Best shocks for my 2002 Taco 2.4l

If you had only enough dough to buy 2 shocks, would you put them on the front OR the back? Thinking of trying a pair on the rear at present.

 

I'd save the money for a full set, but if I absolutely had to pick I'd have to guess the front

 

KYB gas-a-just. I think you can get them from most parts stores such as AutoZone. No need to fork over the money for Bilsteins on a 5 lugger.
Edit: All the parts stores are running their ShockTober sales. Good deals on KYB, Monroe, Gabriel etc.

 

agree with the KYB gas-a just...installed recently....rears no prob. install.

Fronts....before you start get one of the lwr mount bolts slightly longer than the factory installed bolts, to be used as a tool to help with install.

when installing the new shock , use this longer bolt to pull the extended shock up to where the other mount bolt can then be threaded in and started, then you can remove the longer bolt, and reinstall the factory length bolt.


the job can be done without this longer bolt , but it will save a lot of swearing and jack fiddling


Oh and I got mine from Amazon

 

Don't buy two. The end with the old shocks will cause the new end to bounce and wear out the new shocks. Buy 4.

 

Obviously you'll bet "better" shocks if you only buy two, but there's a pretty big price gap between "decent" shocks and "really nice" shocks. A set of 5100s or the OME nitro chargers will run you $350 for a set of 4, but there really aren't that many shocks (none that I can think of) that are a *significant* improvement over the 5100s if you only bought 2 at that same price.

Next jump in shocks is going to be some adjustable billstien coilovers, Kings, Icons, Fox. That'll run you at least $800-1000 or more for a pair.

I got a set of extended travel Kings for the front my my truck, still running older 5100s in the rear. My Kings ran $1000+ for two, then of course I ended up with uniball UCAs too, for another $700 on top of that.

I chose to set up my front suspension first, then when funds were available, set up the rear. Not ideal, but it's not like it's undrivable.

So, if your budget is less than ~$500, IMO don't bother with "only getting 2" to get better shocks, just get the full set of the 5100's or OMEs. But if your budget is a grand or more, you probably aren't looking at the 5100s anyway, lol.

 

Get the KYB’s and call it a day

 

Agreed I got all 4 for $120 on Amazon and a $40 rebate.................they work fine

But with less bragging rights, I suppose