I've had oem replacements and 5100 series on the bilstiens. Loved them.

I've had myself ranco rs 9000, hated them. One year they looked like s##t. Then the adjusters frooze up. Only controled compression, was to wild and rough street or trail. A buddy had the rs5000, he hated them. He thought his lift springs were the reason for his harsh ride. I convinced him to change over to bilstien and now he's happy.

 

just get a can of corrosion resistant spray bomb and paint em all up

 

MonroeENGR
Can you tell me what brand shocks that monroe makes, after reading this thread, and the way that you make it sound i want to make sure i dont get hosed, like you know ripped off. thanks.

 

So you mean to tell me if I go to the ford parts counter and tell them I need a replacement shock on my FX4 that they are going to show about 20 differnt part numbers? They don't make them for differnt configurations do they??? I would think they would be the same from a reg. cab 250 to a cc dually, if you get the FX$ you get the same crappy "Rancho" shocks.

 

I'm going to try and respond as things were posted:

Posting:
Replace them with a Bilstien, better shock. Mine have 3 tough years no rust. Also did I mention it's a better shock.

Answer: I don't know what to tell you about thing except that to remind you "who got the contact with Ford"..."who just took away all the GM truck business from Delphi and Bilstein" the answer...Monroe did. Its a quality vs. cost relationship, and I'm not saying Monroe is the BEST out there. But for the money we often are.

Posting:MonroeENGR, If Monroe makes these shocks under the Rancho name, why in the world would they be stamped Motorcraft on the side??I have the pictures in my gallery to show the stamp. It really doesn't make any sense to me. The shock in the pictures has only 1800 miles on it, and is all rusty. In my opinion the quallity is just not there. I'm not saying Monroe doesn't make good shocks I just didn't like the ones that came on my truck.

Answer: cause ford is paying us to...hell we'd paint em purple if they paid us enough. Honest to god, we stamp the reserve tubes with Motorcraft even though its a Monroe Shock, or Rancho, either one. I would bet 90% of the parts stamped Motorcraft are made by successful part suppliers other than Ford. None of the big automakers are staying in the component business. They find it easier to farm that work and development out. Its also easier to blame failures on a supplier. Again, like i said white paint (or at least our current white paint process) is not the best in world for resisting or hiding rust. I do wish it was better, and Monroe and Ford do realise this is an issue and are working to resolve it.

Posting: I've had oem replacements and 5100 series on the bilstiens. Loved them.
I've had myself ranco rs 9000, hated them. One year they looked like s##t. Then the adjusters frooze up. Only controled compression, was to wild and rough street or trail. A buddy had the rs5000, he hated them. He thought his lift springs were the reason for his harsh ride. I convinced him to change over to bilstien and now he's happy.

Answer: First the 5100 Bilsteins are Monotubes if I'm correct, so you're comparing two entirely different products. Monotubes are different than twin tubes and I'm not surprised that you like the ride of one vs. the other. Plus you have to remember, ride is subjective. Whether or not you happen to agree with the enginerr that tuned the shocks for your vehicle will determine if you like the ride.
Also, Monroe is prodominatley a twin tube company. We don't offer any monotube Ranchos and none of the Ford Trucks carry monotubes. The only trucks that we supply monotubes for are the Z71 package Chevies and GM's. They're made in a plant in Owen Sound, CA. Are they better? Not really, they're extremely high pressure so they require expensive seals and are more prone to leak. But I will admit that Bilstein is very good at making monotubes, but their twin tubes are nothing to get excited about.

Also, as far as your buddy and the Rs5000s and the lift springs....who's to say it wasn' the springs? Which do think there's more production variance in? The damping forces of the shocks or the spring rates of the coil and leaf springs on your vehicles...they work together not seperately. The shock is there to dampen the springs, if he springs are not as stiff as theyre supposed to be then the vehicle is overdamped, too stiff and the car (or truck) is underdamped and will bounce and float. You can't blame all ride problems on the shocks...heck I've made a bigger difference at Ford's proving ground with tire pressure than with shocks. I've been at the proving ground in Romeo, MI and been almost done with a vehicle and had them then decide to change jounce bumpers or tires and we have to start all over.

Anyhow, I'm tired of typing.

Nick

 

I have Procomp shocks on my old truck, and I was VERY pleased with them. just my opinion.

 

Thanks for your input Nick. Thats why we have this site (to learn) from each other. Hopefully our opinions will help you as an engineer in designing great shocks. I can't speak for the rest, but I thought you gave alot of good info from the engineers standpoint. I think this is how products get better!

Thanks, Fitter

 

Hey no problem at all. I'm more than happy to share and I always try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things when it comes to our product. It's like anything else, we aren't the best at everything but Monroe built shocks are typically a good deal for the money (we know we have our issues). If you are unhappy, then TAKE IT BACK...we don't get negative feedback like I've gotten on here much unless you return it for warranty. Heck even if its out of warranty but it didn't meet your expectations, SEND IT BACK. We teardown and analyze most everything that comes back to us so we can learn from them...

PS, I think if you got an engineer from Bilstein, Tokiko, Sachs, or Arvin they'd likely say some of the same things I am. I know cause we've had engineers that have worked at more than one of the shock companies and basically speaking everyone struggles with the same issues....So keep complaining otherwise we'd never improve.

Thanks

 

PS, trust me for the money that Ford pays us for shocks you're lucky they don't fall off the vehicle the first 3 miles down the road....there's a HUGE markup.

 

they replaced them under warranty due to rust. Greattttttttttttt

 

That is fantastic customer service!!!

Russ

 

and still goin with a pair of rancho 5000s on the front of my truck, "no rust" "no leaks", soooo Idk why so many of you are having rust problems...