I figured I would start a new thread on this one.

The shocks I got are Rancho 9000's with the MyRide system. I haven't ordered my steering stabilizer yet but that will come. My shocks came in today.... well, half of them. The warehouse people mixed up the 5000's for the 9000's I ordered on the front... Oh well they are exchanging them for me. I am also not in a rush for them (thankfully).

BigSarge - in regards to your video on the Bilistein 5100's you installed and the stock Rancho's after a few thousand miles... only one of my rear shocks has any rebound at all. The one that did not took a lot of force, as much if not more force than what it took to compress. For reference I have 13,650 miles or around there.

I do want to comment on the MyRide kit too - I took a look through all the parts and I have to say the install looks very easy. If you have ever worked with commercial pneumatic systems (fixtures in machining or other areas) the pneumatic part of the MyRide kit is identical to the quick couplers, just a smaller scale (1/4" OD hose or there abouts).

The rear shocks I installed this evening went real easy. I did question the length of the shocks after I pulled a stock one off (the one that didn't rebound) and compared it to the new 9000. I compressed the stock shock and checked the length of the 9000 there and it was OK, so I pulled the stock shock apart again (HARD) and the 9000 lined up real close to it so all is good.

 

Put some PB blaster in that upper bolt for the front shocks before you go at it. That sucker is tight.

 

So to be clear, we have another vote for inadequate stock/OEM shocks? You say that one of them does not work properly?

I'm just hoping to make as many people as I can aware that the factory set up is consistently a point of failure.

 

My comment was that one of the shocks shows no rebound capacity (rear drivers side). I have to apply as much, or more, force to the expansion of the shock absorber as it takes to compress it.

Based on the oscillation issue I've had quite a bit I would say the shock absorbers are inadequate. That's why I am changing them. I am hoping the MyRide adds some on-the-fly tunability that I can make use of. Once I get the settings I like for different loads/conditions I can re-set them. Crawling around under the truck is a non-issue for me to manually adjust them, but you can't tune them when you're going down the road.

I did notice a bit of a difference in the ride with just the rear shocks this evening. I have them set to 5 and the rear end seemed a bit stiffer. I am really curious how it will ride with the fronts too. That may very well be the root of the oscillation issue because it felt pretty sloppy compared to the rear on my way home from work today. The front springs are also softer than the rears, with more weight riding on them (engine, etc = front heavy).

 

Well I hope that everything works out even better than you hoped. I know getting this truck was not exactly something that made you happy. Here's to a happy new year!

 

I went ahead and soaked the top bolt with penetrating lube. I hope that helps out. I didn't hit the bottom one. The bolts on my rear shocks came off real easy so I'm not too worried about the bottoms. If they're tough I'll hit them with an impact driver. Can't do the same for the top one - I don't think my deep well socket will fit over it.

If all goes well my front shocks will be here in a couple days. Unless the weather warms up some time I don't see myself crawling around to install the MyRide kit for a while. I still need to figure out where to put the compressor and the control box.

 

The bottom will come out easy. It's a big bolt and easy to get on to. Pretty easy install.

 

Steve, I hope the Rancho shocks work out for you. Epic was very happy with them. I am a big fan of the Bilstein shocks, because they are self dampening. I look forward in hearing your review of the MyRide setup. Mike

 

For those that have replaced the stock fx4 shocks with Rancho 9000 or Bilstein 5100 shocks: Did it eliminate the pogo-stick ride on concrete slabs of freeway?

Only real issue with my truck; girlfriend lives near I-40, brand new section of freeway made with concrete sections, pretty sure the rear gets airborne over 85mph, more 'pogo' like between 50 and 75mph. It's embarrassing, always trying to avoid the freeway when she's in the truck, but I do.

 

Good choice on the shocks Steve. I too thought I got a couple of 5000's when I took them out of the box but when I flipped the box over, the other side said 9000, so it looks like Rancho uses the same box for both shocks, just stamps different part numbers on the ends. I took 'em out of the box to confirm they had the adjustment ****, all was well. Good luck with the install!

 

Based on the ride quality I've had with my rear shocks replaced I think the bouncing is more due to the front shocks than the rear, there's more weight up front to hold back. I put my rear shocks on the stiffest setting and rode around yesterday. Although I didn't hit any roads that get the truck rocking I did sense the front "swooping" more than the rear over bumps.

 

The two fronts I got were white, marked RS5042, and had no adjustment ****. Oh well, I am getting it all corrected.

 

I got the front shocks installed this evening. The weather was really good today/this evening so that helped a bit. It topped out in the mid 40's today, but by the time I got under the truck it was already dark and temps had fallen off in to the 30's.

The top nuts on the original shocks came off real easy. I didn't have to "break" them loose at all. I did shoot them up a couple times with penetrating lube so that probably helped.

The bottom bolts were real easy. I used my impact driver on them and they buzzed right out. The nut on the bottoms is attached to a metal lever. The nut itself is up inside the shock mount so the lever makes it real easy to drive the bolt without a second wrench on the nut.

I cranked up the resistance on the shocks to 9. I'll start there and play with the settings.

The MyRide kit will have to wait for another time. That will take a lot longer to install than the shocks did (mounting the compressor, wiring the control box, and running the air lines).

 

After driving the truck around today I have to say the shocks do make a big difference. I have them all up at 9 and it feels real "solid". I probably won't play around with the adjustments too much until I get the MyRide kit installed. That will make it possible to adjust the shocks on the fly, otherwise my comparisons would be days apart and its hard to get a real "feel" for the adjustments from one day to the next

I did notice today that my truck is not pulling to one side. Why the shocks would have anything to do with that I don't know. I will get the old shocks back out and see if theres much of a difference between the front ones. There was with the rears so maybe if one shock sticks that could unbalance them and cause the pull?

As of yet I have not been on any harmonic-generating stretches of roadway. I am real curious to see how the truck reacts. I may get on one tomorrow, depending on how far along the construction went since I drove on it last.

 

I left mine on 9 the whole time I had them. I don't think there is much difference between a 9 and a 7. It was either 9 or 5 for me. 5 made my steering wheel shakes worse though.