Well, I recently replaced the front shocks on my 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 for the third time in a year and a half. What's your problem, you may ask. You have every right to ask that. The problem is when I replaced the factory shocks on all four corners of the Cummins powered truck a year and a half ago, I was cheap. I went to Autozone and bought the cheapest shocks they had (Gabriel Ultras for the front, and I believe some other Gabriel shock for the rear that was a coil-over design). About 6 months later I start hearing a real bad "thud" in the front right corner, not being able to pin point the sound right away, I continued to drive it that way for a couple more months. I finally could not stand it anymore (at this point it was very loud) every little bump you would hear the thud. I decided to take the time and examine the shock in that corner. After some time I discovered that the lower bushing in the shock was completely destroyed. So I figure no big deal just a defect I will call autozone and get another one (they came with a lifetime warranty, even though they only cost $33.00 a piece). Autozone had one in stock, so I pick the new one up, install it and I am good to go again, or so I thought.

Things were fine for awhile, then several months later during the winter months when here in Pennsylvania the roads get a little rough from the ground freezing and thawing so much, I start noticing that the truck seems awfully rough over these bumps. I figure its just my imagination, since I am kind of anal about little things not being right with my truck. However, as the winter progresses it seems to get worse. Finally one day it is so bad my dash pad actually gets a crack in it from the combination of the cold weather, and the rough ride of these shocks.

I decided if I am going to replace shocks again I am not going to put the same junk on again. I start the search for alternative. I considered many different options from airbags to in-cab adjustable air shocks. However, factoring the price and ease of installation as well as the many opinions of others from online forums that have basically the same truck, I decided on going with a quality pair of standard factory replacement shocks. After doing my research it was obvious that the most highly recommended shock for this application was a Bilstein. They have a patented design that is superior to other manufactures. Check it out at http://www.bilstein.com/tech.php. The retail price of the factory replacement shock from Bilstein was $121.00, however if shop around you an find them for almost 1/2 that price. It turned out that Autozone was a retailer for Bilstein shocks, so I was able to upgrade, and use the amount from the old Gabriel ultras, and put it toward the Bilstein's. Very nice of Autozone to allow that. After removing the old shocks inspecting them closely that one of them had a bad seal, as it was leaking fluid more than what I would consider acceptable. When all was said and done I was very impressed with the quality and comfort of the Bilstein shock. Not to lead you to believe that my heavy duty truck now felt like a Cadillac, but the new shocks definitely took muck of the harshness out of the bumps. I would definitely recommend these shocks to anyone.

So in conclusion the whole point to the story is if you are feeling cheap when replacing a part on your vehicle weather it be shocks, or some other component of your vehicle, you may want to take some time and seriously consider what is more expensive? You can take the cheap way out and wind up wasting your time and possibly the same money again later after the part fails, if it is not under warranty, or you can spend a little bit more in the short term, but most likely save in the long term simply by doing some research and buying a quality part the first time. You will save yourself a whole lot of time and aggravation. Hope this helps somebody in their future repair endeavors.