Used shock buyer tips

zachwabbit
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Used shock buyer tips

Post by zachwabbit »

Anyone got any useful pointers when it comes to buying used shocks? How do I determine the manufacture date? Does it matter if they've been regularly rebuilt? When did Bilstein stop making their higher end shocks/bypasses with a yellow finish and go to silver? Is there a way to identify shocks from bigger brands besides the obvious color schemes and decals? I ask because I need shocks soon, and am looking at some used ones in an attempt to save money over a new set.
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by 300 »

I will say that good name brand shocks that can be rebuilt will hold their value and can be rebuilt back to essentially new condition, regardless of their manufacture date. My experience is primarily with King and a little with Fox. You should be able to re-sell used shocks for about what you paid for them used, so expect the same when you are buying them. As far as King shocks go, the pre-runner series take about twice the maintenance attention that the race series takes. We have a mix of both on our Bronco. Everything is a little lighter on the pre-runner shocks, and you go through twice as many bearings and seals, etc. Everything is just a little smaller on the pre-runner series: Shafts and bearings, and they use 6061 aluminum instead of 7075. You have to decide if that is important to you. Parts are readily available directly from King, but Fox required that you go through a distributor (at least about 10 years ago) and I found that to be a pain. At that time I could not get anyone to answer the phone at Fox, that hopefully has changed. That was important to me. I have rebuilt both King and Fox myself and found the Fox version I was using a little easier to work with. After a couple of failures due to self inflicted mistakes (didn't leave enough gas volume in the reservoirs), I have left the rebuilding up to original manufacturer. Have no experience with rebuildable Bilstein stuff.

King holds regular tuning sessions in Barstow, and they will help you out whether you have a racer or pre-runner if you make the effort to get yourself out there when they are there.

My opinion is that this is one of those cases where you get what you pay for, and good stuff is expensive.
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funinthesun95
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by funinthesun95 »

I will add that most of the time if you have to pay someone to go through used shocks to rebuild or setup for your truck or bronco...... your saving gets eaten up quick.

I buy used often it does not scare me.... but I know cost of new and complete done on what I am buying and set up cost. sometimes you win sometimes you lose.

the biggest question is what is it going on and use of the vehicle.

.
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Needles929
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by Needles929 »

funinthesun95 wrote:I will add that most of the time if you have to pay someone to go through used shocks to rebuild or setup for your truck or bronco...... your saving gets eaten up quick.

I buy used often it does not scare me.... but I know cost of new and complete done on what I am buying and set up cost. sometimes you win sometimes you lose.

the biggest question is what is it going on and use of the vehicle.

.
I think this is good topic for us inexperienced guys. What is an average cost to rebuild/valve a set of Kings for the Bronco spec? If you were to buy a new set of bypass for the rear or coilovers for the front, something that someone else bought but never used, they still should be set up for the Bronco right? For a guy who's end goal is mild build (C&T with coilovers, Rear leafs with bypasses) to go out and play with. I see a ton of shocks selling all over. Some of us just need a crash course in a good deal. ;)
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by shockseals.com »

zachwabbit wrote:Anyone got any useful pointers when it comes to buying used shocks? How do I determine the manufacture date? Does it matter if they've been regularly rebuilt? When did Bilstein stop making their higher end shocks/bypasses with a yellow finish and go to silver? Is there a way to identify shocks from bigger brands besides the obvious color schemes and decals? I ask because I need shocks soon, and am looking at some used ones in an attempt to save money over a new set.
Always check the shafts for pits, its the most expensive consumable item on a shock.
Always count on rebuilding the shocks even if they tell you freshly rebuilt.
If looking at older Kusters or older sway aways (the good ones) things like shafts needing replacement you are going to loose the rod end adjuster sicne they dont make those shafts anymore, reservoirs and end caps you wont be able to source but you can replace the whole reservoir with a current king reservoir but thats adds up as well.

Fox and King have been using the same parts for 20 years...easy to get parts, parts always fit. Cant say the same for any other brands including bilstein which you asked about.
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by shockseals.com »

Needles929 wrote:
funinthesun95 wrote:I will add that most of the time if you have to pay someone to go through used shocks to rebuild or setup for your truck or bronco...... your saving gets eaten up quick.

I buy used often it does not scare me.... but I know cost of new and complete done on what I am buying and set up cost. sometimes you win sometimes you lose.

the biggest question is what is it going on and use of the vehicle.

.
I think this is good topic for us inexperienced guys. What is an average cost to rebuild/valve a set of Kings for the Bronco spec? If you were to buy a new set of bypass for the rear or coilovers for the front, something that someone else bought but never used, they still should be set up for the Bronco right? For a guy who's end goal is mild build (C&T with coilovers, Rear leafs with bypasses) to go out and play with. I see a ton of shocks selling all over. Some of us just need a crash course in a good deal. ;)

revalve should be free during a rebuild and you will want to rebuild ANY used shock you purchase. You will be charged for shims though. If they want to charge you a fee to revalve while rebuilding on top of the shim price...find another shop.

a 2.5 or 3.0 shock should be anywhere from 75-125ea for a rebuild depending on brand. King race seal kits cost much more than king prerunner, Bypass vs non bypass requires more labor and there you have your cost variance.
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funinthesun95
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by funinthesun95 »

Thanks ShockSeal....
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zachwabbit
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by zachwabbit »

Asking because I know some of the less experienced younger guys like me may not know as much about what their dealing with shock-wise, and also because I need some shocks for my B2. Found a set online that have seen some hard use but the seller is going to rebuild them before any money exchanges hands but not sure exactly what I'm looking at or if is worth the money. Pics below
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Used shock buyer tips

Post by zachwabbit »

ImageImage
Yeah they're beat, which is sort of off putting.. seller assures me the seals are tight and that he has years of experience rebuilding shocks, but obviously I'm not 100% trusting of that information. They're currently on a 4wd Bronco II that was used as a prerunner for a local race team and was rolled, and if I bought them they would end up on my factory 2wd B2, used mainly for daily duty and mild desert use. The yellow bypasses are some old Bilsteins, would require the use of a custom shock hoop similar to the one they are on to mount up to my B2's frame. The other shocks are supposedly old Foxes, and would bolt up to the stock location. Obviously not just some Rancho's though as you can see it has a much thicker shaft


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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by shockseals.com »

I wouldnt take those for free unless I was restoring an era specific project. You would be better off with a set of bilstein 5100s at $70 a piece.
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zachwabbit
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by zachwabbit »

shockseals.com wrote:I wouldnt take those for free unless I was restoring an era specific project. You would be better off with a set of bilstein 5100s at $70 a piece.
Yeah that's what I was afraid of
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by VintageIronFab »

Those are scrap metal lol
http://www.vintageironfabworks.com

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mobil1syn
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by mobil1syn »

another thing to keep in mind is that king shims are $4 where the other brands are in the $1-1.50 range, so if you are doing a revalve it will add up quickly.

people will claim their prerunner series kings have 'race' internals, chances are they just mean they have viton seals, which doesnt make them worth more money. the way to tell that is if there is 3 allens on the dust cap (see below) if there is just a set screw and 2 holes then it is a prerunner series. the top cap is also a give away as well. the logo is etched on the prerunner, and machined the race shocks.

race
Image

prerunner
Image
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Re: Used shock buyer tips

Post by shockseals.com »

mobil1syn wrote:another thing to keep in mind is that king shims are $4 where the other brands are in the $1-1.50 range, so if you are doing a revalve it will add up quickly.

people will claim their prerunner series kings have 'race' internals, chances are they just mean they have viton seals, which doesnt make them worth more money. the way to tell that is if there is 3 allens on the dust cap (see below) if there is just a set screw and 2 holes then it is a prerunner series. the top cap is also a give away as well. the logo is etched on the prerunner, and machined the race shocks.

race
Image

prerunner
Image

screw together resi ends are on race series, press in wiper is prerunner stand out, rubber hose is prerunner stand out, cloth 100r5 style is race hose. com12 bearings on 2.5 is race.

The only "Race" parts that cross over to prerunner are the rod seal and an oring or two. I would modify jeep speed prerunner shocks to have a different bump cap that I had made to house a race wiper as well since going to viton rod seals with a urethane wiper is a waste of money and loss in reliability so dont let somebody fluff you up with their king prerunner shocks have viton...unless of course it has my bump cap then its ok but there are only 50 or so in existence.
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