Shocks, What Shocks?
 

So I have just over 6000 miles on my 2017 F250 diesel and I go under the truck today to do the first oil change and this what my Rancho shocks look like on both sides of the truck. Nice! Right. I will see what the dealer will do for me. I think I will need an upgrade. They look totally blown out with the boot cover melted from heat build up.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7689ca6329.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f07f2ff3d2.jpg

Wow, they must have gotten pretty hot to melt that plastic boot. I knew this was going to be a thread about the "Rancho" shocks before I even clicked on it since they have a very bad rep on here.
I would see if you could put on some real Rancho 9000s or another quality shock and pay the difference instead of putting the same thing back on.

Rancho needs to stop letting Ford use their name for these shocks because it's not doing Rancho any favors.

Wow that's disturbing....... Gonna have to keep an eye on mine.


Is your vehicle stock??

I'm not sure any shocks would have survived the heat source that melted them.

I would like to know the heat source.

There is nothing on the front end close enough to the shocks to heat them up that much.

My guess is the damage was caused by the combination of super hot fluid leaking out and the shock body getting hot from running dry. You can see how the hot fluid burned the paint off as it was running down the shock body. These things are cycling constantly and will heat up if there is not enough fluid to cool them.

I wish Rancho had the 9000's for the stack truck but doesn't appear they do yet

Me too! That was my first guess.

The truck is totally stock. No lift, stock tires, we did a far bit of gravel and wash board driving but at very moderate speeds in Death Valley. There is no heat source other than the shock getting hot and self destructing. I know these shocks are nothing to write home about but I would not have thought that driving 10 to 15 mph on gravel roads would have done this. Time for upgrade I guess.

Did you check out the rear shocks too?

Rancho does have the 9000's available for the front F-350 but not for the rear.

Driving over washboards will not cause that. If the shocks get hot they will just start to fade.

First time I have seen a shock look like it took that much heat. On the lower picture it looks like oil trace in the area. Possibly seal failures with loss of fluid or maybe lack of adequate fluid from manufacturing?
Maybe some improper components during assembly.

Almost looks like the one shock had a blow torch taken to it.

Obviously they can and did. The seals failed and the friction inside, without oil in there, caused enough heat to melt the covers and burn off the paint. The engine nor the brake calipers did that damage.

I agree. When mine blew out it was only the gas side (on 2 of 3 blown... one had both the gas and hydraulic seals blown) but these blew out the hydraulic seals too and the friction from running dry likely caused the heat. Yikes. In the FX4 thread there was a member calling Bilstein to see if they had a 4600 or 5100 available for the 17's yet. That's what I would suggest the OP of this thread do as well. If not, you could get them replaced at the dealer under warranty to buy some time until the aftermarket catches up on the 2017's.

On a positive note, the 2017's ride so nicely that you didn't notice that both your front shocks were now paper weights!