Great point highlighted in bold. I suggest turning that **** once a season.


With our products save the receipt!!! That is your proof of purchase of warranty.

 

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Do Rancho 9000's still come with the Air Adjustable Option ?

 

Warranty

Link to the Bilstein warranty page.

I just had my dealer replace the 4 JUNK factory Rancho's with Bilstein 5100's. The FX4 Rancho's had 39,000 miles on them so unfortunately, they were out of warranty. Two fronts and one rear were collapsed. Apparently, Rancho has "licensed" these factory shocks for Ford. The difference is quite noticeable.
My new 5100 Bilstein shocks come with the same warranty that all of the other manufacturers carry. And, if you have one fail, follow the instructions on the Bilstein warranty page and they will stand behind their product.
I purchased the 4 shocks and a stabilizer on Amazon for $392.00
BTW, they are "assembled in America".

 

I owned a 2011 CCLB 6.7 and had the FX option which provided the Rancho labeled shocks. I found out these were nothing more than relabeled Motorcraft shocks.
Did Rancho actually start selling Ford a shock for use ?

 

If I were to buy new Rancho shocks, I would buy after March 1st but before July 1st of this year.
If I bought them online I would save al packaging before submitting the rebate form.
I would make a copy of all paperwork submitted including the UPC codes.



We no longer offer the myRIDE in cab controller, but they can be found new in box often on eBay. Still perfect for these trucks!

Matt

 

Hey guys....new to the forum after recently purchasing a 2013 F250 King Ranch with 35K miles on it. Love the truck! However, been considering dumping the stock stocks (Motorcraft "Rancho" shocks) and installing some that will provide a softer, smoother ride since 100% of my driving is highway and around town. I stopped by the local shop - a very highly rated and respected shop - that specializes in diesel and 4WD, and my guy there recommended Monroe shocks. He said he has installed hundreds of sets of shocks from Bilsteins to Fox and so on, and for the money he said Monroe shocks offer the best ride he has has seen and the best feedback from his customers. So his recommendation seems to compliment that of DKF above.

Anyone else have any experience with Monroe shocks on their F250? Mine is stock with the exception of a 2.5" leveling kit up front. Thanks and look forward to being an active member of the forum!

 

Might be tough with Monroe up front with the level, FYI. A lot is for original equipment replacement. That being said I don't know for sure.
But honestly I bet the shop could find a comparable part number for the level.
PS Monroe is our parent company

 

With regard to the adjustment ****, I packed mine with grease and plan to exercise them every oil change.

 

I have the ReadyLift Leveling kit that comes with the shock extenders, so he told me that I can go with stock size shocks...?

 

You'll be back in a few years bitching about their warrany.

 

"Rancho Branded Shocks" that come on the Ford trucks from factory. You are getting a cheap shock with the Rancho sticker on it. Your not getting mid to high end shocks.

I looked on the Ready Lift website. They do have lower shock mount extenders so you can use the stock length shocks up front.

You have to figure also that if you get a truck with the heavy service front springs, that lifts the front end approx 1" depending on engine from the factory. They use the same shocks. You have some leeway.

 

Sure... here's a photo of my rear Rancho 9000XL shock:





Obviously, this corrosion surrounding the critical top seal at the rod insertion point (not visible in photo) as well as the top of the shock tube (as seen in photo) is due to the use of the Rancho red corrugated shock boot supplied. Clearly, not enough drainage holes are in the boot to counteract condensation.

I didn't want to use the boots at all, but needed to install something in order to protect the moveable rod itself from being pelted and pummeled with pebbles flung up by tires. Divots in the rod would effect the sealing, and eventually, the performance of the shock... not unlike the scoring of a hydraulic ram effects it's ability to seal and function.

I tried to find OEM style rigid rod covers with open bottoms, but was not successful. After discovering this corrosion, I contacted Tennaco... per the suggestion of the resident Rancho rep on FTE. Tennaco is the parent company to Monroe and Rancho, both brands of which produce literally MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of shock absorbers for the OEMs (and the aftermarket) with rigid rod covers like I would like to have on these things, but was told "No, we have no such thing."

So if you are at all concerned about "liking the look", this is how Rancho's "Premium Long Lasting METALLIC finish" looks like after a couple of years, without snow, salt, or residence in the rust belt. If you use the boots. Not shown is how the rock pebbles pierced Rancho's fancy sounding euphemism for paint, leaving a constellation of corrosion spots up and down the shock tube, regardless of boots or no boots.

Compare the 2 year old shock with the 17+ year old frame surrounding the shock. To the extent that you can see through all my overactive typing, the frame isn't newly painted, isn't undercoated, and isn't covered in gooey fluid film. The frame, the leaf springs, the U bolts, the sway bar, the axle all may be dirty, but there is no rust like there is on the Rancho shock, which is the newest component in the photo.

If the Bilstiens or Fox shocks you are comparing are actually made of a corrosion resistant metal, rather than just painted with a metallic color to facsimilate the metal "look", and, if long term looks are indeed a consideration for you, then this is what Rancho's "premium" paint might look like in a couple of years.

On my to do list is to make some rod covers that are rigid tubes with open ends for condensation drainage, like the OEMs insist that Rancho provide to them, in the form of the FX4 shock as an example. Ford is looks conscious too, and even has Rancho make those rigid covers look like corrugated boots, even though they are actually stiff and open on the bottom.

Why Tennaco claims they have no such thing is a mystery. I offered to pay for rigid covers, but "no, they don't exist." I said I don't care what color they are, even if they are yellow for a Monroe Magnum (that has a wide diameter shock body, similar in girth to the 9000XL, although a different internal design). "Not possible, they said." They didn't even try.

So I'm thinking of buying four plastic sports drink bottles of the appropriate diameter at the local 7-11, and riveting a ring around the neck of the bottles for the rod eyelet, while riveting roller bushings of some sort on the wide open cut off bottom end of the bottle to ride along the shock body for guidance so the cover maintains alignment with the shock travel.

 

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The best thing you can do is continue researching different brands. As soon as I saw your thread posted, I knew you would receive the usual advice to go with Bilstein 5100 or Rancho 9000s. These are two of the least expensive model shocks out there. They may work "ok", but that is all relative to how you use it and how you drive plus what you are trying to accomplish.
I see it time and time again where a poster says they don't see a need to spend more money on shocks yet that same guy will spend $500 or more for an exhaust, running boards, mud terrain tires, stereo or something else that doesn't enhance or improve the drive ability or safety of their truck.
IMHO, shocks are just as important as brakes. Good ones prolong the life of your tires as well as keeping them on the ground so the brakes can do their job.
The biggest thing you need to take from this is that opinions are like rear ends, everyone has one. Don't let forum posters make the decision for you.