After doing some research and talking with my brother the mechanic, I decided I would try out the Pro Comp ES3000 shocks for the front on my 1992 Jeep Cherokee. Previously I had purchased the Rancho 5000 shocks, but they only last me about four years which I was very disappointed about.
While I go off roading I don’t go that often. In fact, I have not been off roading at all this year because of my extremely busy schedule with school, kids and the community organization I am involved with. The previous year I had only been off roading maybe three times. From what I was told by other off roaders it would be understandable for my shocks to wear out if I were off roading quite often. So needless to say I decided I was not going to go with Rancho shocks again.
Since I knew there would be a Jeep Fest in Atlanta the first weekend of August I decided I would wait to purchase shocks until after I went there. I wanted to see what was offered and if I could possibly get them at a cheaper price than ordering them online.
When I got there it was ironic that the Rancho booth was right next to the Pro Comp booth which was extremely busy compared to Rancho. I guess that was a sign for me? Plus Pro Comp had a box stuffed full of shock boots including hot pink ones I had been looking for to match the pink my best friend had painted on my D rings, diff covers, track bar and skid plates as well as my brake rotor drums.
After getting in line to talk with one of the sales reps, he recommended the ES3000 shocks which I had previously looked at online. Since I have a 3″ lift he said those were the ones they include in their lift kit. When he told me the price of the shocks I knew I couldn’t turn it down. I would be saving almost $25!
When I went over to pay for the shocks and boots the cashier asked me if I wanted to add the warranty to them. I talked it over with my best friend who agreed that would be ideal. From the way the cashier explained the warranty it seemed like a no hassle deal. $8 additional to add the two year warranty and if anything happened I could take them to the nearest 4 Wheel Drive Parts store to exchange them.
At first the cashier and one of the store managers thought the shocks were in stock at the nearby Norcross, GA store. Once they called though they were apparently not there. I was a little disappointed since I wanted the shocks asap, but when the manager offered to ship them to me for free and said they would arrive to me by Thursday I was okay with that.
So when Thursday rolled around I was out and about hoping my shocks would show up. I had been going to the 4 Wheel Parts website daily to check the status which never seemed to change at all so I was quite nervous that they would not show up. Then late afternoon my neighbor called me and said they had a package for me that was very heavy.
When I got home I was like a child at Christmas time. It was a few days before I finally had the time to go out to my best friends house where he has a hydraulic lift and I could install the shocks.
When we opened the boxes he was quite surprised there was some assembling to do. The bar pins had to be pressed in so be prepared if you ever decide to purchase the ES3000. It did not take very long to do the pressing of the bar pins nor installing them.
After two weeks I could already tell a difference in the way it handles and the gas mileage has definitely improved. Now it will be interesting to see how they perform off roading…
