This has been mentioned before. . . Rancho Shocks
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 577
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From: Lebanon TN
This has been mentioned before. . . Rancho Shocks
I have the FX4 pkg. I was washing my truck last night and thought I'd clean up the white shocks with the red/orange boots. First, they were rusty, paint chipped off and wimpy looking - nothing like the Rancho's I put on my Amigo back in the 90's. Those shocks were twice as fat and nicer than what Ford puts on. Are the OEM FX4 shocks any different than the stock black ones except for them being white with a Rancho sticker on them?
More Turbo
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 610
Likes: 3
Kind of like buying a Kohler sink from a big box remodeling store. They will look they same on the outside, but if you look at their website you will see a slightly different part number that is sold only to Lowes and Homedepot for somehow magically half the price. Give it a month and it will look old and used.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 852
Likes: 12
From: Kentucky
If you know what I mean.
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 577
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From: Lebanon TN
This is a big deal to me and maybe it shouldn't be. My truck was built in September '10 and just rolled over 10k miles. I don't live in a harsh environment with a lot of salt on the roads and such. This is a photo of one of the shocks that is typical of all of them. There is rust on all the mount welds and paint coming off the reserve tubes and dirt shields due to the rust underneath the paint. Even though this shock is on the forward facing side of the axle, they're all like this on all welds and joints top to bottom. The paint is not adhering to the shock well or it was not properly prepped for painting. They work ok (nothing special) and don't leak so it is not a warranty item. These are the worst looking items on the truck. Maybe it's just me and I have unrealistic expectations, but I assumed I had just a tad more time before all the rust appeared on these FX4 pkg shocks.
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Laughing Gas
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Joe Kucinski
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,446
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From: Hot Springs
I switched over to these shocks and found they made a huge difference in the stability of the truck. Plus they are twice the size of the OEM Rancho's. I think this type of marketing by Rancho and Ford is a gamble. Either people love the Ranchos on the stock truck, and when it comes time to replace they go with Rancho, or they see the "Rancho OEM" suck and get the feeling the rest of the Rancho brand is junk.
If you know what I mean.
If you know what I mean.
Yea im about to order another set for my 11' as I had a set on my 08' and loved them.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,598
Likes: 5
From: Maryland
Since I see Rancho looking in on this thread, I will comment and hopefully they will listen to us the end users. These "Rancho" FX4 shocks are a black eye for Rancho. I have owned real Rancho shocks in the past and even though they were never the best, they were far superior to the junk that these $60,000 trucks come with. This is my second FX4 with these absolute trash shocks and based solely on that experience I have no desire to own any more Rancho products.
Not only is the finish on these shocks horrible but the front may as well not even have shocks on it! I will remedy the situation soon enough with a RCD 2.5" leveling kit that includes new springs and Bilstein shocks for all 4 corners. I'm not sure what possessed me to order the FX4 package again, but I guarantee you that the Bilsteins will make that nightmare a distant memory.
Not only is the finish on these shocks horrible but the front may as well not even have shocks on it! I will remedy the situation soon enough with a RCD 2.5" leveling kit that includes new springs and Bilstein shocks for all 4 corners. I'm not sure what possessed me to order the FX4 package again, but I guarantee you that the Bilsteins will make that nightmare a distant memory.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,402
Likes: 0
From: Upstate, NY
+1 for the Bilsteins. I've had them on my last 2 trucks and they were very good. Lifetime warranty and the paint looked new at 4 years old...oh ya...they made the truck ride sooooooo niiiiiice!
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 930
Likes: 6
As would 9000's. 
I understand where you are coming from as well.
I understand where you are coming from as well. Since I see Rancho looking in on this thread, I will comment and hopefully they will listen to us the end users. These "Rancho" FX4 shocks are a black eye for Rancho. I have owned real Rancho shocks in the past and even though they were never the best, they were far superior to the junk that these $60,000 trucks come with. This is my second FX4 with these absolute trash shocks and based solely on that experience I have no desire to own any more Rancho products.
Not only is the finish on these shocks horrible but the front may as well not even have shocks on it! I will remedy the situation soon enough with a RCD 2.5" leveling kit that includes new springs and Bilstein shocks for all 4 corners. I'm not sure what possessed me to order the FX4 package again, but I guarantee you that the Bilsteins will make that nightmare a distant memory.
Not only is the finish on these shocks horrible but the front may as well not even have shocks on it! I will remedy the situation soon enough with a RCD 2.5" leveling kit that includes new springs and Bilstein shocks for all 4 corners. I'm not sure what possessed me to order the FX4 package again, but I guarantee you that the Bilsteins will make that nightmare a distant memory.
Last edited by Rancho Suspension; May 24, 2011 at 09:03 PM. Reason: More info.
Jäger
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,491
Likes: 5
From: Northern Arizona
After work today I replaced the front Motorcraft spec 'Ranchos' on my truck with Bilstein 5100's. I had the Bilstein 5100's on my '05 and they were fantastic! Bilstein 5100's for the rear are on order.
Side note: The right front stock shock had no gas pressure in it and the left front had very little pressure. This explains why the truck bounced off of the bump stops when I rolled over parking lot speed bumps!
Side note: The right front stock shock had no gas pressure in it and the left front had very little pressure. This explains why the truck bounced off of the bump stops when I rolled over parking lot speed bumps!