F450

[trfield58]

I replaced my shocks with Bilsteins. When I pulled the Ranchos off, 3 out of the 4 stayed at compressed and NEVER extended on their own. The truck had 20K on the odometer. My 2011 was the same.

[atom ant]

I'm confused - standard shocks don't provide lift, they buffer movement. I can't say for Bilsteins which may be gas charged, but a standard (even high end) shock comes in the box compressed. Its all about the resistance moving them in and out, with the greater resistance on extension rather than compression.

If shocks were designed to provide lift, we would be breaking off the shock bolts because they would be taking the brunt of the impact. Shocks absorb the compression and provide the greatest resistance on extension to limit the rebound.

Anyway - I know Bilstein has a big hype - but you may be pre-condemning these Ranchos. The only way a young shock really fails prematurely is when it loses it's oil through the seal.

[johnboytoo]

well, when my grand daughter can play them like an accordion

[lwg]

Originally Posted by atom ant

I'm confused - standard shocks don't provide lift, they buffer movement. I can't say for Bilsteins which may be gas charged, but a standard (even high end) shock comes in the box compressed. Its all about the resistance moving them in and out, with the greater resistance on extension rather than compression.

If shocks were designed to provide lift, we would be breaking off the shock bolts because they would be taking the brunt of the impact. Shocks absorb the compression and provide the greatest resistance on extension to limit the rebound.

Anyway - I know Bilstein has a big hype - but you may be pre-condemning these Ranchos. The only way a young shock really fails prematurely is when it loses it's oil through the seal.

Shocks only provide a damper to counteract the springs. Without shocks you get crazy bounce when going over bumps. The shocks generally are loaded with some level of positive pressure, thus they are difficult to collapse (particularly when installing them). Also if you pull all the shocks off your truck you will notice everything sits ever so slightly lower, albeit maybe 1/4" or less.

A shock doesn't have to leak to be bad. The easiest test on most cars is the "bounce test". If you push down on the bumper or corner and the vehicle goes right back up to the original height without bouncing yours shocks likely aren't totally shot. If it "bounces" several times they are shot.

There's much more to it than this, but I won't get into that at this point. I used to customer build Bilstein 7100's for my off-road trucks thus I have more "intimate" knowledge than most. You haven't lived until you've completely destroyed a shock blowing oil all over your truck while offroading!

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by lwg

A shock doesn't have to leak to be bad. The easiest test on most cars is the "bounce test". If you push down on the bumper or corner and the vehicle goes right back up to the original height without bouncing yours shocks likely aren't totally shot. If it "bounces" several times they are shot.

hahaha! If you can push down and bounce that F350, then I'm not enough of a man to argue with you!

I just remember when I turned a wrench 30 years ago shocks were the most oversold and under-needed scams that was out there.

[superduty glampers]

I installed the left front shock and coil spring for over a year on the super duty the rancho's weight more then the black ones. I asked the vendor how to tell if one is bad he said "they leak ".I don't know if it's the same if it's warn out.

[Blue Dogs]

Wouldn't worn out shocks at 10-20K miles be covered under warranty?

[trfield58]

Wouldn't worn out shocks at 10-20K miles be covered under warranty?

Possibly but they would replace with the same horrible shocks. I suppose if you got another 10-20k out of them, it would be worth it but I chose to replace on my own.

[johnboytoo]

No, they are considered a wear item, like tires....

[atom ant]

Tires would be warranted if they wore out at 20,000 miles.

I believe if the Dealer could show the shocks failed, they would be warranted too. If I recall, I had some replaced by Ford under warranty on a prior vehicle. I think the Service Manager just called and told me they were replacing them under warranty (probably oil leaking out).

[johnboytoo]

Originally Posted by atom ant

Tires would be warranted if they wore out at 20,000 miles.

I believe if the Dealer could show the shocks failed, they would be warranted too. If I recall, I had some replaced by Ford under warranty on a prior vehicle. I think the Service Manager just called and told me they were replacing them under warranty (probably oil leaking out).

re, the shocks, yes I decided I didn't want the fake rancho's many others have swapped out, so I went with adjustables...

Guess I need to go back to ford then my tires are not warranted by ford - ford is passing it along to the tire mfg...

Just yesterday I agreed to pay $247 for half the difference of the prorating by michelin... they ordered me 4 new 20" michelins that are being replaced @ 23k right now
well, I guess they are warranted if warranted means prorated for use...but there is some out of pocket cost for me.

[lwg]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

re, the shocks, yes I decided I didn't want the fake rancho's many others have swapped out, so I went with adjustables...

Guess I need to go back to ford then my tires are not warranted by ford - ford is passing it along to the tire mfg...

Just yesterday I agreed to pay $247 for half the difference of the prorating by michelin... they ordered me 4 new 20" michelins that are being replaced @ 23k right now
well, I guess they are warranted if warranted means prorated for use...but there is some out of pocket cost for me.

Part of why I swapped out the factory tires with only 4K miles on them. With the Toyo A/T's I've got about 25K on them and should get another 20K easily. They are actually warrantied for 50K even on the heavy Super Duty.

[TexasRver]

I agree that it would take a manly man to 'bounce' a fender on a F350. The way I check on my shocks is for my wife to drive the truck while I drive alongside and observe all four shocks for the telltale wheel bounce. My 2000 F350 with 193K miles that I just got rid of, still had original shocks and they were still good (confirmed by a real mechanic much, much smarter than I am).

[lwg]

Originally Posted by TexasRver

I agree that it would take a manly man to 'bounce' a fender on a F350. The way I check on my shocks is for my wife to drive the truck while I drive alongside and observe all four shocks for the telltale wheel bounce. My 2000 F350 with 193K miles that I just got rid of, still had original shocks and they were still good (confirmed by a real mechanic much, much smarter than I am).

Real men hang themselves under the truck to watch the suspension when travelling down the road!

BTW, I'm not a real man by this definition!

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by lwg

Real men hang themselves under the truck to watch the suspension when travelling down the road!

BTW, I'm not a real man by this definition!

Two things I will never do,

• Drive next to my wife driving the truck!
• Hang under the truck while my wife is driving!

I'll just replace the shocks

[TexasRver]

Thanks to you guys, I started off the day with laughter. It is the best medicine!