B190 Enthusiasts

Hi, Went to buy shocks today at advance auto and they did not have any. He also said he couldn't order them. Where can I buy shocks and which kind would you recommend? I was looking for extra heavy duty shocks.

Thanks,

Joan

Places that work on campers should be able to get them.

I'm surprised at the auto parts store, though - they couldn't get shocks for an E350? Wow...

I had all four shocks replaced by a mechanic recently. If I can get under the rig tomorrow I wil get the information off them and post it here.

The shocks on my rig are:

NAPA
Gas Grand6 - 60

Hope this helps.

There are many good brands of shocks out there....you are just buying shocks for a E350 Ford van.

Don't complicate it by telling the counterman its a camper van or even an Airstream

NAPA has good shocks..either gas or fluid...Monroe and Bilstein are a couple others that are good quality also

Bilstein: (do a Product Search for the numbers)
http://www.bilstein.com

Monroe: (choose Catalog Lookup)
http://www.monroe.com/

NAPA Online:
http://www.napaonline.com/

Find your numbers and consult you local Dealer

I use the NAPA gas shocks... or, you can purchase them at the local Ford Store

sudec11....

Perhaps it was the countermans first day...!


I went to the website for Advanced Auto Parts

Click this link below to view all the shock choices at Advanced Auto Parts for your E350 van with 7.5 liter engine....12 to choose from

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList ... t%2c+Front

I got new shocks on mine late last week. Only drove it about two miles, from the shop to my house, and I could feel the difference already. Only problem is that now the steering feels loose...I'm probably going to end up taking it back to the shop and have them diagnose and fix it - could be tie rod ends, steering damper, etc.

I put Bilsteins under the B-Van a couple of weeks ago (and had tire-balancing powder put in the Goodyears). What a difference over the Ford stock shocks! I think a couple of new Helwig sway bars will be next...

Roger

Skater ; you said you had new shocks installed a while back and you were experiencing a loose steering feeling. You never followed up on this as to the cause or remedy. The reason I am asking is last year I had new ball joints and heavy duty shocks installed. The steering was perfect before the work was done at the local Ford dealer and since then I have had the front end aligned and rechecked several times and it is in spec. I now wonder if it could be the HD shocks causing a loose or wandering feeling. What did you find out on your B-van?
Howard

Roadhog wrote:Skater ; you said you had new shocks installed a while back and you were experiencing a loose steering feeling. You never followed up on this as to the cause or remedy. The reason I am asking is last year I had new ball joints and heavy duty shocks installed. The steering was perfect before the work was done at the local Ford dealer and since then I have had the front end aligned and rechecked several times and it is in spec. I now wonder if it could be the HD shocks causing a loose or wandering feeling. What did you find out on your B-van?
Howard

Sorry about that. The shop adjusted the steering box and it tightened up the steering nicely. Certainly it's not as tight as any of the cars we own, but it doesn't wander around, and small corrections in the steering wheel produce a noticeable change in direction on the highway, so I'm satisfied.

If all the front end components are in good shape, I have had positive response from dialing in a little more positive caster to address the straight line stability of our past vans.
From what I understand, the caster tends to make front wheels want to stay centered or pointed straight ahead...
As a side note, I have had the same adjustment made to the steering box as noted above and that helped a lot with the overall steering "feel" and sense of control.

Gary