Here's my new flashlight, at least I won't have to scratch it up changing my shocks, I just replaced them a month ago,,,,98

 

Hey where did you get you flashlight "clamps" or "mounts" if you don't mind????

I have only seen them in a GALS mag.......police and rescue gear.

Let me know!

 

Got them at a store called GI Joes in Oregon. Fry's electronics supposedly has them too. Weirdest thing is they aren't even on the maglight website???,,,,98

 

anywhere online I can snag a set for my 4-cell????????? Would go great right on the floor in front of the seat!

 

Ok I knew if I waited long enough that you guys would stop givin me a hard time and tell me the truth. Seriously though I only asked as I have never touched the suspension on a vehicle, a little engine maintenance, and brake jobs, maybe some minor engine work. that's all so i always like to know what I'm getting into before I try to tackle it. I have a chiltons however I have more than once found inacuracey's in these book so I posted here to get some input.

I also would like to know where you got that flashlight mount setup, could come in handy!

 

After a suggestion from a member here, I am going to move it off the pillar. He had a point about it for sure, about it coming loose in an accident. Hitting something would be bad enough, getting hit in the head with a good 3 pounds of aircraft grade aluminum isn't fun I'd bet, LOL! Finding a new, less dangerous location is next on my list. The Fry's(outpost) site has them for about the price I paid, about 5 bucks or so.,,,,98

 

I was thinking of using it to hide the gap at the bottom of my expy console!

 

Ok, I called today and they were in so I went and picked them up. I did spray down the nuts tonight with WD-40, as I plan to replace them in the morning. Hopefully that will make the removal of the old shocks a little easier. Honestley now that I see the new shocks this looks like it will take less than an hour to install both. You guys a terible, rent a special tool LOL anyways i'll let you know what i think after I finish it in the morning.

 

Ok You all were verey misleading! I read through different posts of people that have done this and not one of the sizes you guys said worked! Eitherway once I figured out what sizes each was I got both fronts done in about an hour total. For the record an F150 with 6000GVWR uses 3/4" on top and 1/2" on the bottom, also because i sprayed down all the nuts the night before with WD-40 all the nuts came right off with no additional leverage needed Yes the sizes may be in metric however that would be a 19 and a 12 or 13 for the bottom, I found these to work extremely well. Thanks for the misleading information. I keep that in mind next time i go to try something new. JK oh well love these new shocks rides like new again

 

speedy,
sorry to hear you got some bad info...

Question for you: Did you have to compress the RS5000's?
They took an hour to install? Did that include jacking the truck up,
taking the wheels off and everything?

You said you like the ride, back to original...
Is it "firmer" or what? Just curious, I think those shocks are pretty good for the price. Edelbrock's and the 9000s seem pretty high priced for a 4x2 that doesn't do offroading or serious driving.

Did you look into the Rancho RSXs? They sound pretty good.

Later,
PAUL

 

Paul,

I had to compress them part way to get them in, and yes that hour included getting the jack out jacking it up, putting the stands under it, lowering it and putting the tools, jack and jack stands away. However I did not remove the tires, found that they really didn't get in the way. Compressing them was not a problem just took a little effort is all. I did look at the RSX and the 9000X prior to going with the 5000. I went with the 5000 for a few different reasons. One being cost and I know that the RSX would have been cheaper however the RSX is a self adjusting shock and my use is strictly roads maybe an occasional dirt road. This same reason ruled out the 9000X as I don't need the flexibility that it offers. The 5000 is firmer than stock and gives a great ride and a solid feel. Honestly I think my truck rides better today than the day i bought it. Also from my understanding the RSX is a Rancho version of the Monroe Sensatrac. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that if I am going to put a sensatrac on my truck I'd save a few bucks and get the Monroe. As for the misinformation, it's over with and that's why I posted the sizes that I used and had no problems with at all. Also If anyone is going to do a shock install definately invest in a can of WD-40 adn spray down the nuts the night before. Makes breaking them loose a piece of cake!

 

Speedy,

Thanks for the info...I'll lean towards the 5000s.

Just got my new Dunlop tires so I'll be putting those on shortly.
I'll see how the ride is and then buy the shocks.

 

wow! what a thread sorry i missed it early!

great stories!

you don't need to jack the truck up to put shocks on, rancho 5000's are not gas charged so there is no need to "Compress" them, all the ford original shock nuts and bolts are metric and all the rancho parts are sae.

and no one here gave him advice on how to put the boots on or properly tighten the upper bolt and squeeze the bushings just right! or that there is a bolt welded on to the top (under the bushings) on the stock shocks that you can put a wrench on to keep the shock from spinning....

tsk tsk tsk...

well i'm glad he got them in! good luck with the rears, i do believe that they are slightly more difficult than the fronts.

 

HMCQ,

I wish you'd come along earlier as well, I did figure out the bolt on the factory shock to keep it from turning. I actually looked for it as I saw it on the Rancho and figured it out prior to actually starting to work on the old shocks. I did notice that the boots don't fit very well through the opening for the shock to be installed through. Also I am still not totally sure if the bushings are properly squeezed, I simply torqued them down after the bushings were about 1/2 the original thickness. If this is not correct please let me know so that i can correct it ASAP.

Either way that was what I was so iritated about earlier and I honestly started LMAO when I unbolted the bolts on the bottom of the factory shocks that everyone said would be dificult to remove and they came right off with just a little bit of effort. Especially since people were saying you need alot of leverage or an impact to remove them. I think I wasted at least 5 minutes laughing about that one!

Oh well it's done and over with now, so what advise could you offer me on the rears as I know they will not be as simple due to location. I plan to do them in the next few months and will take all the advice I can get, that is if it is good information. Unlike the 18mm nuts on the top of the factory that were actually like a 19.

Thanks anyway

 

no prob!

the rear shocks have the same "Helper" bolt as the front, there is a little hole that the wrench goes through.

drop the spare and move it out of the way. no need to jack the truck up or remove the wheels. lay on your back and slide on in and look up to where the tops of the shocks go you will see a odd shaped hole where you can insert the helper wrench. the bottom bolts are cake the tops however are a pain, make sure you wd-40 them up real good the night before and you will need a deep socket, sorry i don't know the correct size.

the rancho boots will need to be pulled to about 4 inches from the bottom of the shock to look decent.

tighten both front and back to where the bushings just squeeze out slightly larger than the washer. too tight and they will break, too loose and they will shred to bits.

tighten the bottoms (front and back) as tight as you can get them, they like to come loose and you will hear a knocking.

have fun and good luck!