Cheep struts!!! Motorcraft. Rockauto

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mbtech2003

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Just a heads up to all you 04-06 expos out there. Rockauto has motorcraft complete struts on close out. Just put a set in my self. All 4. Get em while you can!!!!

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Hamfisted

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Do they have a Motorcraft part number engraved on them ? That price seems rediculously cheap for Motorcraft parts.
 
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mbtech2003

mbtech2003

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Shocks have the part numbers Ground off where the oem tags are . Came in motorcraft boxes. Maybe a lower line parts. But for a 05 with 180k I have. I didn’t care. Will be the last set it gets. From me anyway. Look the same as the factory ones it came with. And it rides perfect.
 

Aspen03

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Interesting. For $167 for all 4 as long as they work well for a year or two its a decent deal, assuming someone does their own labor. Very little to lose in that situation other than time and some scraped knuckles perhaps. If they look the same, ride the same, maybe they are?

The private label thing seems kind of odd along w the ground off numbers but perhaps that is part of the closeout situation, essentially no warranty other than through rockauto. I've seen stranger things before with other products and the deal was actually as good as it looks.

When you say rides perfect, do you mean compared to 180k old suspension or actually like close to new? Springs don't seem more harsh that orignal or anything else? Our perveptipn can get a little skewed after riding on old stuff for awhile.

I am about a day shy of turning 230k and I was planning on throwing on a set of the KYB this spring. If these truly are decent I'll grab a set.
 
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mbtech2003

mbtech2003

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I put a set of ranchos in my wife’s expo. That I took out. Horrible. I’ve used cheepo shocks in other cars like Subarus and alike. The kybs I put in my uncles jeep were too soft for me. These seem like factory ride replacements. Not too hard not too soft. Like oem. Aftermarket can be close. But not the same ride quality. I do have the lift spacers. But that doesn’t really change much. I am quite happy with this purchase.
 

joethefordguy

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i cannot imagine any reason for grinding off serial numbers that would justify buying them.
 

Password

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tempting.

Those FCS are garbage btw, ask me how I know.
 

Brent Harward

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NO NO NO. Don't go to all the work of replacing your struts and put FoMoCo's back in there. Not to be rude. But that is dumb and dumber! Nice photos though.
 

Broncoholic

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Look the same as the factory ones it came with. And it rides perfect.

I'm interested just to get a fresh set of springs all around. I imagine there's a little sag after 18 years. Did you notice any difference in ride height? Or did you install the spacers with the new struts and can't tell?
 
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mbtech2003

mbtech2003

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I'm interested just to get a fresh set of springs all around. I imagine there's a little sag after 18 years. Did you notice any difference in ride height? Or did you install the spacers with the new struts and can't tell?
Swapped over the lift spacers from the old struts. Same height as originals
 
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mbtech2003

mbtech2003

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Thanks. Guess I won't bother with it then.
By same height as originals. Mine is lifted. If you put these In. You may notice a small difference. Maybe 1/4 inch half inch tops. Mine is lifted 3”. So. I won’t see it.
 

Broncoholic

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By same height as originals. Mine is lifted. If you put these In. You may notice a small difference. Maybe 1/4 inch half inch tops. Mine is lifted 3”. So. I won’t see it.
Mine is lifted too with Daystar lift. It's not off-roaded or used for towing, so I wouldn't expect much sag in my springs, but after 18 years I wonder. I remember when my dad put new springs on his '83 Camaro after about 15 years, it raised almost an inch! But spring technology/quality has improved a lot since then.
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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I wouldn't put a set of Motorcraft shocks/struts on my truck again unless I was selling it really, really soon. They go as quickly as a first BJ.
 

Hamfisted

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Curiosity got the best of me and I ordered a set just to see what they were. The wholesaler that ground off "some" of the part numbers went to a lot of work to do this for some unknown reason. Maybe they were part of a tractor trailer heist or something. Who knows. But the manufacturers label under the fake Motorcraft label is Monroe Quick Struts 171369 and 171370. I have KYB's on mine right now, so I'm holding off on installing them. The issue with the KYB's is the springs. They're softer and collapse almost to the point of binding with the weight of the Expy's front end. There's very little travel available before the springs compress completely and you get a knock. The rears are Ok, no issues. Just the fronts. The KYB's do have a larger oil/gas reservoir over the Monroes. But the Monroes copy the factory builds, so they must be good enough. We will see when the motivation hits me to do the swap out.
 

Thunderbirdsport

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Those motorcraft struts I bought awhile back...I'll look at them to see if they're like yours...monroe crap under a label. I'll let ya know.

I ended up finding two spring seats, and so sent have returned the fronts, the rears I still have, sans seats. I'll open one up again and see if the label covers up a cheap brand ;)
 
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