Hi all,

My Disco is finally running great. I have a 2003 4.6V8 with 88k on it. I've never driven a new one so don't know how they are supposed to ride but mine is a little spongy. 3 questions:

1) Anyway to tell if the shocks are bad without removing them from the truck first?

2) What shocks do you guys recommend for comfortable 90% highway use?

3) I have a heavy duty floor jack, 4 stands, and the RAve manual. Is changing these things out something I can do myself without too much hassle?

 

they were probably bad 20k miles ago. as are the springs. if you are not looking to do any serious off roading then you can replace with a light duty shock/spring kit from any of the major brands (OME,TERRAFIRMA, SUPERGAZ). i replaced my shocks and springs in my garage with nothing more then 2 stands, the stock bottle jack, and a set of hand tools. took 3.5 hours total. its a really easy job if you understand how its all put together.

if you are gonna do the shocks then do the springs also as they are bad and you will be right back under there in no time. just my opinion

 

It's your springs that go bad first.

 

Springs go bad before shocks? I always thought that shocks went bad before springs. I just learned something new, seriously.

 

I replaced my shocks with Bilsteins when I first got my 03 Disco 2 years ago with 65k on it.
The ride is very firm and harsh. In July I did a med Terrafirma lift with their extended shocks. Man, the ride was day and night. What I am trying to say is, the factory springs don't hold up very well. I would suggest you do both to save time and enjoy the ride right away.

 

I think he meant to say air bags go bad before shocks...springs will out last the vehicle

 

"springs will out last the vehicle" that is what I thought. I have never needed to change springs on any cars that my family and I have owned.

 

No springs go bad very fast on these trucks, 60k and OEM springs are stressed and done or worse break. These are not civics.

 

Maybe we should clear up a term. Springs don't go bad as to break, only rarely, but Rover springs doe collapse and along with the factories bad shocks, the entire suspension, coils and shocks, need replacement sooner then we might like.
As for the shocks, I would suggest the Old Man Emu shocks, check out Lucky 8 for prices.

 

Don't tell me there is something else I have to worry about. My truck has 71,000 miles so I thought that I wouldn't have to worry about springs and shocks until it passed 100,000-130,000 miles. Wishful thinking I guess.