New [to me] 1998 XLT, Now I need Answers

[jlo82585]

I have an Eddie Bauer with air ride.... you may as well be driving a school bus... every bump feels like the rear axle just fell off... and the front end feels like you have bricks for springs, there is no give with my air ride.

 

[thenaaks]

My 1998 with 199k and original shocks motorcraft feels great going down the road. Surprisingly great actually. Mine was a family vacation hauler/mom-mobile before i it. Other owners might not have been as gentle on yours. Also, improper front end alignment can wreak havoc on driveability.

 

[AbbadonTD]

It DRIVES fine, its just bounces a lot. I have no real experience in an SUV this size, only in smaller ones (I had a Jeep Cherokee for a long time). It could just be that I am just not accustomed to how it rides, and I just need some time in it.

I am fortunate to have multiple vehicles, so my expy will only drive when its either Snowy (4wd) or towing (trailer or the BIG Rv). With a 6500lb trailer on the back end, its not going to bounce. My other cars are a Dodge grand Caravan and a Kia Rio5, neither is exactly a "school Bus", so it could be that I am just interpreting what I feel, and the truck is fine.

Any good way to "test" shocks? If I do do them, should I do front and rears at the same time, spings, etc? I am not going to lift this (at least not this decade), so any advice out there?

 

[thenaaks]

If you can get the suspension to depress and then release, the truck should come back up and stop. There should be no bouncing after it returns to the original position. If you're getting a lot of bounce after a bump or dip in the road, then your shocks are wore out. Springs only need replaced if they're broken or sagging.

 

[AbbadonTD]

So I am bouncing a little on the way up, but not very much. My wife keeps telling me how great this drives: But she did learn to drive on a manual 1986 Suburban, so she may have better perspective than I do...

This is the easiest I time I ever had installing a brake controller. Wow...

 

[thenaaks]

It is 17-18 years old. If you're still dissatisfied with the bounce, then new shocks won't cost a ton, or be too hard to install. If you're going to be doing heavy towing, it will be money well spent.