First off, please forgive me for typing this, I did some quick searches but didn't really see anything of help.

I have a 2001 SE 4x4 that just broke 80,000 miles. I don't do any off-roading and the only time I use the 4x4 is when it snows. I have a 45 mile commute to work each way and aside from that, I do local driving mostly on neighborhood and back roads.

My question is, should I be thinking about replacing my shocks and if so, what should I be looking to get. I would prefer a softer ride, but then again, I know its not a car. What would you do?

just change out you shocks. Go with the Bilsteins everyone talks about or get a set of rancho 9000. The rancho you can adjust depending on how you want your X to ride. But they are more expensive. Either way you can't go wrong

Actually, the original poster indicated that he wanted a softer ride. The Bils or Ranchos you mentioned will give a stiffer ride than stock - quite the opposite.

For what it's worth, my wife's Xterra has a set of Monroe Reflex shocks on the back. We replaced the factory shocks shortly after we bought it because they were not working correctly, but the dealer told us "they all do that". Long story.

At any rate, the Monroes give a pretty smooth ride. Matter of fact, I've got an extra set of Monroe Reflex rear shocks in the garage that I replaced with a set of Ranchos on my truck, because I like the stiffer ride (and the Ranchos have some additional length that I wanted when I put a lift on my truck).

I don't agree about the ride and the Bils...at least on my 2001 X, even the 20% stiffer extended length Bils rode better than the OEM crap.

And you CAN order the Bils with stock valving, 20% softer than I got, etc.

So - I wouldn't "replace the suspension" just because it has 80 k on it...the shock upgrade is a great idea though.

Taking off the rear sway bar softens the ride too by the way, and makes it track through heavy snow better too.

Forgive me, as TJ has pointed out, I am not up on what everything is called so I may not use the "technically correct" term that would be used. I have since replaced the term suspension to shocks as that is what I meant in my original post.

Anyway, what purpose does the rear sway bar serve? If it is removable, what ill effects will it have on the truck? Will it increase the chance of damaging anything?

Does the front and the rear have the same shocks, so I would just take it in to a service center and tell them to replace all 4 shocks with the ones reccomended here?

Again, i'm sorry, i'm a computer geek not a mechanical one

the front and rear shocks are differant. i also have the 20% stiffer bilstien shocks at all 4 corners. i removed the rear sway bar and the 20% in the rear compensates for the little extra body roll you get from removing it. the ride is so much better now then the stock shocks. before it felt kinda mushy now it feels just right. they are very easy to replace btw. that was the first thing i did on my truck alone. save some money and order then online and do the work yourself. im sure there are directions around here somewhere but its pretty straight fwd. i had some trouble with my front ones and got pissed and ended up cutting them off with a sawzall. i spent about 3 hrs trying to figure out how to get the front DS shock off and tried everything and just cut right below the top nut and had the new one on it about 10 minutes. i went straight for the saw on the pass side. rears took me about an hr.

There tends to be a lot of donfusion between "softer" ride and "better" ride. How soft or hard the ride is has more to do with the springs than it does the shocks. The quality of the ride is primarily the shock's job.

The Bilstiens are, indeed, a significantly higher pressured shock than stock. The extra pressure results in an improved ride, but not a softer ride. What does this mean in the real world, you ask? It means that with the Bilstiens when you hit a nasty expansion joint in the freeway the suspension goes "thump", you feel one small bump, and then it's over. The same nasty expansion joint with the stock shocks would result in a "crash" followed by the rear axle bouncing around and causing a shudder in the passenger compartment. Basically, everytime the suspension hits a bump with the Bilstiens, there will be no more drama that you had before and the suspension will settle down right away. Your ride will not be softer, it will be more level and consistent. My opinion is that the Bilstien shocks react appropriately to all situations. Adjustable shocks sound good, but lets say you set them up all soft so you bounce all over the place and then someone tried to run you off the road. Now you suddenly need the shocks to perform at a higher level. Even if you have remote adjustment you can't adjust the shocks while trying to avoid an accident. Screw that; get the Bilstiens and let them react for you.

Better ride through improved suspension control.

Chuck, you nailed exactly what I was going for. I would love to have a "thump" vs. a "crash" type impact and my stock shocks definetely do a lot of "crashing". So what biltsteins should I get if I have $500?

If you're not going off-road, just get the Bilstein OEM replacements, i.e., not the 20% stiffer.

And save about $250 out of your $500.

Yeah, I would think the OEM fitment Bilstiens should work well unless you are adding weight, like sliders, bumpers, skids, etc. Then you'd probably want at least the plus 10% fitment. The OEM fitment is less confusing too, so you can order them from pretty much anyone and be sure to get the right ones. I've seen a lot of mixups with people trying to get the plus 20's from anyone but SLR.

I probably should have posted here in the first place, but here's a link to my experience with shocks for the X: http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=000583

My feeling is that if you've got the money, and you plan on keeping your Xterra for a long time, you can't go wrong with the Bils.

On the other hand, if you're just looking for a smooth ride around town and on the highway, and don't need (or expect) your new shocks to last more than 50,000 miles, then you'll probably be perfectly happy with something like the Monroes.

Thanks, at 80,000 miles I only see myself holding on to this truck for probally just one more year or so. Basically, I still owe on it and instead of trading it in and paying more for something else, I figured I would spend a little $$$ and play around with it. I do absolutely zero off roading and have no intentions to. Now I guess it is just a matter in pricing between the Bilstein vs. Monroes.

To go off topic a bit, anyone got a solution for cinching up the lower part of the bumber where it lines up with the front quarter panels. It seems like 75% of the 00 and 01 Xterra's that I see have a gap where the bumper has started to sag. It doesn't really affect anything except it gives the look like the truck isn't taken care of.

There's supposed to be somewhat of a gap to allow flex w/o hitting...if there's too much, it may be that the support rods at the front of the wheel arches are bent...straighten them out, and it should push the bumper up in front. (If you look at them/the situ, it should be obvious how it will work...)

Well, I called around just to see what the going rate was for getting some Monroe Reflex shocks installed & compared that price to OEM from the dealers around me.

First place I called was the local garage that I know is good. They have to order them from the local parts store. Final price: $490.00 installed.

Next, called Sears automotive center. They did my tires and the guys were decent. They had to order them and it would take 5 days. Final price: $351.96 installed

Finally, called Pep Boys. They a bit shady in my area, but it is only shocks they have to install. They too had to order them, but I the price was the best of the three. Final Price: $152.74 installed.

Amazing that there is such contrast in price. I guess its all about how much the shop is comfortable taking their customers for.

I did call my local Nissan dealers to get a quote on OEM replacements. What a joke the both of them were.

First dealer quoted my $600 installed. The second dealer actually told me that I had struts on the front and that they would cost more than shocks. I laughed at him, gave him credit for trying to rip me off and then hung up on him.

So, I guess the question is, should I do it myself. I mean, Pepboys is down to $13.99 per shock to install, plus service charge of a few bucks. Is that worth not doing it yourself. For those that did it before, would you be tempted to let them do it for that price?

When people are refering to "Bilstein 20% stiffer" are you refering to 5100 series shocks?

Is the 20% an optional choice?

(I want new shocks but I am confused)

Yes - to all que.



I just ordered from SLR...extended length (For Altered Suspension) Bils at 20% stiffer than stock...5100's.



I think it was around $60-75/shock

If it was a reputable shop that I trusted, then yeah, I'd probably let them do it for that price. Otherwise, I think I'd just do it myself.

I once had a shop replace the shocks on my '87 Pathfinder - a week later I had to pull over by the side of the highway & crawl under the vehicle only to find one rear shock hanging uselessly from its upper mount. A nut had come loose and fallen off (or maybe was never installed?) :rolleyes: Better just to do it yourself and be sure it's done right.

It's a simple job, and one that I've done twice now on the Xterra: the first time probably took me around an hour and a half to do all four; the second time took about an hour.

I'm getting very confused by some of the online sites that sell Bilsteins. First of all, is the Bilstein Heavy Duty the same as the 5100? And if I want the 20& stiffer shock made for the 3" suspension lift, what are the shock measurements? They list shocks by length, compressed length and so on. I've gathered that the longer shocks will work fine on a stock X. The reason my shocks are in such bad shape is that I didn't want to buy new shocks if I was going to get the suspension lift in a year or two. But if they'll work well in both configurations, then it's definitely time to get new shocks. I'm starting to really float down the road. Need to change my X's name to Bob. :-p

for the orignal poster

I just did mine myself with a set of gabriel ultra shocks and so far i'd say their a little too soft for my liking. But to do it yourself your gonna need a 14mm wrench and socket (prefferable deep) for sway bar and front upper mount removal and a 17mm socket (again deep will help) and a good breaker bar for the front bolts ( actually broke my 3/8 ratchet they were so tight). With those and the stock jack you can do it yourself if you got the time. I took some picks and will doo a full write up eventually. I can say it can be done without removing the tires. But to make life easier the day before you want to do it i would spray the lower front shock mount with a lot of wd40 to help loosen it up.

rmasters...

yeah - get the ones for the lift for Bob...and change his name to Bil.

Tip:
After you've found the shocks you want, shop around on-line for the best price and buy them yourself. Next, contact your local Xterra owners club (VAXC in my case) and ask them when they plan to have a "mod day". Attend the mod day and you'll get the shocks installed for free...minus some beer of course. It's fun, cheap and you'll get to meet some really nice folks!

Okey dokey. Throwing my 2 cents in as I chose to go against the majority opinion on this board. I absolutely agree that Bilsteins are a quality product. I also know now from personal experience that getting rid of the stock shocks makes a huge difference. I chose the Rancho RS9000X extended length as I have a PML and will do an SL sometime down the road. The main reason I chose the Ranchos is the ability to choose the setting. Yes, I could have gotten the Bils at 20% stiffer and I'm sure I would have been pleased. But what if they weren't quite right for me? I don't have on board diagnostic equipment to judge performance so I'll have to do with the seat of my pants method. I just wanted to have the ability to dial the stiffness up or down as I choose rather than have a set setting and live with it even though it may not be quite perfect for me.
Either way you choose, I'm sure you'll be very pleased. I can tell you the install is very simple and I'd be happy to help with advice or answer questions.

Barry

BTW - if you DO want a set of brand new, still in the plastic wrapper - adjustable Rancho 9000's, I guy I know is selling his, as he wrecked his X after ordering lift stuff, that he sadly never even got to put on.

So - Rancho 9000's are cheaper that way too.

Ok, I did it. I got the Monroe Reflex shocks as mentioned by one of the first posters and put them on. Not too shabby. They are stiffer than the OEM's but the body roll is improved A LOT! I'm glad I did this. Thanks to all for the help.

I went with the %20 Bils all around. I got them dropped at my door yesturday from ESHOCKS.COM for $249.80. Gonna throw them on this afternoon once it cools down a bit outside.

i got 5100's 20% stiffer, so i would say its an option. I also think oyu can get them 10% stiifer also.

Has anyone found aftermarket shocks for the 06's? Mostly for use on road but good enough for hunting/camping trips on dirt/rocky roads?

Krik -

http://www.4x4parts.com/public_html/shop...f2bfc8b15a9e761

Thanks for the link TJ. Has anyone you know put Bilsteins on a non lifted, yet, X?

I know of AT least 1 I wheel with...he's at stock height.

It seems the new X's use a closer eye to eye distance than the old gen's did..so the shocks are going to have a different travel range.

On the old gen X's, the extended Bils would compress enough to fit w/o lift...not 100% sure on the new X's though...

Thank You again for the info. I guess that's the problem with newer vehicles...not many aftermarket parts readily available.