shock advice

hey all, i got a 86 pickup 4x4 and it needs shocks. i was just gonna put some $20 gabriels on it but wanted to see if anyone has other ideas or experience with some better ones. thanks for any advice

 

I just put KYB Gas-a-just shocks on mine. I drive mostly on the asphalt. Back roads, some gravel and logging roads. They made a big difference but they were so wore out that anything would of made a big difference. The three most noticeable things are; coming out from a stop sign going to my left the truck doesn't dip down as it used to; when going down the county road by my house (which is rutted and patched and really bad) the truck runs in a straight line no matter what it hits. Before it wanted to dodge off left or right on multiple bumps and there was to much side sway. No side sway now. Much, much better. The third thing is I can "feel" the road better. I don't know how to put that any better.

As for stiffness, when I hit a dip to the right and a dip to the left directly following each other I think the truck would handle it better with a little more stiffness, but when hitting something like a bad bridge abutment it levels that out just right.

I guess all things are a compromise. If I was doing some heavy duty off road anymore I might want stiffer shocks, but I haven't tried these out and probably won't.

Overall I think they are great but the old ones where so bad that anything is better.

The ones I took off could possible be the originals. That would mean they would have over 200,000 miles on them. They are Toyota shocks. The shocks are badly worn out but 3 of the 4 still have bushings that aren't completely wore out. They are rusted and corroded where the bushings are touching the shocks but still holding there own. The right rear bushings are still in place and doing something but about done. Unbelievable. Toyota shocks must have some great bushing, or did in '97 if they are actually that old.

 

Wanderingwayne, going back a while. Im gonna buy kyb excel $55ea or kyb gasadjust $80ea...95 taco 4wd. Is gasadjust worth $50 more?

 

When I bought my 97 Tacoma a year ago I had the Toyota shocks on it. They were so wore out that when I hit a series of bumps on the freeway the truck took off for the other lane. The road close to my house was bad at the time and the truck had unwanted movement on some on those multiple bumps also. When I put the KYB shocks on it made a huge difference. No matter how rough the road is the truck runs straight down the road. I couldn't ask for more from a shock than what I'm getting for the driving I do, which is a lot of back country roads and some logging roads. I'm not an off road racing guy and thought the Bilstein's everyone was talking about with the adjustable ride was more than I needed in a shock and more money too. I also the Bilstiens might be to stiff for me. I have never had any other shock on this truck except the wore out ones and the KYB's, so I can't really compare. In the past I've always driven full size pickups and usually bought Napa Magnum's, (a heavy duty Monroe). This time I read a lot of info and bought the KYB's instead. Monroe's used to be a good shock for the times in years past. Now I believe that there are better shocks out there. Changing shocks was pretty easy. I took the front ones off and took them to the mechanic down the road and he changed out the coil over springs for $30.00. I'm glad I got the KYB's. I'm not sure what you meant by the $50.00 more. A pair of shocks for $25.00 a piece more? (80 - 55 = 25 x 2 = 50?) I changed all four. I wanted gas shocks after reading about the difference with those and standard shocks. Gas shocks are better. I think I paid about $60.00 a piece for mine a year ago. I don't remember for sure, I think I got them from Tire Warehouse. It was some big place like that online with a good reputation for delivery and standing behind their product.