[Hollywood1]

My girlfriends front shocks need to be replaced in her 2wd 2002 v-6 3rd gen.
One of the shocks is blown and it’s leaking fluid.

I’m thinking of just going with OEM factory shocks since they’ve lasted this long at 180k. Daily street/highway driver.
But it currently has a 1.5” aluminum spacer lift.

I’m thinking if removing the spacer and going with a new set of 99’ coils which should be about the same amount of lift.

Do I need to go with 99’ shocks as well or do I just order them for her year 02’?

[Brian.]

Shocks are the same OE part number across all 3rd gen years, both engines and all 3 trims: 48510-39585 You need 2, one for each side (plus the coils and don't neglect the lower ball joints so the wheel doesn't fall off).

[UnderFire]

If you're looking to retain 1.5" of lift IMO you'd be better off replacing the shocks with bilstein 5100's and ditching the spacers. Your coils should be fine at 180k too IMO the front springs tend to hold up well compared to the rears.

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[gamefreakgc]

If you do only the shocks & struts, they will fail prematurely if the springs have over-compressed and are sagging.

Spacers negatively affect the ride of the vehicle as well since you are pre-loading the coils so there's more "harshness" over bumps and potholes. Most people on here agree to avoid them unless you don't care about ride quality. However, others have shared that spacers actually double the lift. A 1.5" spacer creates 3" of lift or something like that. I don't know all the physics behind it, has to do with pre-loading the coils and compression rates. You might find that removing the coil spacers and putting in 99 talls you'll sit lower than before. But it will ride softer.

OEM coils and struts are pricey though. The rear coils and shocks are cheaper.

[Hollywood1]

Correction:
I will be removing the lift spacers, the 99’ coils should compensate for the lift vs. the lower 02’ coils.

I’ll have to compare pricing on the Factory shocks vs. Bilsteins. The Bilsteins will be a bit stiffer ride. Granted Los Angeles does have some crappy roads but it’ll probably never hit a dirt road aside for a random I paved parking lot.

As for the ball joint, yes that is on my to do list as well. I recently did the passenger side Upper and Lower Ball joints along with Hub Bearing.
Driver side hub bearing seems fine but I may as well swap it with a new one since I’ll have it apart.

I have to retorque the valve cover bolts as well to hopefully stop that pesky slow drip! 🤦🏻*♂️

[Hollywood1]

Originally Posted by Brian.

Shocks are the same OE part number across all 3rd gen years, both engines and all 3 trims: 48510-39585 You need 2, one for each side (plus the coils and don't neglect the lower ball joints so the wheel doesn't fall off).

👍
Driver side Balljoints were on the to do list at same time as well. 👍