2004, super rough ride from the back of the truck

I got it in 2015 from my brother in law, it had around 120-122k on it, and came from up north, but thankfully it has only surface rust that as soon as i get a couple of pretty and warm days im going to address that, 2 dry and warm enough to do it days in Tn are very hard to come by.

Anyway, when i got it, i replaced the front suspension and the shocks in the rear, the leafs dont seem to sag so i didnt see much point in replacing them at the time, i've put maybe 10k miles on it since, and now the rear of the truck doesnt take bumps well at all, we have a few places around where i live that have a paving level difference of maybe 1/2-3/4 inch, and going over those is very rough, but it didnt used to be.

When i changed the shocks a little while ago, everything was good it rode well, but this new roughness seems to have happened all at once, i checked everything to make sure it is still attached and tight, and to make sure nothing broke free of the frame. everything is as it should be.

Did i get a bad set of shocks? or could this be cause by the leaf springs?
these are the shocks i put on the rear
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AM5PYS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

What happens if you get in the bed and jump up and down? Does the suspension still Cycle? Of not move to the right or left side and see if it is a problem on one or both sides. If there is a problem check the shocks and the shackles. That's where I would start.

It's also easy just to take a shock off and see if you can compress it. And see how the truck reacts with the shock off by again jumping up and down.

 

Shackles may be too tight. Shocks could be the wrong valving.

Tooting my own horn here but this may give you an idea:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/stiff-rear-end-after-lift-you-got-the-wrong-shocks.471164/

Try to look up info on how your shocks are valved. I don't see it on the Amazon listing.

 

Oddly enough, google says these have 2 stars, but when I click the link to the page, none of the reviews are there. AutoAnything must not want you to know that these suck. Guess they make a pretty healthy profit on them.

 

Thanks for the reply's, i got in the back of the truck and jumped up and down in the center and then on the passengers and drivers side.
In the i have no excess bouncing in any of the 3 places, i also went to the wheel well where you could see the shocks and pulled down on the side of the bed to see if they had movement, they appear to be moving.

I did notice that when in the bed, the passengers side squeaks and the drivers side has a thump that seems to be at the furthest point of compression, pulling from the side i could not get it to make the same noise, so it is somewhere between the compression i got in the bed, and what i could get pulling down that the thump occurs, the feeling i had when in the bed was, this thump is very much like what it feels like to go over a pothole.

I also checked again the mounting points to the frame to make sure they were solid, and everything looked good. I think the shackles you guys are mentioning are where the shocks bolt to the plate that holds the rear axel to the leaf springs, if so, they are rusty, but solid, and at least nothing moves by hand, i sadly do not have another person who can be in the bed jumping around while i am looking under the truck for problems.

I did note that my springs do not have much curve in them when viewed from the side. not sure how much a stock 4x4 2004 v6 sr5 model should have, but, viewed from the side the truck is higher in the back then in the front on a level surface.

Oddly enough those were the shocks that were recommended in this fourm when i did my suspension back in 2015, at the time they had good reviews on Amazon.

i did find them on the companies site, if this provides any helpful information
http://gabriel.com/product-search/light-vehicle-detailed-specs/?partnum=77494

 

Strange. Well I'm not sure what to tell you. Even on their product page there is no information about the valving. As far as the shackles are concerned, they are the two metal plates that sit at the rear of the leaf springs that allow to leaf springs to compress or flatten out as they flex. The part you were looking at - the bolts that hold the leaf spring to the axle - are the U-bolts. If you haven't messed with either of these suspension components then they are likely okay. My only guess at this point is that the shock bushings are already worn out and there is slop in the mounting points for the shock, or you have a bad shock. I have no experience with this brand so I cannot attest their quality (or possible lack thereof).