Review on KYB 349071 Excel G Gas Shock by Jaime Benenati

Bought a 2011 Wrangler Sport a few months ago and needed to diagnose some issues which led me to put everything back to stock as the previous owner listed it. By fitting those factory sizes (front and rear pair) it drove like a sedan, which was a shocking revelation. The rear bump swinging on the Autobahn is gone as the dampers are now doing their job and the previous ones have most likely been done away with. Two issues to contend with when installing if you have an old Jeep: - Rusty top and bottom bolts (ratchet wrench required) - Deformed bottom bracket where the bushing goes on the Jeep itself. My top bolt was horribly rusted/rotten on the old shock that no PB blaster did anything for and I ended up taking a grinder to cut the old shock off. The good news is that they come with all the hardware you need, so there's no need to recycle anything old. Another problem you will encounter is that the bottom socket will most likely not fit in the bracket. I imagine the previous owner overtightened and deformed the mount for the old raised shocks, coupled with almost a decade of rusting and it's a tough place to put it. I tried loosening the caliper with channel locking pliers and it pushed out the end of the caliper, but not enough to push the shocks all the way into the bolt holes. I ended up taking a grinder to gently remove the surface rust and trim the bottom bracket a bit so they could slide in. It wasn't as easy as I thought. There was oil on the hose from the box. I'm praying this isn't a leaking shock situation, more like some sort of production backlog (although none of the others had oil residue), but I'll keep an eye on it. However, the installation instructions are awful and basically non-existent as I couldn't decipher what it had to do with me. It's like a manual for all their products for each car, crammed into one, with no text and just plain little pictures. Overall, I'm glad it works and makes the Jeep better for highway driving.