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Leafspring equipped one-ton Super Duty pickups have never been known for their exceptional ride qualities. If you factor in a worn out set of shock absorbers the ride borders on obnoxious.

The shocks on C4x4’s Project F-Soup test mule were about as gone as they could be. The truck porpoised over the shabby North Texas asphalt roads like Flipper on the point at Rincon, and one-handing a cup-o-joe was getting downright precarious!

With a small suspension lift and longer shocks planned for in the future I didn’t want to break the bank, but putting off the inevitable was out of the question - so instead of driving up the Folgers stock any further I took advantage of the ‘Buy 3 get 1 Free’ deal and ponied up the dough for a set of Explorer Pro Comp ES9000 Performance Shock Absorbers.

Swapping out the shocks was pretty straight forward for anyone with a decent set of wrenches, but I’ll pass along a couple of tips to hopefully help make your next shock swap painless.

First remove the lower shock bolt. Ford provides an eared keeper washer on the nut to aid in removal and installation of the bolt, but if you don’t back up the socket with a box-end wrench on the nut, the ear will break off. Since I’m not equipped with a third hand, please excuse the absence of the box-end back up wrench in this photo. It may be necessary to gently tap the bolt with a hammer for removal. Remember to leave the nut on the bolt to protect the end of the threads while you do this. You may also have to pry the shock from the rear to work it free of the mount.

super duty shocks

Remove the upper nut and wiggle the shock and bushing off of the shock stud. If the shock bushing is damaged it may take a little persuasion and WD40 or Liquid Wrench to accomplish the task. In comparison, the old stock shock looks a bit like a dinosaur – the ES9000 packs a lot more technology in a much more attractive package. Note the shock-restraint wire that you’ll find on all nitrogen gas charged shocks. You’ll be removing this later, but for now, leave it in place.

To keep the shock body all purdy and new, after removing the shock from the packaging leave the plastic covering on the shock body in place until it’s installed. Smear a bit of grease on the inside of the bushing with one of your wife’s q-tips, or your finger in a pinch. You’ll repeat this procedure on all of the remaining bushings as well. Mount the new shock in the lower mount first and install the bolt, leaving the captured washer and nut off at this time. It may be necessary to gently persuade the bolt through the new bushing.

Now for the scary part. With your eyes on the top bolt, use side cutters to cut the shock-restraint wire and slip the top shock bushing onto the top shock stud. CAUTION – the shock is under a lot of pressure and will try to extend to its fullest length. Once the shock is mounted, clean off the threads that are most likely covered in grease, and thread on the top and bottom shock nuts. Install the top shock washer so that the nut sits in it like a tea cup on a saucer to allow the bushing free movement. Tighten down the top nut first so that the paint on the bushing crinkles kind of like this to get the feel for it, and then tighten the bottom nut to match.

Now move on to the other side and repeat.

Installing new shocks on the rear is much like the front, but since you’re now lying down, attach the top first to make aiming the lower bushing onto the mount a bit easier after cutting the shock-restraint wire. Once again - CAUTION – the shock is under a lot of pressure and will try to extend to its fullest length. The photo shows what happens when you miss the mount. At this point (if your lips aren’t bleeding and all of your teeth are intact) its easier on your back to get out the floor jack, jack the shock back into position, and slide the shock and bushing onto the mount. Since I’m apparently not smart enough to rattle out the jack when I missed the mount and instead tried to wrestle the shock back into position - I was pretty spent by this time in the 100+ degree heat. Luckily for me, C4x4’s lovely intern Kaylee shoved me out of the way to tighten down the remaining bolts, removed the plastic wrappers from the shock bodies, and finished up the job with a typical “Lucky I was around Dad.”…kids these days.

What We Think -
The truck still rides like a one-ton Super Duty - but at least it’s a lot more controlled now. I noticed this especially when our Delta 36-gal. fuel tank (f-soup fuel pump archived article link) is full of diesel and we’re towing our New Holland TC35D 4X4 tractor aboard our 16’ Carson car trailer.

The NH with the loader and 3-point mounted Bush Hog SQ720 Rotary Cutter attached measures over 22’ long. Getting the cutter far enough onto the dovetail trailer to remain legal places the loader bucket above the bed of the truck. It’s nowhere near the optimum placement for a properly balanced trailer load, or proper tongue weight - but the length and heftiness of the Super Duty make up for it.

Over the last three thousand miles our new Explorer shocks have provided us with a much more controlled and safer ride, which make them the perfect shock for our particular application.

Shock Boots – My Thoughts

I’m not big fan of shock boots - mainly because none of them are capable of keeping mud, sand, rocks, and other crud away from the shaft – and if they did, they’d seal off the shock and heat it up. They’ll also disguise a bent shaft or other problem from view which can lead to broken shock mounts, or worse.

Back in the day, I used to give the free ones to Fido for chew toys, but even he got tired of them.

If you truly can’t stop yourself from installing shock boots on your rig to match your day-glo light covers and matching hat - they’re available as an option and in most colors for ES9000 Pro Comp shock absorbers.

If you do choose to use shock boots, do yourself a favor and install them loosely over the outside of the shock-restraint wire before installing the shocks, and then complete the boot installation after everything is tightened up.

Features - Explorer Pro Comp ES9000 Performance Shock Absorbers
Twin-Tube ‘VSV’ (vehicle specific valving) 10-stage valving
Nitrogen Gas Stabilized
Expanded design increases fluid capacity up to 50%
External multi-lip wiper seal
Double wall construction
Double welded mounts
1-3/16” to 1-3/8” Nylon banded piston
1/2” to 5/8” Chrome hardened piston rod
Cellular foam chamber
Internal bump stop to prevent shock damage