Steering damper replacement

My new Monroe SC2955 is the best  $30 ever spent

It’s a huge improvement  if your PC has a few miles on it and a simple 20 minute  job with an 18mm wrench and socket. When  I removed  the original it had a pneumatic leak and about 0.5 in. play. I changed it at 50k  before heading for Moab with an overnight stop in Hurricane (as in windy) Utah. When we got there it was blowing pretty hard , but I hadn’t even noticed because we were  driving at night. With the 80 mph speed limit we got passed by a lot of truckers in a hurry, which we hardly even felt. Coming back from Vegas to LA it was blowing like hell but was very manageable instead of scary. I probably would have been forced to pull over with the old damper.

Thanks for that info, CalCruiser. I definitely feel it when 18 wheelers pass. I need to check into this!

The stock steering damper installed by Ford on their assembly line, is severely under-rated for a motor home application.

Some years ago, I got PDF files of all E-series chassis specs during the time when Ford built the E150 van, E250 van, E350 van, and various flavors of the E350 & E450 cut-away and stripped chassis.  I was negatively surprised to learn how many parts like shock absorbers, steering stabilizer, and front stabilizer bar are identical regardless of the application.  That is strong support for upgrading those components to better match a motor home application.

As I recall for 2007......
- The steering damper and front stabilizer bar on an E150 van is the same one installed on an E350 & E450 motor home chassis.
- The four shock absorbers on an E250 van are the same ones installed on an E350 & E450 motor home chassis.
- A 2007 and older E350 chassis, has NO rear stabilizer bar unless the motor home manufacture or previous owner installed one.

The information explains why our 2007 E350 PC-2350 handles so much better with the suspension improvements we made after taking delivery.

Comparing the specs on 2008 and newer model years are not much better.  The E350 motor home chassis did get a wimpy rear stabilizer bar which is better than nothing at all.

I followed   Ron’s advice 3 years ago and got a Hellwig 7085 rear sway bar   

I removed the tiny Ford steering damper and replaced it with a Saf-T-Plus unit. Easy to do and made a huge difference in handling by eliminating the "wander" of the front end. I had the front end aligned before installation.

Steve

Has anyone used the $30 Monroe for many miles? I'm sure the $500 Safe-T-Plus is a more substantial unit, but is it 16 times better? Is there a happy medium in the market?
Dougn

The documentation included with the Monroe I slapped on our 2100 suggested ~40k miles of service life.  Note: the 2100 is on the E350 chassis.  Needed a good dose of PB Blaster to back out the retaining nuts.  Then followed the recommendation and tightened the replacement to 45 ft-lbs. 

Has anyone used the $30 Monroe for many miles? I'm sure the $500 Safe-T-Plus is a more substantial unit, but is it 16 times better? Is there a happy medium in the market?
Dougn

I spent ~$45 apiece for my front shocks. Autozone.  I recently towed my tandem trailer loaded ~400 miles at 80-85 mph. I was very happy with the ride and handling. If I had spent $450 for a set of { shock name here} shocks from { name of manufacturer here} I would be raving about it even more, because I spent 10 times as much. 

Wish I had the cash to do a doubleblind test on the steering dampeners. Bet you wouldn't have a 16 times difference in satisfaction.

I did not have a hand in it, but I have seen customers sold 'top of the line performance based' strut inserts for their car at a hefty premium. I know for a fact the inserts were the cheapest one from Discount. I was there when they were bought.  Customer was VERY satisfied, and referred many people to that crook.

Thats why I am very jaded about performance claims on products. I have had to work for some crooks. Show me the data.

I replaced my shocks with Monroe’s and also replaced the steering stabilizer with a heavy duty one. We noticed the steering was noticeable better with new stabilizer versus the factory original. It cost $60. Don’t see any need for saf-t-plus.  But everyone is different.

By the way our 2551 drives like a dream.  Very little noise on the road, handles wells and comfortable.  Biggest impact seems to be tire pressure. I take out a little air and it makes it more like a “Lincoln” ride. 

Ron

I replaced my shocks with Monroe’s and also replaced the steering stabilizer with a heavy duty one. We noticed the steering was noticeable better with new stabilizer versus the factory original. It cost $60. Don’t see any need for saf-t-plus.  But everyone is different.

By the way our 2551 drives like a dream.  Very little noise on the road, handles wells and comfortable.  Biggest impact seems to be tire pressure. I take out a little air and it makes it more like a “Lincoln” ride. 

Ron

Our 2010 2551 also drives comfortably and quietly.  At 36k miles, I'm sure the slight "wanderlust" I've tolerated will be improved by any steering stabilizer. At $24 from Amazon, I can buy 10 of the Monroe's for half the price of the designer models. That should last the 400k miles I plan to drive our phabulous PC....

Dougn

Wow! Sorry I shared which is what I thought the reason for a forum.
Do not bother replying, I will not be here.

Drive one with the $60 unit and one with the safety steer in adverse conditions such as heavy cross winds and you’ll know the difference.  I’ve done both and I’m frugal to a fault and I wouldn’t waste my time with the cheap fix again. I just drove 340 miles with 30-45+ Mph cross winds with one hand on the wheel and finished my day without any additional fatigue.  I’ve done the white nickel drive with the standard replacement as well, I won’t go back. Driving cross country needs to be enjoyable or I don’t wish to do it.