I didn’t want to see either which is why I opted for the silver/black “lifted” version even though they aren’t exactly correct. I just don’t like things to stand out and prefer they sort of blend in. Hindsight guess I could have painted the shock body and ordered black boots?

Not knocking on your install. I’ve heard the 4600’s ride a touch better.

 

That’s what I read as well, prompting my decision to go with them.

 

If mine ever wear out I’ll likely go with “visually modified” 4600’s. With my low usage of the truck these shocks will outlast me though.

Anxious to hear what you think of them.

 

The 4600 series is what Bilstein advises for a non-lifted truck and I am 99% happy with mine. The last 1% unsatisfied is the color. I have grown used to them though after having thoughts of removing them to paint them black and replace the boot with a black one. Maybe one of these winters if I have time I will paint them.

Like Jason, I would prefer a subdued look, but I am very happy with the truck as a whole for our application.

 

Week and a half and I’ll be towing the trailer up to the property. Only 3 weeks between trips so still pretty fresh in my mind how it behaved.

Thing is that I’m doing sway bar bushings, shocks, and steering stabilizer, so it will be hard to attribute which was the most beneficial. Track bar bushings won’t arrive in time to be installed for this trip.

I know it’s gonna be much better considering that it never came with a stabilizer, rebound on the drivers shock was dead, and links had some slop.

Sous,

The though crossed my mind for a second to paint them, but for the hassle it’s worth I can’t be bothered.

 

Function before form @Sous . Consider the yellow and blue peeking out from underneath a mark of your discerning eye for quality.

 

With Ranchos, repainting is a FUNCTION, not a form, and not a formality.

If you don't paint Ranchos, they will corrode quickly.

It only took one run on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to turn my then brand new set of 9000XLs from metallic silver (paint, not aluminum) to orange freckles.

This is despite washing down the undercarriage at the corner gas station when leaving the flats, immediately after breaking the world record for the slowest truck to have ever raced alone at Bonneville.

The first thing that had to go was the corrugated accordion boots (which trap condensation, despite the holes drilled in the boots being free). Older design shocks with boots had holes drilled into the metal ring that the boot clips onto on the eyelet (or post) end. New shocks seem to have thrifted this machining step out of the production process, relying only on the holes in the valleys of the boots to release water vapor.

But if the hole is in the valley of the boot, and the accordion folds of the boot are collapsed together, not much water vapor can escape between the folds of the boot... unlike as it was before in prior designs where the vent holes drilled through the metal mounting flange were always open at full diameter, no matter how extended or collapsed the shock rod was. Furthermore, the ventholes through the metal disc were inline with the push pull air flow of the bellows that the shock boot essentially becomes.

As I recall with the Bilstein 4600 series, there is a difference between the front and rear shock besides length, orientation, and application... and that difference is a corrugated boot versus a solid protective sleeve that is hard plastic and fully open at shock body end... like a factory shock. The OEM type of sleeve is always better, IMHO. I wrote to Rancho requesting the sleeves from the FX4 package of OEM shocks that Tenneco supplies to Ford. Rancho told me to go back to the flats and pound sand. So I designed and made my own sleeves, ditching the accordion boots forever. Once again function over form.

When I finally did get around to repainting my shocks, I stripped them entirely to bare steel, removing all of the layers of corrosion protection that are so vigorously marketed in the Rancho 9000XL brochures... that so miserably failed on one trip down Bonneville lane.

With every speck of corrosion mechanically removed with 3 different wire diameters of cup brushes mounted on a 4.5" angle grinders... I repainted the shocks entirely in clear coat, with no pigment. That way I can immediately see when and where any corrosion might initiate again, and can spot brush it out and repaint the shock again in situ, without worrying about color over spray getting on other parts of the chassis. Maybe that is form over function?

 

Well @Y2KW57 , you had me at Rancho. Form is all you have left with those since they barely function. All the Ranchos I had previously rusted into uselessness 6 months after installation.

 

 

Your thoroughness and attention to detail never ceases to amaze me.

Quick question though, How does your wife (if there is a Mrs.) feel about your mistress that you pay so much attention to?

Whoever ends up with your truck when you’re done with it will be a lucky man indeed!!!

 

When I got my Ranchos the advice I got from a Rancho rep is clearcoat them immediately. Surprised me (the rep implying fault with his goods?!) but I did as suggested. No rust since.

Edit: also glop a bit of vaseline or dialectric grease under the adjustment ****. Keeps it easy to adjust.

 

^^^
Yep, same here. Put on 3 or 4 coats of 2x clear. Been a while, can't remember how many. And a blob of grease under the **** or they'll seize up if they hear the words 10% chance of rain...

 

Sure am glad I went with Bilstein 4600's. After 7 years there is no rust and they still work great with no additional maintenance other than installation.

F350towing, I think you will be very pleased with the ride and handling improvements with the parts you are installing along with the shocks.

 

Shocks are installed. I didn’t like how compressed the boots appeared to be so I cut the black zip ties, moved the boot up on the body to a more neutral position and zip tied with a blue instead of the black.



Since my truck didn’t come with a steering Stabilizer from the factory I had to collect some 1-3/8 x 2-1/2 x 5/16 u-bolts for the centrelink mount and the bolt for the clevis on the axle side.

Made my bracket from 3/16 plate. 4-1/2 wide x 3-1/2.
3rd coat of paint went onto it right after this picture was taken. Either this evening or tomorrow morning it will be installed and ready for road testing.





Track bar bushings are on a slow truck delivery and scheduled to arrive on the 16th. This won’t allow enough time for installation before my next scheduled trip to the property on the 17th.

 

Looking good! Think I “overreacted” about the color and this version would have been a better fit for me.

I ordered the stabilizer bracket kit from Summit Racing when adding one to my truck. Seems like it was pretty cheap. I didn’t notice much of a difference with it, but I also don’t drive the truck much. Surely has to help a little.