4x4 Shock Absorbers

[Larry]

I can't seem to find any listings for shocks. My 3/4 ton 4x4 may have stock shocks still! The thing is bouncy! Any data or do I have to pull them and measure?

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Shocks shouldnt be a problem. Just take one off and take it to NAPA. They'll match it up with a modern one and you can pick the stiffness you want. Let us know what you pick!

[aphaynes]

speaking of shocks, does anyone use air ride shocks...not air bags...or is standard gas best?

[Larry]

I pulled a front and rear. Man the bolt on the rear is huge! I doubt I do much more than a light trail running at most so I don't think I need to flex the truck to measure. I may just go with a slightly longer than stock shock but we'll see.

[OKGMC]

What kind of shocks did you end up with? I'm having the same problem with my 65 4x4.

[Larry]

Yup I got it solved. Did a little snooping online, measuring, and research and came up with the following. Found that someone in the archives on this forum the following Ranchos. You can use them but with minor tweaks outlined below.

Front: Rancho RS5601 - these bolt on! Only tweak is that you have to pound out your metal shock sleeves from the stock shocks and just slip them into your Ranchos.

Rear: Rancho RS5143 - these are the correct length but do not bolt on off the shelf. The rubber bushings that come on these shocks do not fit the stock metal sleeves. You need to use some sort of a reamer to get the hole bigger so you can fit the sleeves from your stock shocks into the Ranchos. I am still working on this to finish up the rear.

My only review can be of the front shocks and they ride great. Finally have handling and no more boating around.

EDIT: Forgot to mention you can get them new and cheap on eBay pretty easily.

[OKGMC]

Thanks for the update. Got the shocks on order; Rancho has a rebate going now if you buy four 5000 series shocks. I also bought and installed a Rancho RS5402 steering stabilizer.