pearlheartgtr

I have a 2000 4dr 4WD Sport with no lift. 182k, clean and runs like a top. I just got this truck a little over a week ago. It needs new shocks and I'm not sure what I should get. It's a daily driver, no off-road, some snow (Long Island, NY). I don't do any towing as of yet. We're going to be moving upstate in the next year and I may have to hook a trailer to it to lug some stuff around during the move. My father thinks I should get adjustable air shocks because of the possibility of towing. I don't want to spend more than $150-200 for fronts and backs. I'll go to $300 if I absolutely have to. The leaf springs also still look good (if that helps any). Any suggestions that'll also give it a nice ride?

Thanks!

3Dog

For your use as a daily driver and inexpensive, I have used Monroe Sensatracs on my previous XJ (1995) for the same purpose. Nice ride, similar to factory. I have Bilstein 5100 on my current XJ (2000), but that is for a different planned use on mostly on-road but some off-road. And they are more spendy.

If you are moving once and only using a trailer for light duty for the move, and not frequent hauling thereafter, I would skip the adjustables.

97grand4.0

What you need to know about shocks is there are basically two types, single and double piston. You might think double piston would be cooler, ..wrong. OE is single piston they give a firmer harder ride, and double is more the watered down version..to make your jeep ride like a car, which it is not. I made this mistake. Just my opinion.

puredrive

I would look into the KYB MonoMax.

jordan96xj

Monroe Sensatracs and Monroe OE Spectra are the two budget options. They offer about the same ride quality (similar to factory shocks), with the Sensetracs being significantly cheaper. However, in the Northeast, the OE spectra will hold up a little longer to the salt and roads. I have tried a few options, and I liked both of these. But I stick to the OE spectra now because they last longer.

If you plan on towing more than a few times a year I would put Gabriel HiJacker air adjustable shocks in the rear. They are cheap and adjustable, and have held up pretty well to the salt and road conditions here. They can easily compensate for 100-400lbs of tongue weight which is enough for most things towable by an XJ. The rear of the XJ is so light that to put stiffer springs in the rear for towing makes the rear far too harsh for daily driving. With the adjustable air shocks, I only lift the rear when I need to. The rest of the time is rides like factory basically.

97grand4.0

Oddly, my rear driver's side KYB has failed just as you wrote this 3 days ago. Started hearing a bell like ringing when coming to a stop and then when starting off. Thought, brakes, something rolling around, but no, it's coming from the shock. Only about 2 yrs old, double piston as I explained above.

jordan96xj

I just took off my fronts as well. They were the Monroe severe duty variant of the Sensetracs (thicker housing, shaft, seals, etc). I chose them because I thought they would hold up to the road conditions (pot holes) and salt we see here. They were holding up ok I guess, but they made noise from the moment I put them on, and only got worse over time. And especially when they were cold. So I went back to the OE spectras again just a few weeks ago. I have had 3 pairs of OE Spectras now, and have like them each time, so I think I'm going to stick with them now.

1976gmc20

Does Monroe make a "Load Leveller" with the coil springs for the XJ ???

Would that be a good idea for tired springs and needing shocks anyway?

jordan96xj

Yes.
Monroe 58594 Monroe Load Adjust Shock Absorber

However, even though they have "adjust" in the name, I don't believe you can adjust them for ride height. I don't see anything on them that appears it can be dialed in that way. But many people use them for the purpose you describe.

Keep in mind though that what is really happening is that you are offloading from the leaf spring - and putting that load where the shocks mount to the chassis and the axle. So when you hit bumps it is transmitting a lot more force into the upper shock mounts than they were designed for. Though I have been running adjustable air shocks for 2 years that do the same type of thing, and have not noticed any problems. But I also have leaf springs that are new-ish and not sagged.

My point is, if you take 80% of the job the leaf springs should be doing, and transfer that to the shock and its mounts, there may be problems down the road over time. Especially if the areas around the mounts are already weakened by any existing corrosion. So factor that in.

1976gmc20

Yeah, I was wondering that same thing myself. I've put Monroe Load Levelers on pickups but then they have real frames and the shocks mount with single big bolts on both ends.

Thank you for the input.

I reckon I will just leave it all alone for now. Our XJ is just a "ranch car" that we mainly drive winter and spring when the roads are bad. I'm 65 so I don't think I want to tackle replacing rear springs, so I'll put in on the wish list to save money for. Funny, the Burban needs new rear springs also