Re: What did you do to your coach today.
My coach very smooth now. 03 U320 with 75K. Would it be worthwhile to replace them now? They are very rusty looking so I would guess they are original. My question is, how often (miles or time) should shocks be replaced when using the air bag system? Thanks, David
Some exterior leakage is normal if they are gas filled like Bilsteins. Pop the bottom bolt off and check for resistance up and down. Should not have any dead spots that may indicate low fluid and should take a pretty good effort to move over the entire length of travel. Have original Konis on a MBZ 300SD with 440,000 and still working well. Some do fail at an earlier age so an occasional check is necessary.
Huge difference between Koni or Bilstein shocks and the 20K mile OEM stuff that Detroit put on cars in past years.
Pierce
We replaced Bilsteins with Koni FSD on our U295 a couple of years ago at about 75K miles. I didn't notice as much difference as I expected. There was probably some improvement in handling, but not much difference in porpoising. Other folk have reported significant improvements.
We replaced shocks with Koni FSD on another coach on a Freightliner XC chassis at 110K (?). We also installed some "anti roll" air restricters from Henderson's LineUp for the air bags. It made a big difference. It was still a jarring, wallowing pig, but was better with the new shocks and accessories.
David,
Your '03 U320 should have come with Koni adjustables as OEM (reddish-orange shock bodies).
Some of us have upgraded to Koni FSD (non adjustable, frequency-selective dampening, gold shock bodies).
If you don't have any complaints, probably not worth doing but you can keep the FSDs in mind for the future. We thought ours were a bit tired; a little too much porpoising on I-20 expansion joints.
Michelle
FOT Friday 4th, are installing all 8 FSD me, hope they make an noticeable difference ?
Dave Mc
Dave,
They made a major difference in our coach. A little more "firm/abrupt" on the sharper bumps but seriously smooth on the highway.
Michelle
Remember that if your shocks are not leaking oil, you can adjust them stiffer to compensate for age.
True for the adjustable Konis ONLY-- the red-brown ones. Koni FSD's and all Bilsteins are NOT adjustable.
And, adjustment on the Konis is for dampening on rebound ONLY.
If you have Koni adjustable shocks and need information on how to adjust them, let us know.
http://www.koni-na.com/adjustment.cfm (http://www.koni-na.com/adjustment.cfm)
Brett