Shopping for new rear shocks

There are far too many posts discussing the various combination of shocks for me to search through. Here's my situation and my question;

I have an OTT lift (spacers) on my gasoline powered 04 Liberty Sport. One of my rear shocks appears to be leaking so I've begun to shop for shocks. Eventually I'll be getting a Frankenlift (can't afford it this year) but I'd like to get Rancho's, BDS or OMU's right now. Can anybody recommend models/part numbers for me so I know what to be asking a quote for? The local auto shops here don't have a clue about lift kits.

I've already visited the Rancho website but they don't have a recommendation for a lifted 04 Libby.

The BDS website recommends a p/n 95968 rear shock for a 02-03 Liberty with a 2" lift.

Wow, I couldn't find an OME website but found another website selling p/n NS132 Nitro Charger rear shocks for $285. That is pricy considering I'd have to pay shipping, duty & Cdn taxes too.

Dude, go to Canadian Tire and get some Rancho RS5248s. They're for a stock height Durango 98-02 (?), the rear shocks for a Dakota of the same vintage work as well.

Go back to the Rancho webpage and open the application blah blah.pdf and look for the stock Durango/Dakota stuff. Canadian Tire can source them through the "Keystone" program. They did for me. $150ish for a pair all said and done. Mind you, in Alberta we only pay 5% GST, NO HST here.

Sweet, a Canadian response...thanks...I'll be driving by a Canadian Tire store today and I'll be able to get a price, maybe if I'm lucky they'll be in stock too.

I occasionally tow a vehicle trailer behind my Libby. Do you think the RS5248's are up to the extra tongue load?


"God kills a kitten (or puppy) everytime you call your Jeep a car", I like that, can I use it??

Ive got PRO COMP es 3000 shocks on the rear of my lifted Liberty. They are $33-40+ shipping for the gas shocks or twin tube shocks. But they ride nice. Pro-Comp has some of the best ridding suspensions out there....and they aren't gonna kill ur wallet either. No issues in 30k miles.

Just got my rear Rancho RSX17004 shocks for $113 shipped from xloffroad.com. Those are the Ranchos everyone is running with their lifts.

bigBlue said:

Ive got PRO COMP es 3000 shocks on the rear of my lifted Liberty. They are $33-40+ shipping for the gas shocks or twin tube shocks. But they ride nice. Pro-Comp has some of the best ridding suspensions out there....and they aren't gonna kill ur wallet either. No issues in 30k miles.

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Do you have more information on the Pro Comp ES3000 shocks like the specific part number? Their website only lists one shock for an un-lifted Liberty. Maybe I need to search for a rear shock for a stock height Durango.

This is what I discovered for the Durango 4WD, ES3000
98 - 03 4WD Durango height 0" - 1", front/rear 314512/324507

My Libby is leaving puddles in my driveway. The rear shock is leaking worse than I thought I expect that from a much older Jeep not an 04.

So I've had to order my new shocks; ProComp ES3000, p/n 324507 at a cost of $56 each. I would have preferred to have ordered Rancho's but they would cost me $90 each. I believe the ProComp's have a two year warranty while the Rancho's were a lifetime warranty.
Y'know it never occurred to be to buy a BDS shock.

You should be happy with the Pro-Comp ES3000 shocks. I ran these on a 98 Grand Cherokee with no complaints at all.

The only issue I can see is if you are trying to put the Durango shocks on an unlifted Liberty. The Durang shock is going to be approx 2" longer than the Liberty shock. This means that when the shock is mounted, it will be 2" closer to being "bottomed out". Not only can this effect the valving of the shock (especially if it is progressive), but a good bounce will cause the shock to be fully colapsed 2" before the suspension has hit the bumpstops. This will either destroy the shock or break the mounts. On a bad day it might be both...

Uncle Krusty said:

You should be happy with the Pro-Comp ES3000 shocks. I ran these on a 98 Grand Cherokee with no complaints at all.

The only issue I can see is if you are trying to put the Durango shocks on an unlifted Liberty. The Durang shock is going to be approx 2" longer than the Liberty shock. This means that when the shock is mounted, it will be 2" closer to being "bottomed out". Not only can this effect the valving of the shock (especially if it is progressive), but a good bounce will cause the shock to be fully colapsed 2" before the suspension has hit the bumpstops. This will either destroy the shock or break the mounts. On a bad day it might be both...

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I have a 2.5" OTT lift on my Libby. Are you suggesting I need extended bumpstops above the rear axle?

From personal experience I know that not having extended bumpstops up front can ruin the front struts. Does anybody have a suggestion for what I can use? how long do the rear bumpstops have to be?

We use the Durango and Dakota shocks because they ARE longer and have longer travel through the suspension's arc. But they do not collapse to 2" sooner than the stock shocks. Bump stops should be used to help prevent over-collapsing of the shocks "just in-case".

Arrg......the shop just called me to tell me that my ProComp shocks were on back order and I wouldn't get arrive for four to five weeks. I can order shocks on-line and get them sooner than that.

Does anybody have an opinion on BDS shocks? I'm thinking of getting them next however they seem to be for a 1.5" rear lift not 2.5" lift.
Either a p/n 55968 hydraulic shock or p/n 95968 gas charged shock.


Update:

I went into my local Canadian Tire store to see if they sell BDS shocks and discovered they had a sale on shocks (biggringift)
I was able to order a pair of Rancho RS5248's for only $56.24 each (normally $74.99 each) and they'll be in before the weekend. Sweet nana.gif

Sorry, I've got to start going to bed earlier instead of spending all night here...

I was under the impression you might be ordering new shock for an un-lifted Liberty with plans of lifting later.

By OTT lift, I assume you have some type of spacer on the rear, therefore requiring the longer "Durango" shock. In this case, you would probably need the extended bumpstop not to protect the shock, but to keep from fully compressing (bottoming out) the spring.

Uncle Krusty said:

Sorry, I've got to start going to bed earlier instead of spending all night here...

I was under the impression you might be ordering new shock for an un-lifted Liberty with plans of lifting later.

By OTT lift, I assume you have some type of spacer on the rear, therefore requiring the longer "Durango" shock. In this case, you would probably need the extended bumpstop not to protect the shock, but to keep from fully compressing (bottoming out) the spring.

Click to expand...

Yes that's the type of lift I have and yes I am going to put in extended bumpstops on the rear axle when I change out the shocks.

The Rusty's spacer lift I installed came with new longer rear shocks so I assumed that I didn't need extended bumpstops. I have a line on a used Frankenlift. As soon as I can get my hands on it I'm losing the spacer/OTT lift and doing a proper lift. The Rancho's should fit well with the Frankenlift.


I have a dumb question guys, when I install the Rancho's I have to mount them with the dust boot on the upper portion don't I?

Yep, otherwise they'll be upside down and will fail real quick.

ptsb5a said:

Yep, otherwise they'll be upside down and will fail real quick.

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Been there, done that and yes I even have the t-shirt

Okay I finally got around to installing my new Rancho rear shock on my Libby. It's too soon to say if the ride has improved but I do know that one of my old shocks was leaking fluid.

Uncle Krusty said:

extended bumpstop not to protect the shock, but to keep from fully compressing (bottoming out) the spring.

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This is wrong
you will destroy the shock the first time you bottom out on it
shocks are not designed to hold up weight they are designed to have weight
hang from them ,like the axle will do when you lift a wheel

I also recently did some work for place that winds and test springs for anti-vibration equipment for heavy machines
(I worked on the machines that test the springs)
when they make a spring designed for compression ,just like the ones on your Jeep, one test is to fully compress it and hold for a given time
then release and make sure it still meets spec
I asked about damage and the answer was
"if a spring is so piss poor that it is damaged by fully compressing it then it ends up over there" he pointed to the recy. bin full of scrap steel
mind you these springs support 10 of thousands of pounds each

just a little FYI next time you read an opinion about springs being damaged because they were "stacked"

J-Thompson said:

This is wrong
you will destroy the shock the first time you bottom out on it
shocks are not designed to hold up weight they are designed to have weight
hang from them ,like the axle will do when you lift a wheel

I also recently did some work for place that winds and test springs for anti-vibration equipment for heavy machines
(I worked on the machines that test the springs)
when they make a spring designed for compression ,just like the ones on your Jeep, one test is to fully compress it and hold for a given time
then release and make sure it still meets spec
I asked about damage and the answer was
"if a spring is so piss poor that it is damaged by fully compressing it then it ends up over there" he pointed to the recy. bin full of scrap steel
mind you these springs support 10 of thousands of pounds each

just a little FYI next time you read an opinion about springs being damaged because they were "stacked"

Click to expand...

Sounds like some Quality Control measures that Jeep SHOULD have been taking when putting the springs in the KJ's from the factory...

Depends on the type of springs you are talking about. Automotive springs will indeed stack and if stacked enough cause issues.
Done:Bye: