Which Shock Absorbers Do I Need?

[leroge]

My 2001 Econoline XLT ( 5.4 L ) passenger van has 120,000 miles and I have yet to change the shocks. Over the recent past I noticed I can 'feel' every bump and crack in the pavement ( really after purchasing new Goodyear Fortera tires )...so I figured its time to see if I need new shocks. I have original Mororcraft gas(?) shocks. I purchased two Gabriel Proguard ( light duty ) shocks in anticiaption of replacing the front shocks myself. After taking off one of the shocks I noticed it was darn hard to compress the shock....much harder than the new Gabriel shocks. I suspect that since my old shocks are pretty resistant to movement ( compression ) and very slow to return, there may be nothing wrong with them.

Any thoughts on which shocks I should be installing.