After swinging by the local 4wd shop today I've decided to bite the bullet and bring some life back to the ride of the Blue Ox. The shop rep and I were talking back and forth about my needs, available options, their experience with various products and so on.
I had thought that I wanted either Bilstein 5100s or the Rancho Quicklift Loaded strut assemblies. Seeing as how I don't tow currently and I haul maybe once monthly to the dump, etc, I don't really need the firmness or the adjust-ability of the Bilsteins or Ranchos. In the end we decided that my daily needs were best suited for a slightly upgraded assembly and a leveling spacer.
The Ox sits currently with roughly 1.75-2" of rake rear to front. I'm not going to be upgrading tires for about another 20k miles as the 275/60/20 Michelin LTX M/S2s still have plenty of life and when I do upgrade I won't be going much bigger, likely a 275/65/20. So, with that knowledge we're going to stack ReadyLift's 1.5" leveling kit for the FX4 on top of KYB's GR-2/Excel-G struts. I'll also be adding KYB GR-2/Excel-G to the rear as well as it's likely time to replace the stockers out back too. 7 years and 63,000 miles on the stockers.

Anyhow, I'll update this thread as the time draws near. Parts should be in by Wednesday and I'm hoping to drop the truck at the shop Thursday or Friday. Yes I know I could do this at home, but that old time vs value of money argument comes into play. It does cost me more, but my truck will only be down for about 5 hours start to finish this way...worth it in my book!

Stay tuned...more to come

 

KYB's came in today. Wasn't expecting them til Monday. They're exactly what I expected as they look just like the OEM units. Gas/Nitrogen charged and nothing very special about them. ReadyLift kit is due on Tuesday. Hopefully Thursday will be the day to drop it at the shop.

 

Following along. Curious what you think of the kybs

 

Me too!!!!!!

still hanging!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'll be anxious to see the results!

 

Hey guys. Still about 4-5 days from a full install. It's all going in at once, struts, shocks and leveling kit.
I snapped some before pics this morning:

driver side:


The measurements below are from the lower rim lip (not the ground) through hub center to the FX4 fender trim.
Driver's front @ 32.25"


Driver's rear @ 34.25"


Passenger's front @ 32.75" (I was parked with the Driver's side lower down the crown of the road)


Passenger's rear @ 34"


Passenger side:


I know the road in front of my house is not perfectly level, but it was the only opportunity to get a base measurement for pictures. As for the KYB's, I'm not expecting a leaps and bounds difference in ride, as all I'm really out to do is restore the factory qualities with maybe a touch of improvement. Sadly the Blue Ox is a bit of a street queen with the occasional fire road, hunting trail, unimproved cell site being my extent of off road fun these days.

 

Interested in finding out how this will improve the ride myself. I have a 2 inch Hell Bent Steel kit in mine. I haven't done shocks yet, but I'm like you in that I don't think I need to adjust the shocks. I have the Michelin LTXII 275 65 r 20 tires on mine and 373's. I think when you do get around to changing tires you will like the results. (Maybe the wife won't)lol. Mine complains it's to tall. Anyway I do think you will like the results!

 

So I'll find out Thursday night/Friday just how this turns out. Made the appointment to drop the truck first thing on Thursday morning.

Thanks Ken, we'll see. Your set up is very similar to my end goal. When it comes time to change rubber it'll either be Michelin LTX A/T2s or Toyo Open Country A/T2s. I love the M/S2s that I have now, but I'm looking for a bit more bite in the next set.

 

Holding my breath!!!!!

 

Yeah yeah yeah I know. If you're anxious how about me?

ReadyLift kit arrived yesterday and looks good. Two nice solid pieces of billet aluminum. 10.9 studs pressed into each one. I would have the truck into the shop today, but alas it's my anniversary and we have a nice dinner outing planned for tonight. There just wasn't time get the truck dropped off and picked up with the other plans.
So tomorrow it will be...

 

ahhhhh.avoiding the firing squad (: smart move!!!!!

 

Ha it's either take flack from you guys and go to dinner with my better half or make you guys happy and drop off the Ox and take flack from the wife. I like you all but let's think that one through

In other news here's a pic just before I put the parts on the backseat for early morning drop off tomorrow:

 

I did the same kyb strut and shock switcharoo with the original stuff about a year ago on my 04 FX4...the *** end was bouncing all over the place.

It rides and handles great, especially for a 4x4, and it's not nearly as expensive as Rancho or Bilstein.

 

Great to hear! This gives me additional confidence in my decision as not many people have gone the KYB route. I guess we will find out tomorrow night when I take it for a thorough spin.

 

I'm old enough to not get caught up in the "what's better" debate when it comes to the aftermarket. My FX is 99% street driven, and at my age I value comfort over most everything else. I briefly considered getting leveling struts to eliminate the spacer, but I am happy with my choice.