Worn out shocks already?

[ShadowsPapa]

Tip for newer forum members........
I've seen several threads with a post like "following" or similar..........
Just a tip - really super easy way to keep an eye on a thread of interest -
At the top of that thread, near the right side of the top of that thread ->

Click that and it gives you options of receiving notices, emails, etc. so you can keep track of threads of interest.
Your choice - post a "following" or - click the "Watch" button and choose whether or not to get emails about a new post in that thread.
If you don't visit that thread after receiving notice of a new post in that thread, you'll stop receiving notices in email even though it's still watched.
The forum will every so often send you an email with a list of watched but not visited threads.

Sponsored

 

[570gladiator]

Recently my Mojave has been riding super rough and loud with a decent vibration on the road. Took it to the shop to get rotated and balanced and it was all good there but noticed the tires have some pretty decent cupping. Looking it up, it seems like that’s a suspension issue. More specifically, worn out shocks. I only have 30k on the car total. Mostly highway miles. Off road occasionally but nothing drastic.
has anybody else experienced this already?
[/QUOTE
I posted back in May 2022 that during the free tire rotation and oil change the dealer noted the rear axle was leaking on the passenger side and all 4 shocks were done. This was in a 2021 Willy Sport with 18k miles on it. They replaced the axle and shocks under warranty. I take it off road maybe a mile a week to my cabin and it has to crawl in some spots and I had it at max weight with coal 3x for 100 miles each trip. It certainly wasn’t a MOAB trail or overloaded. I think the Willys and Mojave may share the same shocks.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

>> I think the Willys and Mojave may share the same shocks. <<

No, Mojave is in a class by itself (just ask - wait for it, he'll be here...........)
Mojave shocks are totally different animals - they have remote reservoirs. Even the rears. (not as remote as the fronts, though I've not crawled under to look)

Willys gets Sport shocks last I knew.

 

[smlobx]

I’ve had shocks fail on an almost brand new F-350. With less than 4K miles on them I took one out and was able to compress it by hand and it did not rebound…AT ALL!

I really don’t like how softly sprung (and shocked) the Rubicon’s are. I’m seriously thinking of upgrading to the AEV’s set up with Bilstein 5100’s.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’ve had shocks fail on an almost brand new F-350. With less than 4K miles on them I took one out and was able to compress it by hand and it did not rebound…AT ALL!

I really don’t like how softly sprung (and shocked) the Rubicon’s are. I’m seriously thinking of upgrading to the AEV’s set up with Bilstein 5100’s.

I had to think hard on this because back in 1970, 1980, maybe even later - that's normal. No shock rebounded. ;-)
Assuming from this century, sounds like that one lost its gas.
I can't hand-compress the Rubicon take-offs I have here, but other than that, they are wimpy shocks, IMO. That's why they are still sitting in a box and not under my truck.
My Overland shocks are just as good if not a bit less "bouncy" than Rubicon pretty looking Fox shocks.

 

[JTR178]

I’ve had shocks fail on an almost brand new F-350. With less than 4K miles on them I took one out and was able to compress it by hand and it did not rebound…AT ALL!

I really don’t like how softly sprung (and shocked) the Rubicon’s are. I’m seriously thinking of upgrading to the AEV’s set up with Bilstein 5100’s.

You won't regret it. It rides so much better.

 

[SAS59]

I'm not impressed with the Rubicon shocks anyway, leaking or not. Look cool, but looks don't mean stable.

I have a 21 Gladiator Rubicon also. What replacement shocks did you go with? Dont like the factory Fox shocks

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have a 21 Gladiator Rubicon also. What replacement shocks did you go with? Dont like the factory Fox shocks

On my 2020 (Overland) I swapped in Rubicon "take-off" springs and shocks.
Bouncy-bouncy. The back end would bounce up and down at least 2 times for every little bump.
I traded the 2020 for a 2022 Overland. The dealer said he wanted the 2020 put back to factory stock, exactly how I bought it. So the Rubicon springs and shocks came out.
I disliked the shocks so much I never put them on my 2022 Overland. The stock shocks are better, less bouncy, better ride, IMO. They looked cool, but that's it.
Since I'm putting different springs up front under my 2022 Overland, I may end up swapping to different front shocks - different springs to handle all the weight I've added to the front of the truck and to level it out a bit since I put 3/4" spacers under the rear.
Likely those new springs will be better served by different front shocks but that's yet to be determined.

In short - I took the Rubicon stuff off my Overland and it's all in boxes. I need to decide on what front shocks I need once I swap springs - again. The 1" springs didn't lift the truck enough - they just put it back to stock height after all of the weight was added.

 

[AstroZombie]

well mine is back at the dealer for major tire cupping. what they told me 3 visits ago was they had to replace the ball joints. but turns out it was just the cotter pins? go figure. I have lost faith in the service writes at Pedder Jeep in Poway. At least I am not an idiot. I know they do not know how to read the service notes. I had a list of concerns. Shocks make a squeak like there's air in it. once they cycle a few times it goes away util i sit for a bit. My tires look like a chainsaw blade. HAHA Plus the rear glass is leaking and the silencer on the rear shock came off. Fun times. I just want to have it right before warranty expires.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

well mine is back at the dealer for major tire cupping. what they told me 3 visits ago was they had to replace the ball joints. but turns out it was just the cotter pins? go figure. I have lost faith in the service writes at Pedder Jeep in Poway. At least I am not an idiot. I know they do not know how to read the service notes. I had a list of concerns. Shocks make a squeak like there's air in it. once they cycle a few times it goes away util i sit for a bit. My tires look like a chainsaw blade. HAHA Plus the rear glass is leaking and the silencer on the rear shock came off. Fun times. I just want to have it right before warranty expires.

Not just cotter pins...they remove those, tighten the nuts and put new pins in per TSB.

 

[AstroZombie]

Not just cotter pins...they remove those, tighten the nuts and put new pins in per TSB.

cool, i didn't read the tsb. Service advisor said they were replace and i don't read the documents they give me at the end. Probably should though.

They are replacing a front shock, rear coil and my back glass. Its crazy they have to replace the entire back glass. Maybe the seal is fused to the glass.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

cool, i didn't read the tsb. Service advisor said they were replace and i don't read the documents they give me at the end. Probably should though.

They are replacing a front shock, rear coil and my back glass. Its crazy they have to replace the entire back glass. Maybe the seal is fused to the glass.

Luckily I've not had a reason to learn a ton about the back glass, but because of all of the comments about leaks around here, I do look now and then. So far, so good.

The TSB for the ball joints lists cotter pins as parts needed.
The nuts are "castellated nuts" - with the notches on the top. They have to remove the old cotter pin, torque the nut to spec, line the nut notches up with the hole in the "stem" of the ball joint and put a new cotter pin in. The pin keeps the nut from coming loose.
The loose ball joint torque is sort of spooky as if they are loose enough and driven long enough without attention, it can wear the steering knuckle hole until eventually you have a mess on your hands. It may not be able to be fixed by simply tightening and torqueing to specs if that 7 degree tapered hole the ball joint stem fits into is worn enough. It'll never be right.

 

[AstroZombie]

Luckily I've not had a reason to learn a ton about the back glass, but because of all of the comments about leaks around here, I do look now and then. So far, so good.

The TSB for the ball joints lists cotter pins as parts needed.
The nuts are "castellated nuts" - with the notches on the top. They have to remove the old cotter pin, torque the nut to spec, line the nut notches up with the hole in the "stem" of the ball joint and put a new cotter pin in. The pin keeps the nut from coming loose.
The loose ball joint torque is sort of spooky as if they are loose enough and driven long enough without attention, it can wear the steering knuckle hole until eventually you have a mess on your hands. It may not be able to be fixed by simply tightening and torqueing to specs if that 7 degree tapered hole the ball joint stem fits into is worn enough. It'll never be right.

Yup, i am familiar with ball joints. My Tacoma was a bit of a nightmare when all i needed to replace was the motor mount and steering insulators, turned out to be all my ball joints. Fun times!

 

[BAT]

Recently my Mojave has been riding super rough and loud with a decent vibration on the road. Took it to the shop to get rotated and balanced and it was all good there but noticed the tires have some pretty decent cupping. Looking it up, it seems like that’s a suspension issue. More specifically, worn out shocks. I only have 30k on the car total. Mostly highway miles. Off road occasionally but nothing drastic.
has anybody else experienced this already?
[/QUOte
I just took mine in for 30K and my mechanic advised me that he thinks my shocks are possibly going bad. Asked me if I noticed the truck riding rougher, etc which it has somewhat. He said he also noticed some wear pattern in the tire that would suggest the shocks were going

 

[STORY]

Yep, had 3 fully blown on my Rubicon. Visible oil leak one one of them. 20k miles, nothing too crazy. Not exactly impressed

So glad you posted this pic. I'll crawl under and take a peek today. My 2020 JT Rubicon (which I just got) feels like it has zero shocks on the rear, just bouncy springs. Others say those fox 2.0's are like that and it is kind of hard to believe with 25k miles they died this soon. If dealer wont replace under warrenty I was looking at upgrading to the adjustable Fox 2.5 w remote resivor. It's just that 1300.00 a pair kinda has to sink in a bit longer..

Sponsored