What else to replace while installing new shocks?

[Lima Tango]

Lads and Lassies of the nation,

I think it's time I finally bite the bullet and order some Bilstein HDs for my 90k mile basically stock '05 TB. Very tired of the floaty and wobbly ride. I am trying to figure out if there is anything else I should replace/upgrade while I'm in the process, like if having the front spring assembly out will make it much easier to swap out 'X' so it's better to do it now vs later. She's slept in the garage the last 60k miles or so, and I haven't seen any issues with rust or corrosion so I'm guessing many of my parts are in pretty good shape for the year and mileage.

I saw on shockwarehouse they have ~$25 upper mounts, didn't know if that's recommended and if so, which brand? They also have a boot/bumpstop, not sure if that's necessary either. I do get that clunking from the front end when I go over bumps and my steering wheel will jerk back and forth especially over washboard bumps, if that leads you to think of anything else that should be done while I'm in there.

I've never done much with suspension components, so your guidance is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

LT

 

[navigator]

if you haven't changed the Tstat and temp sender it might be easier to get to while you have it apart.
Also, the splinned disconnects are notorious for the grease drying out, it might be a good time to pull it, inspect and re-grease.
Maybe check all your front in parts(BJ,TRE etc) to see if they are still in good shape.

If you ever thought about lifting it, now is the time to do it

 

[The_Roadie]

Have you had regular alignments, where the tech also checks for loose ball joints and tie rod ends?

If you don't do any aggressive offroading, the upper shocks mounts might be aging, but they're not usually needing replacement. But this is the perfect time if you want to add any peace of mind. New front shocks come with new boot/bumpstops.

Clunking noise is almost always front anti-sway bar end links and/or bar bushings. Extensively discussed, and can be changed at a different time from the struts. Uncommanded steering wheel movement can come from worn tie rod ends or ball joints or control arm bushings or an out-of-spec alignment, hence my question about when was your last alignment and professional inspection? I'm hoping the answer is not "why, never".

 

[rmsg0040]

Might as well do the upper strut mounts, monroe are good.

No need for bumpstops or boot as the new struts have them.

Look for other things while your there, like sway bar links, tie rod, ball joint etc. Dont have to replace all but check it out.

 

[Lima Tango]

Thanks for your replies, friends.

My T-Stat was recently replaced, so I'm good to go on that.

I'll do some forum searching on the sway bar end links and the stuff you mentioned, Roadie, to see what to add to my to-do list. Any advice on what to look for to tell if replacing the mounts would be a good idea? Just as basic as cracks in the rubber or something else? I don't mind doing it and they're fairly inexpensive, but if there is really no need to replace them I'd hate to waste the money.

I'm definitely overdue on the alignment, it's been a few years and ~30k since the last time I had one. I've been gone a lot because I'm in the military and too much time has managing to pass in the interim. I figured it would make sense to wait until after I do any of this suspension work just in case the alignment would be affected. The tires have worn evenly, so I always understood that to mean the alignment is pretty good.

 

[fadyasha]

Might as well do the upper strut mounts, monroe are good.

No need for bumpstops or boot as the new struts have them.

Look for other things while your there, like sway bar links, tie rod, ball joint etc. Dont have to replace all but check it out.

I vote for that too. I had to redo my alignment after doing some work because the mounts were toast.

 

[Mooseman]

Just a word of warning if you get them from Shockwarehouse, they are slooooooow to ship. Took them two weeks to just ship my order of 4 shocks and 2 mounts. Oh and check out shockwarehouse-$5-off-code to get a 5% discount code if you decide to go with them anyway.

 

[Sparky]

THey were slow for me but that was because they were backordered. Once they got them in I got my shocks really quickly.

I always recommend replacing the front upper mounts, especially if they are original.