Been awhile since I have posted so I thought I would run my latest issue(s)through the forum. I bought a new 2007 F350 this past June right off the dealers lot. At that time I still had my 2003 and sadly just sold the 03 yesterday out of the two I think the 03 was a better truck. Right from day one I was not overly impressed with the front suspension and now going on 8 months I have confirmed my feelings. Since October I have noticed that at hitting a certain bump in our town that the front suspension bottomed out at 50km/h. Now as we have hit close to -45 the bottom out is worse at 20km/h the same bump the diff wants to join me in the cab, I have noticed as well that uneven pavement/brigde decks, frost heaves or sudden dips I get the after shock coming through the floor.It appears to me that there is only about an 1 1/2 to 2 inch of snubber clearence hardly enough space for the suspension to work properly in my opinion. It has the rancho shock package on it. Seems to me the colder it gets the worse the bottom out is.My thoughts are the shocks are not working properly are factory faulty and or the front coil springs are not able to support the front end weight(wrong rating). I do not bag on the truck as it's what pays the bills it has to be looked after. Has any body else run into this situation and how did you remedy it. I have spoke to ford about it but I am a little gunshy on walking into them with out some of my own research. Thanks Jeff

 

Maybe a leveling kit would help?

 

Is this what you are experiencing (it is a bulletin from Ford)?

Vibration/Hop at 40-48 MPH, Truucks with Trailer Hitch:
Some 2005-07 F-Super Duty trucks with long wheel base (over 156") may exhibit what is described as a hop on smooth or coarse road surfaces. Although Ford conciders this to be characteristic of trucks with a GVW of over 8500 pouns, some drivers may be more sensitive to the condition. There is a damper kit (P/N 5C3Z-5D008-A) available to correct the hop under the described conditions. It will not correct shimmy, harsh ride or vibration after hitting bumps. TSB #07-5-11.

 

Are you sure it's bottoming out ?? I have a 9' Fisher plow on my 06' F-350, 6.0,,the plow weighs around 900 to 1000 lbs, and I dont notice it !

 

ya i think that's one hell of a "bump", or you have something wrong there. I have an '07 F350 6.0 srw, and I carry a 1000lb Blizzard 810 plow on it, and I don't think it's ever bottomed out. I have stock suspension, and it's not even the heavier plow prep springs.

 

Yes it is bottoming out the snubber imprint on the diff plate are very visible. I do not have any hop or vibration at any speed. My truck is a crew cab SB 4x4 I have a cross box tool box in the back along with about an extra 500 lbs of steel usaully placed in the very back of the box. The way I have it loaded I feel it should shift some of the front weight off the front end. It is almost like the colder it gets the shocks fail ( springs ) and at 20km/h the smallest bump/pothole/road crack it bottoms out,tonight it is +4C (chinook)and it only bottom out once ( at 40 km/h ) as opposed to the trip in on the same road bottomed out 5 times at -28C. at 20km/h.

 

Your first thought was probably the right one. The springs are either reated wrong or the shocks are blown out. Check your spring rating and compare to the stock. You can call your local dealership to have them give you the rating. As for shocks, check what kind they are, oil or gas, adjustable or not. You might be able to adjust them. Call the manufacturer to confirm. Good luck.

 

I have just sent Rancho an e-mail and hope to have their comments on this soon I hope. I work with 3 other guys who run 2006-7-8's and they tell me they have yet to bottom out the front end,they run there trucks into the ground.

 

There's definetly something wrong here. Post back and let us know what rancho says.

 

I have experienced the same thing (front end) and I have a 2007 F350 4x4 with camper package. With the camper on I do not bottom out but without I do on certain bumps. My dealership has looked at he problem but have no thoughts I am anxious to hear what Rancho say.

 

You probably don't have Rancho shocks. You have "Rancho branded" shocks on your 2007 (FX4?) They are Ford shocks painted to look like Rancho shocks.

I've owned my 2007 F-250 over a year and have subjected it to some very jarring bumps, dips and potholes, and have not once bottomed out the suspension. Are you positive this is what you are feeling, or does the ride get so rough you think the suspension is bottoming out? (Snubber mark on the pinion doesn't mean it's bottoming out, the suspension bump stops are located out towards the wheels).

 

Unfortunately yes, your're truck is bottoming out. Ford just puts springs that are too soft on these trucks. I have the lightest configuration you can get in these trucks and had the snow plow package (with computer selected springs) and my truck was also bottoming out in the winter.

Luckily there's an easy fix... just swap out your stock springs for heavier rated ones. Before I put the DR 2.5" kit on my truck I upgraded from 5200# coil springs to 6000# ones. The ride was a little firmer but better and I didn't have any more issues with bottoming out. There is a whole thread dedicated to this on another forum, this is where I got my information and solution from:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/lc/lc.ph...ution-65412%2F

 

I agree. Bad shocks wont cause a bottoming out condition. Bottoming out comes from springs that are not strong enough to carry the weight of the truck. I would recommend HD springs or some sort of air ride.

 

I am bottoming out,this is a full bore diff bang wanting to join me in the cab. I have traveled the same roads with my 03 and not once did the diff hit the snubbers both trucks were set up pretty much the same in respect to load and truck. As I have said in a previous reply I don't bag on my truck and it is the FX4. Seems the colder it gets this front end is failing, cold fatigued iron will not last long. I am going to approach ford on the rating issue very soon as far as Rancho goes I feel a few more grey hairs coming on board before I get their reply. Greatly appreciate the input on this.

 

Yea, while you do need to replace the shocks with something besides what they came with, I agree the springs are the culprit. Maybe you can get Ford to put some 6K springs on it under warranty?