2002 Rodeo Sport new shocks KYB

[Joihan777]

Howdy Everyone,
I got a new set of shocks installed yesterday and all I can say is WOW what a difference!
. I had a set (4) of KYB Gas-Adjusts put on all corners. The original set had 70,000mi. on them and, after reading the various threads here and on Planetisuzoo, I suspected they were getting old.
. The original set had horrible body lean, bouncy city manners and the floatingest highway manners. This is my first/only SUV so I always thought this was part & parcel to the design. The last straw in putting up with this behavior was last month I rented a 04' Mustang for a week.... and then I had to return to my sloppy ride!
. I said to heck with this and worked the overtime to invest in the KYB's.
. I had 'Radial Tire of Elk Grove' ,CA put them on yesterday. BTW they are an excellent shop for those of you in the Sacramento area (They specialize in KYB and recently did the entire Sac county police fleet) I must say....for the first 30 minutes after getting my Lil' Blue War Pony back, I heard angels singing in the background! The body roll is SIGNIFICANTLY reduced, the accel/brake dipping nearly gone and lane changing is a hoot! I found all types of excuses for hitting the freeway yesterday!
. Yes the ride is a bit firmer...but in a good way. I wouldn't say the ride is stiff. The ride feels "taut," I can feel the road better but with more dampening and less "jitters" than before. These KYB's put the SPORT back into Sport Ute! The cornering is great and the body roll very well dampened.
. And on the freeway? Hubba hubba! Where once was a floaty feeling now there is CONFIDENCE!!! I wish I had done this at 20,00miles! I drive a 190 mile commute daily. I notice a lot of nuances in the shocks and believe me the KYB's make a difference.
. Aside from the forums and the emails (thanks amigo2k!) what also pushed me to the KYB's was the fact that the parts guy at a local Isuzu dealership also uses KYB's in his Isuzu. You all would not believe how lousy the original shocks were. I asked the shop mechanic to show me the old shocks before they got rid of them. He compressed one with his hands and when he let go it didn't decompress! Argghh!!
. So now I'm loving my ride and I hope I can give some inspiration to others feeling their ride is sorry. Maybe these KYB's are a bit firm for a Rodeo, but then again I have a Rodeo SPORT!! Hehehehe!
Cya's out there (In my rearview mirror),
-joihan

[directory]

new shocks are a great idea. what about sway bars and other such things?

--B

[amigo-2k]

sway bar bushings is a good upgrade but I still have yet to find a suppler of them for +98

[rodeo02]

No doubt about it! Just about any a/m shock will do a better job then the rodeo factory shocks! I yanked the OEM's early on, on my 2002 as well. Monroe sensa-tracs made a HUGE improvement. I feel bad every time I see a 1998-2004 rodeo owner bouncing all over the road and probably not even knowing why! With basic hand tools and as little as $100 you can have a whole new ride.
G/luck
Joel

[Joihan777]

Hey everybody, here's an update:
It's been about 8,000 miles since I installed the KYB's.
So far the ride is as taut as ever. I love going for corners
and feeling the g's. The body roll is still very well controlled.
About the only thing that didn't vastly improve was that darn
freeway hop.....I suspect however that this is due more to the
short length of the vehicle (aka Isuzu Rodeo Shortie).
Here in sunny Cal-i-forn-i-a we have a mix of great asphalt freeways
and really busted up concrete freeways famous for the "hop."
Rodeo02 has it correct, I think any shocks beat the original ones.
It's a sad state of affairs when a mechanic can compress the shocks
with his hands and see the shocks take ten-fifteen seconds to start
to decompress. If anybody feels that their ride is "squishy" and your
Rodeo/Sport has more than 20,00miles...you owe it to yourself to
check out some good shocks. BTW, Tokico doesn't have shocks for the
last generation Rodeo Sports...at least not yet. And Eibach wants
$16,000 USD to research and produce a 100 unit run of Sport kits.
(Yes I actually spoke to their research dep't.)
As for putting in some nylon bushings, I've heard that they squeek
a lot. Is this true?
Take care dudes and dudettes (and grandfather Duderonomy)
johann

PS- If anyone is in the Sacramento-Elk Grove-Stockton area
and you want to feel the difference, lemme know.

[campo]

I changed mine at 40k, should have done it at 10k. same result 1 would compress but not decompress, 2 others were leaking. no more nose diving especialy when braking into a turn (where it felt like it wanted to roll) The stock shocks looked like a $10 cheapee. The funny thing is that the Stealership wants around $80 apiece for them.

[shenengr]

I am reading about shocks being replaced on Rodelo's, but I am guessing that you all do not have the Automatic Ride Control option. I would like to know if anyone has removed this system and gone to "standard" shocks. What problems if any occur. I am sure that there probably is a dash light that comes on, but are there any other "pit falls" to encounter?

My vehicle is a pre - July 01 build date, I called Monroe and the technical folks there of course say that the mounting on the rear is different... so no help...

Any one know of any other brands and part numbers that will fit a car that presently has the ARC system.... or even an after market shock that will replace the shocks on this vehicle directly, and actually work!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joihan777]

Originally Posted by shenengr

I am reading about shocks being replaced on Rodelo's, but I am guessing that you all do not have the Automatic Ride Control option. I would like to know if anyone has removed this system and gone to "standard" shocks. What problems if any occur. I am sure that there probably is a dash light that comes on, but are there any other "pit falls" to encounter?

My vehicle is a pre - July 01 build date, I called Monroe and the technical folks there of course say that the mounting on the rear is different... so no help...

Any one know of any other brands and part numbers that will fit a car that presently has the ARC system.... or even an after market shock that will replace the shocks on this vehicle directly, and actually work!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey,
Have you tried using the SEARCH function? There are a coupla other
posts laying around basically dealing with your issue. In a nutshell,
they got rid of the electric connection and slapped on better shocks
(Monroe Sensatracks are popular and they're on sale right now.)
I like the firm "sport" ride of the KYB's and after 15,000 miles they're
still performing very well.
Good Luck!
-johann

[shenengr]

Originally Posted by Joihan777

Hey,
Have you tried using the SEARCH function? There are a coupla other
posts laying around basically dealing with your issue. In a nutshell,
they got rid of the electric connection and slapped on better shocks
(Monroe Sensatracks are popular and they're on sale right now.)
I like the firm "sport" ride of the KYB's and after 15,000 miles they're
still performing very well.
Good Luck!
-johann

Yeh I have and ended up calling Monroe... the Sensa Trac's do not fit the rear of this vehicle....
I did find the KYB numbers (and on sale) yesterday and got me four on the way.... Did you have the Automatic Ride Control shocks? If so, how did you get rid of the little yellow shock warning light on the dash?? Black Tape! :-)

I will post the KYB numbers once I see that they actually fit!

Lou

[Joihan777]

Originally Posted by shenengr

Yeh I have and ended up calling Monroe... the Sensa Trac's do not fit the rear of this vehicle....
I did find the KYB numbers (and on sale) yesterday and got me four on the way.... Did you have the Automatic Ride Control shocks? If so, how did you get rid of the little yellow shock warning light on the dash?? Black Tape! :-)

I will post the KYB numbers once I see that they actually fit!

Lou

Naw, I don't have the automatic ride control. Have you tried to search
for any topics with the [ ARC ] or [ Iron Man ] package suspension? Also try
planetisuzoo or 4x4 wire forums? Anyhow, I hope you like the upgraded
suspension. When the old shocks are removed... check em' out.
Those original shocks are a comical tragedy!
G/Luck,
johann