Shock replacement

Original shock absorbers are designed for the best compromise for comfort. There's no point to making a replacement that is inferior, so the least expensive ones will be close to equivalent to what you're taking off. Anything better than that may include features you don't need, and each manufacturer will brag about their products in ways to entice you to buy them.

The most common feature is "gas-charged". Shock absorbers dampen bumps in the road by forcing hydraulic oil to travel through tiny ports. That resistance is what allows them to move, but with difficulty. That oil gets really hot, especially during long road trips, then the oil can become aerated, called "foaming". That air can sneak through the ports easily, so the damping action disappears. The truck will bounce excessively, and you may feel more of a high-frequency vibration from the tires. That loss of damping goes away when the oil cools down overnight. The gas charge puts the oil under pressure. That reduces the foaming. If you didn't notice the vibrations before, when the old shock absorbers were in good shape, your driving style probably suggests you won't really benefit by having gas-charged shock absorbers. The added cost is so minimal, and gas-charged is so common, that might be all you can find.

Be aware gas-charged shock absorbers always come with some type of band or retraining device to hold them collapsed in the box. When you cut that band, the shock will extend fully on its own. It's important to understand that no shock absorber and no strut affects the ride height of the suspension. That's the job of the springs. Unknowledgeable people, and even some parts salespeople will try to tell you your truck will ride higher with gas-charged shock absorbers. If that happens to you, find a different salesperson. Once fully-extended, you can collapse a gas-charged shock absorber back down by hand. How is that little effort going to hold up 1500 pounds of truck?

There are rear shock absorbers available with helper springs around them, but here again, it's those added springs that do a little lifting, not the shock absorber itself. All vehicles have a published legal suspension ride height that typically includes a tolerance of about a half inch. When the measured height is too low due to sagged springs, handling, braking, comfort, and steering response are compromised, and on most vehicles, you will have miserable tire wear even when the numbers on the alignment computer look perfect. The only proper fix for that is to replace the springs. The place for the helper springs on rear shock absorbers is when the measured ride height is just barely within the legal acceptable limits, so you can't really justify replacing the springs yet. The helper springs restore the height to give you a little more life out of the old springs. They only delay the inevitable of having to replace the springs, they don't eliminate that need.

Another feature is "multi-valving". That is when one valve is used to restrict oil flow a lot when traveling over small bumps in the road, but a different valve kicks in when large bumps demand the shock absorber extends and collapses a lot real fast. The softer valve reduces the tendency of the truck body to get pushed up when driving over big bumps.

Even the cheapest of shock absorbers already have multiple valves, so don't fall for the hype in the ads. It's easy to see for yourself with a non-gas-charged shock absorber. You'll see it takes a lot of effort to pull the shaft out, then you can collapse it back down very easily. Pulling apart hard reduces the likelihood of a tire falling down into a pothole, and collapsing easily prevent the truck, and you, from getting thrown up in the air when the tire hits a bump. Multi-valving can make a noticeable improvement in ride quality on a small lightweight car, but you're driving a truck. Trucks are made for hauling and pulling. Ride quality takes a back seat to what the vehicle was intended for.

Some really inexpensive replacements don't include new hardware, and may not even include a sheet of instructions. All name-brand shock absorbers come with both, and that adds to the cost. Here's a link to an article that provides dandy information on this job:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-shock-absorber

In addition, there's some things to be aware of to avoid some common do-it-yourselfer mistakes. When the top of the shock absorber mounts with a long threaded shaft like yours does, you slide on a metal washer, a rubber bushing, slide it through the frame, then slide on another bushing, washer, and the nut. Do not over-tighten that nut as it will lead to early bushing failure. The nut is supposed to be tightened just until the rubber bushings expand to exactly the same diameter as the metal washers. That leaves them room to flex freely. The top shock absorber in the photo is for a 2004 Ram 1500. This one shown includes a metal sleeve to prevent you from over-tightening the nut. Not all come with that sleeve. There was no V-6 engine used in the 2500s. These same shock absorbers are used in the 2500 with the V-8 engine. You might find different shock absorber part numbers for use with a diesel engine because there's a lot more weight to hold from bouncing.

When you have a stud welded or bolted to the frame, and the shock absorber has a round rubber bushing that slides onto it, there is almost always a lip on the stud that limits how much the bushing can be compressed. Those nuts are tightened fully. The washer will run up to that lip and won't let you over-tighten it. Your design is a little different, and is the lower one in the photo. This one has a metal sleeve pressed into the bushing. My nifty arrow is pointing to it. That also limits how much you can tighten the bushing, but there's one more critical factor with these. Once installed and the nuts are just run on by hand, you must lower the truck onto the tires, bounce it a few times, then tighten those nuts. That insures the bushings are not twisted when the truck is sitting at normal ride height. Too many people tighten those nuts when the truck is jacked up with the suspension hanging down, then, when they lower it onto the tires and the suspension settles, those bushings are clamped in a permanent twist. As they twist further, back and forth as the truck bounces, they will be over-stressed one of those ways, leading to them tearing apart and early failure. We see a lot of these failures when it's due to the hardware and not the shock absorber itself. Settling the suspension before tightening the bushings applies to all other suspension parts with these captive bushings. Mainly that includes control arms Parts that are free to rotate after installation, such as anti-sway bars, can have their bushings tightened while the vehicle is raised up and those parts are hanging down. Those bushings don't twist back and forth while driving.

Did you try to say something here?