's wishful thinking. The main failure point on any rebuildable shock are the seals. cheap little rubber O-rings....once they fail and start to leak, you are losing oil and potentially taking in dirt and moisture which will further degrade the interior of the shock. Once the inner shock walls start corroding and scoring they are pretty much done and consequently un-rebuildable. Scored shafts can be replaced, shock walls can't.

I agree with a prior poster.....my shocks typically have lasted no more than 50 000 or 60 000 KMs (approx. 35 000 miles) before showing signs of leaking and the ride degradation typically won't be noticed until long after that....compression and rebound damping will be signifigantly reduced, you'll get that "bouncy" feeling when going over a bump or coming to a stop. I suspect that most guys just don't notice and assume that their shocks are lasting longer than they really are.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy said:

Nah....I've ordered two sets of 2.5s in the past couple of years from Rock Auto...they always have them in stock.

I'd wager that the 3.0s will last no longer than the 2.5s....that's wishful thinking. The main failure point on any rebuildable shock are the seals. cheap little rubber O-rings....once they fail and start to leak, you are losing oil and potentially taking in dirt and moisture which will further degrade the interior of the shock. Once the inner shock walls start corroding and scoring they are pretty much done and consequently un-rebuildable. Scored shafts can be replaced, shock walls can't.

I agree with a prior poster.....my shocks typically have lasted no more than 50 000 or 60 000 KMs (approx. 35 000 miles) before showing signs of leaking and the ride degradation typically won't be noticed until long after that....compression and rebound damping will be signifigantly reduced, you'll get that "bouncy" feeling when going over a bump or coming to a stop. I suspect that most guys just don't notice and assume that their shocks are lasting longer than they really are.

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When driving it daily you don't notice the slow decline in ride quality and stability. About a year and a half ago I got myself a car to handle the bulk of my daily driving and puttering around that didn't require any kind of hauling or offroading. Climb back in to the truck after a couple months of light to no use and the shocks are INSTANTLY noticeable! lol

I just placed the order with Rock Auto, so we'll see what happens. Hopefully I can find a shop locally to swap the springs and install them for a reasonable amount. Last time I went looking, to get my midperch, nobody wanted to mess with compressing the springs.

Thanks for the advice! It definitely helped.

^Not really as it takes a awhile for enough oil to leak out to make a difference in ride quality...and my truck is a DD. With your situation, you probably noticed more after not driving the truck a while and driving a car that had a firmer ride. In any event, changing out the shocks/springs is not a big deal, I had my first set of front shocks replaced by the dealer under warranty....they had no issue with it or doing it. I'm surprised that shops in your area are reluctant....it's pretty straightforward work necessitating the use of a wall mounted spring compressor that any competent shop should have.

Keep on looking and good luck!

Ramrodthrusterpuppy said:

^Not really as it takes a awhile for enough oil to leak out to make a difference in ride quality...and my truck is a DD. With your situation, you probably noticed more after not driving the truck a while and driving a car that had a firmer ride. In any event, changing out the shocks/springs is not a big deal, I had my first set of front shocks replaced by the dealer under warranty....they had no issue with it or doing it. I'm surprised that shops in your area are reluctant....it's pretty straightforward work necessitating the use of a wall mounted spring compressor that any competent shop should have.

Keep on looking and good luck!

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That's what I meant. After driving it daily over a period of 20-30,000 miles I hadn't really noticed it. Climbing back into it after a few months of driving my car and I noticed it immediately!

Yeah, I'm going to do some checking today. Need to find a place that can get me some new tires as well... then I should be totally ready for the 20' of snow we'll probably be getting this winter! lol

I did a little looking for you, https://www.facebook.com/pg/KensAlignmentAutoService/reviews/?ref=page_internal
seems OK

Auto parts stores would know some good shops.

I'm actually getting my car fixed at a shop today (Deer strike from a few weeks ago). Gonna check with him first and see if it's something he would do, otherwise the dealer I bought the truck from has a fairly decent shop (not the dealer I mentioned earlier in this thread) and might do it for me. I know they can, since they did my midperch, but they were a tad reluctant to do it at the time. We'll see how it goes. lol

Eyespyautomotive said:

Don't get too excited yet. I thought there was a thread a while back about how people were ordering shocks from RockAuto and they weren't coming, they were canceling the orders because there was no product to ship. The order would go through and everything but then RockAuto would end up refunding their money.

Click to expand...

I have no complaints with Rock Auto. I placed my order with them around 10am CST on October 17th. I chose standard shipping (for like $20 estimated on or around the 23rd) and had the parts in hand less than 24 hours later!!! That'll work! lol

Talked to the local Toyo dealer and they were around $350 per tire, mount, balanced, and installed. That's better than I could do from anywhere online and they said they could swap the struts no problem at the same time for whatever time it takes them to do it, which shouldn't be much. Hoping I'll have it all fixed by the weekend, or early next week (depending on how fast the tires get here). Then I'll have to clean up my old struts a bit and see if anyone is interested in buying them.

If you received them, that's great. I'd recommend this avenue or rebuilds by Fox.