Everything You Need to Know About the Shocks on Your Ford
As a car owner, you’ve probably heard that shocks are important parts of your vehicle's suspension. In this article, you’ll learn all about what shocks are and why they need to be replaced once in a while.
What are Shocks?
Located behind the wheel, a shock is a hydraulic cylinder. It is attached to either the frame or the car body on one end and the suspension arm or axle on the other end.
Auto manufacturers put shocks on their cars to keep the tires from bouncing and to help the driver main control of the car. In other words, shocks help keep the ride quality smooth.
Within a shock are a few major components: piston, compression valve, and hydraulic fluid. All of these components work together to absorb the bumps and vibrations from the road.
Shocks and Struts are Not Interchangeable
Some people believe that shocks are the same as struts. It’s actually not the case. Shocks and struts have the same purpose, but they have different designs.
Struts are part of the suspension system structure, while shocks are “add-ons”. Struts support the weight of the vehicle while shocks don’t. Struts have to be more ruggedly built to support a greater load.
Struts are difficult to replace while shocks are easy to replace. To replace a strut, you’ll have to remove the entire strut and spring assembly, disassemble it, add the new strut, and then reinstall it in your suspension system. Shock absorbers feature a simpler design and are much easier to replace.
Most cars have both shocks and struts. It’s common to have shocks at the rear of the car and struts at the front.
Failing Shocks Directly Impact Your Car’s Ride Quality
The lifespan of your shocks depends on several factors, including what kind of roads you drive on and how aggressively you drive your Ford. A pair of shocks on a daily driver usually lasts about 50,000 miles.
When shocks start to fail, you’ll experience a whole lot of issues, including:
- Reduced control over your car
- Difficulty stopping
- Early tire wear
- Early failure of the springs
In a nutshell, failing shocks put a damper on your car’s safety and ride quality. That’s why it’s a good idea to replace your shocks as soon as possible.
Replacing Your Shocks
When you replace your shocks, you want to make sure that you do it right in order to avoid any further problems with your shocks. We strongly recommend replacing your shocks with OEM shocks. There are far too many issues with aftermarket shocks for them to be completely safe to use.
The good news is that you can get OEM Ford shocks online at a decent price. For example, we offer great discounts for genuine OEM Ford parts, including shocks. Look up your Ford model in our catalog of shocks to see what we have to offer for your car!