I have a 1994 F150 extended cab 4x4. It is all original, no lift kits, nothing, but it rides rougher than I think it should. I feel every little bump and piece of gravel that I run over. Id this normal for a 4x4? Does anyone have any suggestions? Will a lift kit help or anything of that sort?

 

How old are the shocks on the truck? Do you have the correct air pressure in the tires? Your truck will probably never ride like a Lincoln Continental, but should be a pretty good ride.

Nathan

 

Nathan
The shocks are the originals as far as I know. The air pressure I usually run 32 PSI. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

A simple test for the shocks is to bounce the front or rear of the truck. If shocks are good, the body will come back up and settle quickly. If the body bounces a time or two more, you may need to replace the shocks. How many miles are on the truck?

 

The mileage is 95,000.

 

At 95,000 I would be very suspect of the shocks.
But Nathan gave you a good way to check the shocks.
BJ 77 F150 4x4 400M/C6

 

Steve,
Its probably shocks, and the fact that full size 4x4s run rough anyway. The earlier versions of the TTB Ford 4x4s had an ongoing problem with the front springs prematurely weakening and causing the front to droop, Ford listened and by 94 they were installing there front suspensions with a higher spring rate. Lift kits will give you an even stiffer ride, but can improve other aspects of your steering and suspenion. The only modification that I have found to improve rideability and handeling performance both are the Rancho 9000 shocks, used with the front and rear in cab adjuster. This gives you a huge amount of adjustability in your ride comfort and steering performance options. You really have to drive in a truck that has the system installed to see just how well it works, and how much the settings affect performance characteristics . They have held up well under my F250 even through an entire season of Competetive Mud Bogg Racing. And they drasticly improved the notoriousely poor ride quality of the 3/4 ton. Steering and handeling, (especialy sitting as high as my rig is set up)durring winding mountain roads also improved greatly,(you can really firm up the front so that it wont wash out durring down hill turns then fine tune it so that it isnt packing up through washboard bumps. Its got to be the best shock sytem on the market for full size 4x4 trucks. They are a bit expensive,(about$400), with the compressor, shocks, gauges, etc. but they are very well built, and have a great track record. One concerne is that Rancho is starting to take a hard line stance on warranty issues if the shock has even the slightest visual appearance of off road carnage,(Hell thats what they were designed for),"oops" I better get off the soap box. Later,
Jeff

 

heat the springs up with a torch

 

go buy 1'' coil spacers. that'll fix the ride. they're made of nice soft rubber to cushion the bumps

 

Nothing better than giving advice to a thread that is 10 years old. I'm sure the op was holding out until today to get that special advice. :/flipoff

 

Bad socks wont make it rough, it will make it bouncy. Sounds like stiff springs and over inflated tires.

 

yeah, i wear a fresh clean pair everyday, and my car rides fine
:flipoff:

 

Lol finally a typo! Not bad since I post from my phone and it was entertaining, not to mension informative. But I dont wear socks much, I like my sandals.

 

I just noticed this thread is 10yrs old!