# 1995 F250 Shocks



## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

What is typically the "heaviest duty" shock I can put on this truck? Gas engine 95 F250. I'll be adding timbrens to it this next month, part of the process is taking off the old shocks, so I'll be replacing them with new at the same time. Is there any specific shocks that seem to hold up better? I'm really not overly concerned about ride, it's a truck, performance is first concern.

Been looking at Bilstein 4600's:
http://www.autozone.com/suspension-...s-h-5-8l-efi/84676_716975_7413/?checkfit=true

Anyone use them? I don't want to replace shocks then have them blow out. I'm sure the ones on it now are toast. I may end up replacing all 4.

Any input guys?


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## BUFF (Dec 24, 2009)

I've been running Bilstein 5100's on my 97 F-350 and like them, so much I'm going to put them on my'15 too. 
I've found Amazon has the best prices especially if you have Prime.


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

i agree the bilstein 5100's are much better.


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

I guess I'll be the one to ask an important question here. _What are you looking for your shocks to do?_ The reason I ask is that you mentioned you were adding Timbrens. I'm assuming you're adding them because your front end is sagging with a plow?

It's important to remember that shocks just _dampen the movement of your suspension._ They do not keep a truck from sagging or bottoming out, but they can alter the speed at which it bottoms out. (A whipped shock will allow you to bottom out quicker than a newer / heavier duty shock.)

Springs on the other had do alter both the static ride height as well as how far your suspension will compress under a given load. So if your truck is sagging or bottoming out, increasing the spring rate will help / solve your problem. Adding better shocks will better control the movement of those springs.

A Timbren acts as somewhat of a "progressive bump stop." So yes, it adds to the spring rate. I have them in the back of my truck and absolutely love them.

As far as the Bilstein 5100's go, they're a great shock from my experience with them.


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## Flyboy77 (Jun 23, 2014)

I bought a pair off Amazon for the rear of my 96 F350 4x4 that Amazon website said would fit and they were 2inches shorter than stock. So I would recommend not buying these. I would've had to compress my leaf springs to get them to install, so I returned them and got a refund of $5.90ea upon return from $19.58 ea price. And had to build my own box (UPS store wanted to charge $25 for the box to ship them). Make sure you measure to get the right extended length, because it's not worth returning them. I did get an open box deal to get a good price, but maybe that was why someone else returned them as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Explorer-Pro-...=8-1&keywords=Explorer-Pro-Comp-124509-ES1000


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## BUFF (Dec 24, 2009)

Flyboy77;2078910 said:


> I bought a pair off Amazon for the rear of my 96 F350 4x4 that Amazon website said would fit and they were 2inches shorter than stock. So I would recommend not buying these. I would've had to compress my leaf springs to get them to install, so I returned them and got a refund of $5.90ea upon return from $19.58 ea price. And had to build my own box (UPS store wanted to charge $25 for the box to ship them). Make sure you measure to get the right extended length, because it's not worth returning them. I did get an open box deal to get a good price, but maybe that was why someone else returned them as well.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Explorer-Pro-...=8-1&keywords=Explorer-Pro-Comp-124509-ES1000


Before I buy parts off of any online store I go to the Mfr's web to get the part number, I've been hosed a few times by online stores listing wrong P/N's.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

Too Stroked;2078908 said:


> I guess I'll be the one to ask an important question here. _What are you looking for your shocks to do?_ The reason I ask is that you mentioned you were adding Timbrens. I'm assuming you're adding them because your front end is sagging with a plow?
> 
> It's important to remember that shocks just _dampen the movement of your suspension._ They do not keep a truck from sagging or bottoming out, but they can alter the speed at which it bottoms out. (A whipped shock will allow you to bottom out quicker than a newer / heavier duty shock.)
> 
> ...


Yes, put a 810 on the truck-it's too heavy for it honestly, that's why I'm adding timbrens, to help the sag. I want a shock that is "severe duty" as I don't want them to blow out quickly. I don't expect them to last 10 years with a plow but I'd like at least a few years.


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## linckeil (Sep 18, 2007)

a pair of add-a-leafs may be your best bet. however, they can be tricky with the dana 50 IFS on your truck. with the plow on, the add a leafs will hold the front end where you want it. however with the plow off, the springs may lift the front end too high, and with IFS, that could result in the front tires looking like this when viewed head on - \ /. that's gonna cause tire wear concerns, among other things. 

add-a-leafs typically add 1.5-2" of lift when the vehicle is unloaded, and any amount of lift can be a problem with IFS. this is a non-issue with the solid axle dana 60 in the F350, but it may be a problem with the IFS dana 50 in the F250. if the truck is mainly a plow rig then I'd do add-a-leafs for sure, but if it sees a lot of mileage without the plow on, maybe its not the best route. in a perfect world you'd swap to a dana 60 and run whatever spring you want, but that can be time consuming and expensive.


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

beanz27;2079666 said:


> Yes, put a 810 on the truck-it's too heavy for it honestly, that's why I'm adding timbrens, to help the sag. I want a shock that is "severe duty" as I don't want them to blow out quickly. I don't expect them to last 10 years with a plow but I'd like at least a few years.


Well, as long as you're not expecting your shocks to hold the front end up with the plow on it - like some folks do - a good old fashioned set of Monroe Magnums or something similar should work for you. Remember though, with the plow on, the front end on your particular truck is over loaded. That means the shocks will have to dampen more travel than normal. That will wear them out faster than normal.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

Too Stroked;2079994 said:


> Well, as long as you're not expecting your shocks to hold the front end up with the plow on it - like some folks do - a good old fashioned set of Monroe Magnums or something similar should work for you. Remember though, with the plow on, the front end on your particular truck is over loaded. That means the shocks will have to dampen more travel than normal. That will wear them out faster than normal.


Completely expected, comes with the territory, along with ball joints and the occasional transmission. I may swap the 810 onto the 350, I won't be doing an axel swap. Bought the plow not knowing if it worked so put it on the one truck without a plow as temporary for this year.


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## oldmankent (Mar 2, 2001)

Man, the only thing you have going for you with that front end is that it is a gas engine and not diesel. I would go Bilsteins too. But I wouldn't do timbrens. they ruin ride and basically connect axle to frame directly. I would go with air bags. No problem with the front leafs I think. Air them up with plow on and run them real light with plow off. 
I did alot of work to my 96 to get the front end right. 2" axle drop bracket, F350 springs, F350 rear spring blocks. It made that IFS bearable but wasn't a whole lot cheaper than the full axle swap. I had Bilsteins and after the work they were still installed but they didn't do anything anymore.


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

beanz27;2080307 said:


> Completely expected, comes with the territory, along with ball joints and the occasional transmission. I may swap the 810 onto the 350, I won't be doing an axel swap. Bought the plow not knowing if it worked so put it on the one truck without a plow as temporary for this year.


Remembering back when we had those IFS front suspension setups in a few of our trucks reminded me of one other thing. Due to the way the axle halves move in relationship to the leaf springs, overloading that setup can lead to ripped up axle housings. (Just crawl under your truck and look at where & how things move when the suspension deflects and you'll see the problem right away.) I'd be real leery of hanging that monster off the front end of that truck for that reason. In fact that's a big part of the reason that we went to all F-350's (with solid axles) after our 1989 F-250 started showing cracks in the axle housings. Then again, they dumped that suspension in 2000 anyway.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

Again guys this is temporary on this truck, I wasn't going to take everything off the f350 just to put the 810 on to see if it worked. This f250 the ride doesn't matter at all, it's pretty much plow only, less than 5k miles a year. On top of that its route is 3 miles, sits in a shop at one of my biggest accounts. I'll be putting the unimount mvp on this and the 810 on the F350 this summer, just not going to be down two trucks while I do the swap.


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## trevier (Dec 24, 2007)

I ran timbrens an rancho 9000's on my 96 for years. But those timbrens made my truck ride worse than a bulldozer. So I used to take the timbrens off in the spring and run the rancho adjustable on the lowest setting giving me a nice soft ride. Timbrens went back on in the fall and shocks were adjusted up to 5, this to compensate for my 8ft fisher blade.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

trevier;2082392 said:


> I ran timbrens an rancho 9000's on my 96 for years. But those timbrens made my truck ride worse than a bulldozer. So I used to take the timbrens off in the spring and run the rancho adjustable on the lowest setting giving me a nice soft ride. Timbrens went back on in the fall and shocks were adjusted up to 5, this to compensate for my 8ft fisher blade.


Must be pretty easy to put in and out then I'm guessing. Looking into the 5100's everywhere says they are for lifted trucks, and keeps directing me to the 4600 without a lift. I have no lift in the truck, nor will it be getting one.


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

beanz27;2085864 said:


> Looking into the 5100's everywhere says they are for lifted trucks, and keeps directing me to the 4600 without a lift. I have no lift in the truck, nor will it be getting one.


I'm not exactly sure the 5100's are "for lifted trucks." I had four of them on my 2010 F-150 and the front set were height adjustable. By moving a locking ring on the shock body up or down, you added or subtracted from where the spring set on the shock. This effectively gave you the same adjustable preload as a coil over shock. The actual "lift" was pretty limited though.

A shock made for lifted vehicles is generally a bit longer and / or has more travel. I'd call that a different animal.


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

Too Stroked;2086009 said:


> I'm not exactly sure the 5100's are "for lifted trucks." I had four of them on my 2010 F-150 and the front set were height adjustable. By moving a locking ring on the shock body up or down, you added or subtracted from where the spring set on the shock. This effectively gave you the same adjustable preload as a coil over shock. The actual "lift" was pretty limited though.
> 
> A shock made for lifted vehicles is generally a bit longer and / or has more travel. I'd call that a different animal.


That's why I'm confused here, it's the Internet though, I'll maybe just call bilstein and ask them


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