Does anyone know what kind of shocks come on a FX4 package?
they say Rancho on them but I can not find the model number on Rancho's web site and they say Motorcraft on the bottom. Could Ford just be painting these shocks white and putting a Rancho sticker on them? I really want to find out what applications these will fit so I can get rid of them..thanks

 

I think thats exactly what they are doing. Did you notice the nice plastic boot(not rubber)? They are cheap and rust fast.

 

BANG! right on the head. hahahaha, nothing more then a somewhat higher grade white motorcraft shock with Rancho stickers. dont bother with the FX4 package, just get the skid plates. save your money and invest in Bilstein shocks.

-bigdawg

 

Now my feelings are hurt...They are really not Rancho's???

Oh well, mine are all now Superlift shocks - But I do have a nice FX4 decal on the side of my truck!!!

 

DougD, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but SL shocks aren't much better

 

I can't belive that Rancho would go for something like that, Rancho is going to look bad because "there" shocks are rusting and wearing out fast on these trucks, it's a shame that ford would go this low and put there shocks with a Rancho decal on these trucks, they should come with REAL Rancho shocks!!!

 

I had the same question and contacted Rancho via their website. The press releases on the site didn't quite satisfy me. Their reply was that the shocks are indeed made by Rancho and are not just "Rancho branded" Motorcraft shocks. It said the FX-4 shocks aren't as stiff as their aftermarket shocks but are closest in design to the RS5000. That's what they said.

 

If any one has any questions about Rancho Shocks they should call Ric Alameddine who's the VP of marketing at Tenneco (they make Rancho) or Mark Frissora who's the EO of the company.

Call them and they may give you a more satisfactory answer.

Mark Frissora is in Lake Forsest, Il
Ric Alameddine is in Monroe, MI

 

Like most companies, Tenneco makes low-end products and high-end products. Yeah, there are not-so-good Rancho shocks and real good Rancho shocks. Rancho and Monroe are both manufactured by Tenneco. You can get a Monroe shock identical in every way to a Rancho shock except for the price, the Monroes are generally cheaper. In reality, far more shocks than you could probably imagine are private labeled, meaning a company like Tenneco actually manufactured them and places a different company's label on it. There really aren't that many shock manufacturers in the world. It takes an enormous amount of R&D and capitol investment to manufacture shocks. It would be interesting to compile a list of manufacturers versus brands. Does Superlift really manufacture their own shocks? How about Pro-Comp, Skyjacker, Edelbrock, Belltech, Motorcraft, Delco, Mopar, and all the others?

The point is, just because you see Motorcraft on your shocks with a Rancho label doesn't mean they pulled a bait-and-switch on you, you got what you bought. The specs for the FX4 say that you get Rancho shocks, not the top-of-the-line Ranchos, just Ranchos. Kinda like going out and just buying a Ford, did you buy just any Ford, like a stripped Focus? Or did you get an F350 CC LB PSD 4X4 Lariet? Both say Ford on them.

 

That's a good post^^^^ So we get piece of crap Rancho shocks lol At least now we know.

 

Pretty much all manufactures low end shocks are all the same, it's not until you get into the upper models do you see a difference.

 

the only thing i liked about the fx4 rancho shock. it was easy to keep the boot clean compared to the rubber ones

Tony

 

Sorry I saw this posting and just couldn't resist replying...forget trying to send an email to Mark Frissora or Ric Alameddine. First Mark is a CEO of Tenneco, not an engineer, he wouldn't be able to tell you anything about whats really the difference. Second I am an engineer for Monroe Auto, I've worked in R&D, Prod Engineering, and now I work in the plant that actually manufactures not only the "Ford" Rancho's that you speak of , and I've never heard of a Ric Alameddine, I doubt he knows any more about shocks than Mark. But EVERY RANCHO shock on the planet is made at a plant in Cozad, NE.
Basically speaking, there is absolutely no difference between the Rancho you buy from a shelf and the Rancho thats on the Ford FX4, or the "Motorcraft" OE Shock (which we make as well). Their components all come from the same lines, and are assembled in the same plant.
So what's the difference? Basically Ford is a hard customer to please...the requirements that Ford has for our shocks is twice as tough to meet as the requirements that are required for the Rancho aftermarket shocks. (This goes for almost every OE vs. Aftermarket shock. Trust me, nothing will last longer on durability, salt spray, etc than a shock supplied on an OE vehicle. The good news is we try to apply this to all our aftermarket shocks as well, when it makes sense from a cost standpoint.
Basically, what you're paying for is the difference in ride. Just because the basic components are the same, does not mean the shocks all produce the same force vs. velocity characterisitcs. Monroe Ride Engineers spend weeks, sometimes months at the cost of the OE customers to "tune" that specific vehicle to the best ride it can have. Ford is one of the pickiest, we develop different valve codes for almost every different package combination of F-250, 350 etc that there is.
A totally different group of engineers works on the "aftermarket" Rancho shocks. They develop a ride that they think will best please their customer base, the weekend offroader that doesn't even own a 5th wheel camper or goose neck trailer.
Whats the difference in ride between the OE MotorCraft and the FX4? Again, an engineer's best attempt at trying to please a different customer base. Plus the guys at Ford like the Red and White Shocks! They're supposed to look cool right? And yes, unfortunately rust does shock through the white better than it does the black....but they're different paint and the black just happens to have better salt spray test results...the price Ford customers pay for a white shock.

I'm pretty open about this stuff, ask away if you have more questions.

 

what is the avg. life span of these shocks?

 

Average Life span of any shock depends on the bore size, valve code and types of materials used in the rod guide ID and the piston OD. While officially we tell people they should check their shocks every 25K, realistically they should last you 50K-80K. It depends a lot on how rough you are on your vehicle. If you drive mostly short trip paved roads, your shocks should last a LONG time. But the longer trips you make the hotter your shocks get and the harder you work them. Also, the more severe a road you drive on (farmers and ranchers out here in nebraska can tax them pretty bad driving 5mph through pastures with nasty terrain!). If the shock is experiencing low velocity's (and low pressures) over short trips where they can cool down, they last almost infinitely. I've taken Monroe's that had been on vehicles for 20 years and dynoed them and they've still hit the tolerance for damping forces. But on the same token, if you're an off-roader, don't expect them to last you any longer than 30-50K.

Just my 2 cents