If that is the case, then I don't know why the OP has an issue(I guess all personnel preference)? I DO NOT feel that the 5100 are harsh at all. And I went from 10yr old stock shocks with 115k miles on them to the 5100, so yes they ride changed a good deal and definitely firmed up, but definitely not harsh to me.

 

You are correct, it is a personal preference.
For years I ran our monotube on my Jeep, after running the 9000XL on the same Jeep. It took a while to get used to the ride of a monotube. I then made the switch back to the adjustable 9000's and now I like them on a firmer setting.

 

I gained approximately 2.5 inches of lift from my LEVELED height, so 4" total from stock!! Not only does it ride really stiff the tops of my spindles hit the coils when going over bumps and makes a bunch of banging sounds and have my UCA at a very extreme angle. I will try adjusting my tire pressure but I don't want to use that to get the ride half way decent and destroy my tires that are only about a year old. When I installed my leveling kit I did not require a cam kit to get the front aligned but that only raised me 2 inches, now I'm at 4?? I understand the difference of a monotube and a regular shock but I don't think something is right here. I'm really tempted to put my GoPro on the frame near the tire and take a ride around the block to see what the heck is going on down there.

In the directions that came with the shocks it said that shocks were shipped in a "locked" position and to rotate the shaft counterclockwise to unlock/extend the shaft. To me they did not look compressed or "locked" position but I did rotate the shaft a few turns to the left. The shaft did not extend any more than it was and it appeared close to the same length as the stock shock.

I'm having Mineke do my alignment and I don't think they are incompetent. The camber is WAY off (negative) as well as the caster. I'm actually worried that this cam kit won't give them enough movement to get the camber back to 0!

I'm not sure if this would make a difference or not but my truck is a 2004 F150 Supercab with 5.5ft bed with the 5.4L engine. Maybe it's GVW is less than other trucks because its shorter WB?? All I know is that this really has the potential to turn into a headache. I didn't keep the stock shocks because they were pretty bad. So now I'm looking at maybe having to buy two more shocks, remove the 7000's, install the new ones, get it aligned AGAIN, and then return the 7000's?! I don't know where the hell I'm going to find the time to do all this again, it was hard enough finding the time to do it the first time and had to plan it out months in advance. I went with the 7000's because the 9000's (which I've heard great things about) were WAY out of my budget. I'd have to take another deployment to be able to afford those!

 

Are there any Rancho facilities in the Tampa area??

 

I'm not sure on your setup, seems like since you lifted it so much that might have affected the ride. On the bilstein, to raise the truck it compresses the stock spring. From common sense, the more you compress the stock spring, the harsher your ride will be. That is one reason I did the 1" over the 2" setting on the Bilstein.

Since I only raised my truck 1", I would assume my ride is not nearly as harsh as yours...........................

 

There weren't any options as far as how much lift I wanted. Only one choice for the lower spring perch to go. I installed it as per the included instructions. Now that I think about it I'm really wondering how I ended up with 4" of lift????

 

Wait a minute you are running a level on top of this? Is that what I am reading here? Or is the 2" from the OLD level? Just want to clarify this.

 

No, the leveling kit is removed. The 2.5" is higher than the old level height, which was 2" higher than stock. So from OEM height these shocks raised me 4.5 inches! That doesn't seem right.

 

Ok thanks for that clarification!!

 

So you're saying instead of getting 2.5" of lift you gained 4.5" of lift?

If that's actually true, that's why your ride is so harsh. It because you have everything at severe angle. If you gained 4.5" it sounds like something during the install went wrong or if you're 4x2 you ordered shocks for a 4x4 hence gaining the extra lift.

Post some pictures of the assembly installed as well as the balljoint angles.

 

I'm with Pizza.

4.5" of lift from a setup that is supposed to give you 2.5"? Either install error, wrong parts, or something is not right....

I don't think your problem is the shock firmness......................

 

Agree with pizzaman and Hawk, pics please!

 

Just to clarify, this is a 4WD?

 

2wd or 4wd, 4" of lift like that will ruin every part of your front end and I'd imagine the ride would be insanely harsh.

That's crazy. You removed the spacer, but got 4" of lift? As others are saying, somethings not right. Those new Ranchos should bring you up about 2" from stock and are intended to be used instead of a level. If you're 2wd, the only thing I can see causing this is you have 4wd length shocks as pizzaman suggested.

Also, don't waste money on getting it aligned right now. You don't want to drive it with a 4" lift like that. It needs to get sorted out, then get the alignment so you don't have to pay twice. I'd also personally recommend a different shop that specializes in trucks. I've been there done that, wasted money.

You shouldn't raise the front end more than 2.5" with a spacer or taller shock.

 

So when I was looking for part numbers to order shocks I was getting conflicting numbers so I came here to clarify them and was told this in another thread.


The whole 4wd/2wd mix up would make sense as to why I got so much lift