Rancho shock 'thud' noise?

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 5:00 pm

After I put on the front Rancho's, I've picked up a noise..
The best way to describe it it, take a shock, loosen the bolt, and shake the crap out of it .

It sounds like the shock is loose, BUT we have gone back under the truck twice, and a friend at the tier shop that put on my Revos went under it today.. no one can shack anything by hand, all the bolts came up as tight, and if you bounch the truck(the little it will move!) it doesnt make any noise.. ONLY seems to make it if you are moving forward and hit a sharp bump..

The only notes the shocks had for this truck is to mount them shaft down and with no boot (both for clearances to the drive line). There is a side note about trimming a 'snubber' but I didnt see any that were in danger of making contact with the shocks..

Anyone else come across this on Rancho (or other) shocks.. I'm wondering if the shock isnt fitting tight on the shock bolt and needs a shim, but Rancho doesnt list it as needing any..

Thanks

24digger · Post by **24digger** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 6:58 pm

I have ranchos also and I noticed the samething. I was thinking maybe the sleeve in the shock was a little to big. But crawling under truck I would shake the shock and they wouldn't move at all.

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 7:10 pm

24digger wrote:I have ranchos also and I noticed the samething. I was thinking maybe the sleeve in the shock was a little to big. But crawling under truck I would shake the shock and they wouldn't move at all.

Yep.. sounds the same..
Tried shacking, and twisting the shock with no visible effect..
When I took it by the shop, Randy (tech) tried shaking it, and for one quick second we THOUGHT we heard the thud sound, but we couldnt duplicate it a second time. Between the two of us, all we can come up with is the I/D of the sleeve is bigger than stock and the bolt is sloppy.. He thinks, if thats the problem, that we can find a shim that fills the gap..

Decided to give up for the night and work on it when the sun comes back up

From what I can tell, the drivers side does it the worst, so I'm probably going to pull that wheel back off in the morning, pull the shock, and compare the size of the sleeves with the stock shocks.
I'll post whatever I find ...

kf6kmx · Post by **kf6kmx** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 5:38 pm

Ok, heres what we found i daylight.
Pulled one of the tires and loosened the shock.. The bolt was the right size in the shaft, BUT the HEAD of the Rancho is over 1/8" narrower. As soon as we loosened it a little we were able to slide it back and forth inside the braket enough to recreate the noise.

A trip to Home Depot for 1/2" Stainless flat washers, and a small hammer (to insert them) later and the noise is gone!

If anyone else has this, that should probably stop the noise.

Also noticed that the bottom bracket on the front (on the a-frame) can actually be BENT (together/apart) some

without a lot of effort, possibly eliminating the need for the washer 'shim' at the bottom mount, but the top is in the more solid framing and no way is it going to bend.

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 9:37 am

kf6kmx wrote: The only notes the shocks had for this truck is to mount them shaft down and with no boot (both for clearances to the drive line). There is a side note about trimming a 'snubber' but I didnt see any that were in danger of making contact with the shocks..

Anyone else come across this on Rancho (or other) shocks.. I'm wondering if the shock isnt fitting tight on the shock bolt and needs a shim, but Rancho doesnt list it as needing any..

Thanks

I have the RSX's on my Crew and they mount shaft side up, and the boots do fit with no clearance problems. I haven't noticed any new noises after the install, but maybe my RSX's are a little different than the 5000's or 9,000's.

Steve

gocntry · Post by **gocntry** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 7:37 am

kf6kmx,

I Had This "Thud" Noise Driving Me Crazy On My Truck.....Read Your Fix, Went To Lowes And Got Hardened Washers That Went Over The Ends Of The Shock Shaft, Did It On The Front Upper & Lower, And The Rear Lower Mounts And "WOW....The Noise Magically Went Away"

.

Thanks For The Advise

Jeff

Pauleo · Post by **Pauleo** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 4:25 pm

I guess I have this same problem with my Rancho's. So what you guys are saying is that you put a 1/2 thick washer on each side of the shock? Between the shock head & the shock mount? And this was done to the top only on yours, Scott?

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:04 pm

I recently had that same noise, but it turned out to be one of my right side upper control arm bushings that deteriorated and began making a thud noise going over bumps and R&R tracks. After the dealer replaced both upper bushings the noise was gone. I have the Rancho RSX shocks and have had no problems.

Steve

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:01 pm

And for only a few dollars more

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:25 pm

Just out of curiosity, has anyone contacted Rancho and let them know that their product needs these washers to work properly on our trucks? The reason I ask is because I had a similar experience with Magnaflow as their cat back exhaust kit was marketed as a direct bolt on...problem was that the kit they sent had only holes in the flange on the intermediate pipe...our trucks have studs pressed into the intermediate pipe, thus removal of the stock exhaust results in removal of the necessary studs needed to bolt the new exhaust on. They recognized the problem and said that all of the kits they ship for our application will be sent with the needed additional hardware.

My point is that maybe if the company was alerted to the problem we are having with the shocks, they might include necessary hardware with the purchase of the shocks so we don't have to run around looking for additional parts to make them fit correctly.

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:30 pm

It would be nice if they actually listened to our input

I had tolerance problems with my Daystar shackles and wrote them. What my resonse was that they try to produce a product that has tolerances built in to work with the truck manufacturers tolerances or lack there of, if that makes any sense

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:44 pm

f9k9 wrote:It would be nice if they actually listened to our input

I had tolerance problems with my Daystar shackles and wrote them. What my resonse was that they try to produce a product that has tolerances built in to work with the truck manufacturers tolerances or lack there of, if that makes any sense

I was pretty shocked when Magnaflow actually held a correspondance with me... And I was really surprised that they admitted their fault and corrected it. Did you try to contact Rancho as well as Daystar?

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:48 pm

By the way, according to another reply to this thread the problem is corrected by the addition of 1/2'' washers... surely that isnt a measure of thickness. That would be one hell of a washer!

F9K9 · Post by **F9K9** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:51 pm

I went with the Bilstiens so, I never contacted Rancho, Rusty. I just think it is a shameless problem today with manufacturers and tolerances.

jeff024 · Post by **jeff024** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:12 am

I have ranchos and mine work just fine

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:19 am

jeff024 wrote:I have ranchos and mine work just fine

I have never had a problem with mine either!

Steve

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:25 am

killian96ss wrote:
jeff024 wrote:I have ranchos and mine work just fine
I have never had a problem with mine either!

Steve

OK, so not everyone has had a problem needing correction using washers...I dont have Rancho's or any other aftermarket shocks for that matter I was just under the impression that many of you that have used Rancho shocks have had trouble with them. I would very much like to get rid of my stockers soon though and this potential problem is/was steering me away from going with Rancho RS 5000's.

Pauleo · Post by **Pauleo** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Rusty Shackleford wrote:By the way, according to another reply to this thread the problem is corrected by the addition of 1/2'' washers... surely that isnt a measure of thickness. That would be one hell of a washer!

Yeah. Sorry.

That was my post. My brain didn't mean what my fingers typed!

I have had that thump/clunk noise. I have added the washers, had my truck to the dealership 3 or 4 times now, supposedly had it fixed, but the noise keeps coming back. I am begining to think it has something to do with one of the lube points. After I get the truck back from being "fixed" at the dealership, it won't make the noise all that bad. I imagine they would have greased it. Especially after doing ball joints??? Then after a day or two of driving, the noise comes back louder & louder. Like the grease has worn away or something. That's all I can come up with. I need to get a grease gun, find all 11 grease points & lube it myself to prove my theory.

Having said all of that, (

) I now believe my Ranchos were a fine investment and wouldn't have a problem recommending them.

(Ha! I managed to stay on topic after all!

)

SONOMA915 · Post by **SONOMA915** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:35 pm

Can someone give me the part numbers for front and rear rancho rs5000 shocks. Thanks

killian96ss · Post by **killian96ss** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:35 pm

SONOMA915 wrote:Can someone give me the part numbers for front and rear rancho rs5000 shocks. Thanks

Rancho shocks for 83-04 S10 4WD

RS5000 / front RS 5123, rear RS 5124 (Good)

RSX17000 / front RSX 17000, rear RSX 17001 (Better)

RS9000X (adjustable) / front RS 99123, rear RS 99124 (Best)

I have the RSX's and they work great!

The Bilsteins are also a great option and are better than the Rancho RS5000's, but the RSX17000's and RS9000X's are better than the Bilsteins IMHO.

Steve

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:51 pm

I've had rancho rs5000's for a month or so. they fit snugly into all mounting locations and required no additional hardware. and I have heard no such noise.

*Edit: make that two months

heyspike · Post by **heyspike** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:03 pm

I ordered my Rancho 5000's today, Also put on 4 Pirelli Scorpion AT's --Not a bad looking tire. Set of 4 installed for $350.00

S-10CREWCAB.NET

Rancho shock 'thud' noise?

Rancho shock 'thud' noise?

Re: Rancho shock 'thud' noise?