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How do you know when shocks are shot?


jeffw

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Can't say that shocks need to be changed if  "  this is happening  "  but, this is what I noticed after replacing 4 in the rear and the cab shocks. 530K on the truck, looked like originals

Side to side motion was reduced making it so I could feel feedback from a steering command that wasn't masked by the normal side to side sway.

Cab didn't bottom out any more at all as it did coming off bridges on the freeway occasionally.

A note about the install.  All bolts were fully treated with Michigan Loctite.   Since I am cheap, I intended to salvage all bolts.   The rear shock bolts were Michigan Loctited to the shock bushing, the nut came off fine.  The fix - parked the air chisel on the shock bushing for 30 sec or so and poof, in a cloud of rust, the bolt was free from the shock.

The cab shocks had to be twisted off by hand to break those metric bolts.  Both bottoms were solid Michigan Loctite.

I put Gabriel adjustable shocks on the rear set to the mid setting.  Seems like they were less that $50 each delivered to my door.

 

  

 

 

 

2009 Volvo 780 D16 535hp 1850 ft-lbs I shift 3.36

Thermo King Tripac APU

DIY Bed and Frame Extension

ET Hitch, Stellar EC2000, EcoGen 6K

2002 F350 CC Dually w/ Lance 1181

2012 Mini Cooper S

2007 Teton Royal Freedom

 

" The only place you will find success before work is the dictionary "

Truck 100K.jpg

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I just realized I never posted a follow-up.

We got 4 new drive tires installed in March. We're not singled, and the shop set all the drive tires to 110 PSI.

Dropping the drive tire pressures to 80 totally changed the way the truck absorbs bumps now. It's still not a super smooth ride but it's nearly like a new truck.

2007 Volvo 780 Volvo D12D, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

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4 hours ago, brunsje said:

Folks,

What is the wrench size for my steer axle shocks?  Do I need a strap wrench to compress the shock?

Thanks, JohnnyB

My 2013 Volvo is 15/16 top, and 13/16 bottom.  I didn't need to compress them.  But it took many hours this weekend to get the lower bolt cut out.

Kevin and June

2013 Volvo VNL 730    D13 Eco-Torque @ 425  Ratio 2.47 

2014 DRV 36TKSB3 

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13 hours ago, Sculptor said:

My 2013 Volvo is 15/16 top, and 13/16 bottom.  I didn't need to compress them.  But it took many hours this weekend to get the lower bolt cut out.

Just consider it a "bonding experience" with your truck. You will have more.....   :ph34r:

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11 hours ago, Jack Mayer said:

Just consider it a "bonding experience" with your truck. You will have more.....   :ph34r:

🙄 Yeah, it sort of was that.  I got pretty familiar with the front suspension, greased a few things, learned to stop gnashing my teeth and keep my mouth shut MOST of the time....   

Kevin and June

2013 Volvo VNL 730    D13 Eco-Torque @ 425  Ratio 2.47 

2014 DRV 36TKSB3 

Signature.jpegmKgUJbbl.jpg

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On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 3:38 PM, Mastercraft said:

Can't say that shocks need to be changed if  "  this is happening  "  but, this is what I noticed after replacing 4 in the rear and the cab shocks. 530K on the truck, looked like originals

Side to side motion was reduced making it so I could feel feedback from a steering command that wasn't masked by the normal side to side sway.

Cab didn't bottom out any more at all as it did coming off bridges on the freeway occasionally.

A note about the install.  All bolts were fully treated with Michigan Loctite.   Since I am cheap, I intended to salvage all bolts.   The rear shock bolts were Michigan Loctited to the shock bushing, the nut came off fine.  The fix - parked the air chisel on the shock bushing for 30 sec or so and poof, in a cloud of rust, the bolt was free from the shock.

The cab shocks had to be twisted off by hand to break those metric bolts.  Both bottoms were solid Michigan Loctite.

I put Gabriel adjustable shocks on the rear set to the mid setting.  Seems like they were less that $50 each delivered to my door.

 

  

 

Hi Mastercraft,

I was curious. Do you have a part number for the Gabriel shocks ? I did not know that they make shocks with adjustments for a semi. My truck has 435,000 miles on it. I believe the truck has the original shocks on it. It could be time to change the rear shocks.

Thank you for any help,
Al

2012 Volvo VNL 630 w/ I-Shift; D13 engine; " Veeger "
  Redwood, model 3401R ; 5th Wheel Trailer, " Dead Wood "
    2006 Smart Car " Killer Frog "
 

 

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Greetings -  This is the Gabriel catalog link.  They cross the Volvo part number to a couple of their products.

http://gabriel.com/catalog/

Best of Luck

Rich

 

 

2009 Volvo 780 D16 535hp 1850 ft-lbs I shift 3.36

Thermo King Tripac APU

DIY Bed and Frame Extension

ET Hitch, Stellar EC2000, EcoGen 6K

2002 F350 CC Dually w/ Lance 1181

2012 Mini Cooper S

2007 Teton Royal Freedom

 

" The only place you will find success before work is the dictionary "

Truck 100K.jpg

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I put Gabriel's on my truck 41k miles ago. I just took them off because I replaced all the spring bushings. The shocks are shot. Hardly any resistance to moving in and out. So I'm now shopping for shocks. I've done a lot of reading over on trucker forums and it looks like most agree shocks are only good for about 40-50k miles. It's just a wear item. I'm leaning toward RoadKing shocks though for mine. They are about $400 each though. But it looks like they last WAY longer than Gabriel or Monroe and are much heavier damping ability too.    www.roadkingshocks.com

'03 United Specialties truck conversion, Freightliner FL112, Cat C12, 10 sp Autoshift, 295" w/b, 26' living quarters.

 

St. Paul, MN

 

www.bobwinsor.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I ordered the Road King shocks. They claim it will take 2-3 weeks to get them. So I'm going to have to run the worn out Gabriels until they come in. I'll post my findings when I get them mounted up. 

'03 United Specialties truck conversion, Freightliner FL112, Cat C12, 10 sp Autoshift, 295" w/b, 26' living quarters.

 

St. Paul, MN

 

www.bobwinsor.com

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