So I just purchased a 03 F-250 v10 cc 4x4 with a 6" pro comp lift and rancho 9000 shocks. The ride on the truck is really stiff. I have ridden in many f-350s and 250s and have never felt such a bad ride. There were a couple of bumps on the freeway the jolted me so bad the steering wheel came out of my hand. I turned the adjustment on the shocks all the way counter clockwise. The ride is really bad. The front suspension needs to be softend somehow. There is no way my wife will ride in this truck the way it is. So what would be the best thing to do to make this ride tolerable? Is it possible for a shock to get stiff when old? I am thinking of buying some 5100's, any opinions on them?

 

you have a six inch lift, the front springs are arched so much now your not going to get a Cadillac ride out of you super duty anymore

 

This.

The greater the arch the less spring.

Consider riding on a "U" shave versus a smooth shape ")"

 

my 4" pro comp springs on my last truck were stiff as a board too. are they the four leaf model? most other 6" spring packs i believe have 8 or 10 leafs, making for a softer ride. maybe find some to swap out.

 

i have pro comp 2" front leaf springs designed for a diesel motor on my 5.4 F350. My truck rides like a dream, good enough that im probally putting 4" pro comp leaf springs on this winter

 

pro comp might be a little stiffer compared to BDS or some other high priced company but at least you never hear anybody say i had to replace my procomp because they settled so bad........

 

Shocks will wear out over time. Know how many miles are on the shocks, by chance? ( I know you mentioned you bought it with the lift)

 

Shocks do wear out over time... but, I never heard of a shock going stiff... they go limp like an old man... damn near impossible to get them stiff again w/o a rebuild...

 

Giggle.

 

Or Viagra. The shocks on the other hand will need to be replaced.

 

Yeah, I didn't want to go too far with that comment for fear of being relatively new and don't post much here, I don't really know all the rules or what's socially acceptable. LOL!!!

 

I took off some 5000's and installed some 9000's. Even at the max setting, the 9000's on my truck was a ride improvement.

I don't think th shocks are the problem. take the shocks off and see if the truck still rides rough.

 

when we installed a skyjacker 2" level spring kit on my dads 2000 F350 diesel after three years the springs sagged horribly. called customer service was told to take pictures and measurements, got a claim number and two weeks later brand new front springs. When i went to take the front end apart i found the skyjacker front shocks were frozen in position! The shocks would not compress or rebound at all, my dad installed a set of Rancho 5000 shocks designed for a 2" lift with thenewskyjacker springs and the truck rode beautiful again. Well six years later now and the skyjacker springs are again sagged back to stock height if not lower....... shocks are still good i checked

 

Thanks for all the reply's. So it sounds like these front springs are way to stiff. So how big of a difference would a set of Deavers or Icons make? Is it a 1000 dollar difference? I also turned the shocks to the softest setting and drove it around. Then I set them to the stiffest setting and drove the same route. I could not tell a bit of difference. I bought this truck to take the family to lake or dirtbike riding. However I am feeling I made a mistake. I have a 2 month old that I will not put in this truck just because how bad the front end rides. I grew up with my dad having duallys and 4x4s. None of them rode this bad.

 

IMO personal opinion, I say yes. This is from my Jeep side BTW.... I did "*******" packs etc and they didn't cut it, I bought a set from Alcan for my Jeep and they worked. I can only assume Deaver/Icon make a solid (get it? ) leaf pack for the F series in that size of a spring from their reputation. I have a 4" flavor of ours on mine with out any issues...

Edit Didn't know that word would get ******** Sorry!