sjwhiteley
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What else needs removing to take out the coils/shocks? I've seen pictures and video removing the hub nut, control arms, loosening ball joints, etc. But no videos for 2018+
3rd shock blown out on 2018 XLT
- Thread starter st381183
- Start date
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duneslider
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What you see on the f150's is the same. Yes, the hub nut, and ball joints, etc. I didn't remove any control arms. That all pushed down enough to pull it out. I did it on a saturday and was done before dinner, could definitely do it faster a second time. The first front and first back were the slowest, the second of each went real quick and smooth. I have replaced axles and done lifts on jeeps so I was pretty comfortable going for it. I have the otc clamshell type spring compressor and I think it feels a lot more secure than the cheaper spring compressor tools.
duneslider
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I sure hope so, I am sure bilstien would go out of business if they go out as fast as the ford struts. The seals on the ford stuff must be absolute garbage. I was at around 15k miles on mine, one was leaking really bad and 2 others were just starting to leak once I got them out and looked at them.
Grey ghost
Full Access Members
I paid 700 labor for all 4 which I thought was high. Paid summit about 700 for all 4 struts, an expensive propisition considering they are under warranty but I wasn't going to play the games with the local dealer and risk getting killed in an accident waiting on ford to make shocks.
duneslider
Full Access Members
You have to remember that Ford doesn't make the shocks. They obviously don't want this issue but it also isn't easy to just switch suppliers in an instant to someone else. I suspect the issue will disappear at some point but I wasn't willing to wait for that to happen when it isn't that big of a deal to swap them out.
I was also under $500 for my 5100's, $700 for 4 is way more than I paid from summit? $700 for install probably isn't that horrible, I may have spent about 7 hours doing mine, a shop should have been able to do it a little faster on a lift than me on the garage floor.
wakeboarder
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I'm getting ready to upgrade to the Bilsteins. Below is the parts that I ordered from parts.ford.com. I think it is all the bolts and nuts that they recommend installing new once removed in the service manual. If anybody knows of anything I forgot, please let me know. I listed the application next to each. I have a 2wd MAX. There are some nuts and bolts included with the new shocks.
Bolt Part #: W712774S900 rear control arm 2 total
Flanged Hex Head Nut Part #: W711481S900 rear control arm 2 total
Nut Part #: W712334S440 rear top shock mounting 6 total
Bolt Part #: W712104S439 rear bottom shock 2 total
Hex Head Nut Part #: W520217S441 rear bottom shock 2 total
Nut Part #: W716771S440 front top shock mounting 6 total
Nut Part #: W520214S440 front stabilizer bar 2, front upper control arm 2, 4 total
Hex Head Nut Part #: W520215S440 Front tie rod 2 total
Bolt Part #: W712774S900 rear control arm 2 total
Flanged Hex Head Nut Part #: W711481S900 rear control arm 2 total
Nut Part #: W712334S440 rear top shock mounting 6 total
Bolt Part #: W712104S439 rear bottom shock 2 total
Hex Head Nut Part #: W520217S441 rear bottom shock 2 total
Nut Part #: W716771S440 front top shock mounting 6 total
Nut Part #: W520214S440 front stabilizer bar 2, front upper control arm 2, 4 total
Hex Head Nut Part #: W520215S440 Front tie rod 2 total
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duneslider
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I will be honest, I am not a believer in the "replace every nut and bolt" every time you take it apart. If you are worried add a little blue loctite and call it good.
I agree. Unnecessary to replace 1-2 year old hardware.
azmoondawg
New Member
On a brand new 2019 I lost both front shocks within a couple week of each other with less than 3000 miles. Both leaked enough to puddle on the driveway. What I found interesting is that the left front leaked a hydraulic fluid that evaporated quickly off the driveway and shock, the right front leaked a more viscous oil that remained on the drive and shock. Not sure if the shocks are constructed with two different oils (one for compression damping, one for rebound/extension damping?) Anyone else have that problem or know more about the shocks?
sjwhiteley
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Does seem like overkill, but what/where/how did you get access to a service manual? Is it available online?
Scottorama
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I joined the blown shock club this weekend....front drivers side... the dealer says he can get a replacement in by Wednesday of this week. Seems optimistic with what everyone else on here has said about it being on back order for weeks.
Just another disappointing development with this Expedition...... when warranty is over, I am so getting rid of this thing......
Just another disappointing development with this Expedition...... when warranty is over, I am so getting rid of this thing......
wakeboarder
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There are a couple of sources for the service manual. Helminc.com and factory-manuals.com. I ended up with the factory-manuals.com and it seems pretty complete.
https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/factory-repair-cds.38502/page-2
For parts, you can go to parts.ford.com and enter your VIN.
I know it seems over-kill, but I feel better safe than sorry. I plan to put at least another 150,000 miles on this vehicle. It was about $160 in extra bolts and nuts. I also took the time to properly torque everything.
You will need a 30mm and a 27mm socket. Also, the lower rear shock mount and lower control arm bolt aren't supposed to be fully torqued until the tires have weight on them. >400 ft*lbs for the rear lower shock mount!
I let me dealer know last Tuesday, they verified the issue and ordered the shock. It was installed two days later so maybe the back up varies by region. I'm in CT.
Scottorama
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Great.... I'm @ 2300 miles on mine. Guess should expect blown shocks any day now...
My first shock went at 10,000...noticed I said first, as I fully expect that there will be more by reading everyone else's experiences
duneslider
Full Access Members
400 ft/lbs seems pretty high for that bolt? Is that really what the FSM says? I am curious how you achieved 400ft/lbs. I have a 3/4" torque wrench and it only goes to I think 250-300. My 18v impact also rattled that nut off no problem, so I doubt it was on from the factory at 400. (my 18v impact sometimes struggles with lugnuts at 125ftlbs) When I installed the ball on my WDH it called for 450ft/lbs (larger nut on that than the lower shock bolt) and I hit it with my big torque wrench then hit it with a big ratchet and pipe and used the length vs my weight method of calculating 450ft/lbs (not the recommended method but did the job and destroyed an SK 1/2" ratchet).
Anyway, makes me wonder if that is a typo? 400ft/lbs is pretty high and not something I have ever seen on any passenger vehicles I have worked on. I also can't wrap my brain around why it would need to be that high in that location?
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Scottorama
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Well guess what.....my dealer was able to get in the front shock and install it......and then they notice both back shocks are leaking too, just not as bad as the front one.
3 bad shocks in 10,000 miles.
So I will be without my expedition a few more days as we wait for parts....
Just completely ridiculous
wakeboarder
Full Access Members
I think the actual value is 406 ft*lbs. I don't think it is a typo. It is a 20 mm diameter grade 10.9 bolt. A quick search online shows a 650 n*m torque value. This converts to 480 ft*lbs.
The lower shock mount also supports the vertical weight. They most likely want the friction between the shock and the lower control arm vertical surfaces to bear the load at all times. If it doesn't bear the load in this manner, then the bolt would be loaded in shear/bending. This could increase the risk of the bolt fatiguing over time.
I torqued it to about 150 ft*lbs with my regular torque wrench. I then followed up hammering on it a little bit with my battery operated torque wrench. I don't think I am at 406 ft*lbs yet.
Once Ford is done fixing a couple of other issues, I plan to take it to get aligned at a local shop. I will ask them to torque that bolt before the alignment. The manual recommends alignment of the rear axle after removing the lower control arm.
wakeboarder
Full Access Members
My advice would be not to delay getting the shock replaced after they start leaking. One of my front shocks only had 1.5 inches of travel when I pulled it off. The other had about 3.5 inches. This was probably causing extra strain on the suspension components when the shock bottomed out.
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