Best 20 minute upgrade? Sumo Springs

[Racket]

SSR-141-40 | SumoSprings Rear for Ford Ranger | Left/Right Pair | 1000 (lb) Capacity at 50% Compression | Made in the USA https://a.co/d/0Uda95d

The description says the Sumos are ‎11 x 8 x 5 inches. Are they really 11 inches tall? Pretty sure the factory ones are way shorter, but that would explain how they are in contact with the springs always. I'm curious of the effect on the multi leaf Tremor springs vs. the monoleaf with essentially more compression?

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[MIBuckeye]

The description says the Sumos are ‎11 x 8 x 5 inches. Are they really 11 inches tall? Pretty sure the factory ones are way shorter, but that would explain how they are in contact with the springs always. I'm curious of the effect on the multi leaf Tremor springs vs. the monoleaf with essentially more compression?

Dude, buy em and check for yourself. No risk 30 day guarantee. No one will be able to describe the feel for you. They work. The feel great unloaded. They prevent squat with trailer.

 

[Racket]

I had to go back and view a bunch of videos detailing the Sumos; Super springs claims they are a maintenance free air bag type of accessory - it makes sense the thing will be in constant contact if so.

I guess I hadn't grasped the design concept fully.

In my case if I'm gaining a nominal amount of height with the springs I've purchased from the UK I doubt I'm going to have issues using them in spite of the overall increase in thickness - I'm sticking to the blue (light truck) ones. Does everyone with the stock springs observe the sumosprings touching all the time or is there any gap at rest?

 

[MIBuckeye]

I had to go back and view a bunch of videos detailing the Sumos; Super springs claims they are a maintenance free air bag type of accessory - it makes sense the thing will be in constant contact if so.

I guess I hadn't grasped the design concept fully.

In my case if I'm gaining a nominal amount of height with the springs I've purchased from the UK I doubt I'm going to have issues using them in spite of the overall increase in thickness - I'm sticking to the blue (light truck) ones. Does everyone with the stock springs observe the sumosprings touching all the time or is there any gap at rest?

Touch all the time. Put away youtube and just buy em. Why so indecisive? There is no risk.

 

[Grumpaw]

On my 2 wheel drive there is about one inch of clearance between spring and Sumo when running empty/no load. When I attach our travel trailer the Sumo comes in contact, and it gives a much smoother ride....no "jarring" when under load.

 

[adamweisner]

The description says the Sumos are ‎11 x 8 x 5 inches. Are they really 11 inches tall? Pretty sure the factory ones are way shorter, but that would explain how they are in contact with the springs always. I'm curious of the effect on the multi leaf Tremor springs vs. the monoleaf with essentially more compression?

Hey man Adam from SuperSprings International here. Sorry for the confusion those are the shipping dimensions, not the spring. The spring is 4” tall. Stick with blue if you’re not always loaded up. If you need more help you can call / text me 208-449-9506 or email [email protected]

 

[Racket]

Hey man Adam from SuperSprings International here. Sorry for the confusion those are the shipping dimensions, not the spring. The spring is 4” tall. Stick with blue if you’re not always loaded up. If you need more help you can call / text me 208-449-9506 or email [email protected]

Thanks Adam! I've never seen a pair on a 5G Ranger specifically, 4 inches doesn't sound like a taller bumpstop. Since the videos of other trucks installs show some with full time contact I'm going to presume at full compression it's not different than hitting the factory bumpstops.

My concern was potential unwanted effects at full compression as opposed to the factory design, but understanding the 'progressive' nature of the Sumos is what helped me pull the trigger and order a pair of blues(at Autoanything).

Nice when a manufacturer pops into our little forum.

Edit: found this image of the factory bumpstop next to the Sumo

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/sumo-springs.7751/post-150933

 

[adamweisner]

Thanks Adam! I've never seen a pair on a 5G Ranger specifically, 4 inches doesn't sound like a taller bumpstop. Since the videos of other trucks installs show some with full time contact I'm going to presume at full compression it's not different than hitting the factory bumpstops.

My concern was potential unwanted effects at full compression as opposed to the factory design, but understanding the 'progressive' nature of the Sumos is what helped me pull the trigger and order a pair of blues(at Autoanything).

Nice when a manufacturer pops into our little forum.

Rock and roll. Auto anything is a great customer. Yeah, those blue SumoSprings can be compressed to 70% of their original height - so you'll get tons of travel. That factory jounce is a much denser material.

Appreciate your business. We're a locally operated and American-made private company - so I stay pretty active on all forums and threads to understand what folks are experiencing with our company and products. I've got a google alert set up daily that tells me any time we're mentioned - and yours popped up. So I signed up and came in to comment. I'm not a Ranger guy, although I did have a 71 Camper Special, and I my daily driver is 2016 F250.

 

[quangdog]

Huge shout out to @adamweisner at SuperSprings. I decided to pull the trigger on a set of these SumoSprings for an upcoming road trip to haul a project car several hundred miles with my son, and Adam absolutely went above and beyond in helping me make sure I'd have the springs in time for our trip. Fantastic customer service, and I can't wait for them to arrive so I can get them thrown onto the truck before we pull out of town.

I'll come back with an update on how they affect ride quality with a loaded trailer after our trip this weekend.

 

[Grumpaw]

Huge shout out to @adamweisner at SuperSprings. I decided to pull the trigger on a set of these SumoSprings for an upcoming road trip to haul a project car several hundred miles with my son, and Adam absolutely went above and beyond in helping me make sure I'd have the springs in time for our trip. Fantastic customer service, and I can't wait for them to arrive so I can get them thrown onto the truck before we pull out of town.

I'll come back with an update on how they affect ride quality with a loaded trailer after our trip this weekend.

Start soaking your bump stop bolts NOW with some Break Free or similar !!! The bolts are notorious for rusting in or being tightened so much at the factory that they can snap. It's hit or miss....some come off no problem, and some snap, which can be a pain to remove the broken bolt. Yours are 4 years old so they may be tight/frozen.
When you do start to remove the bolt, go slowly.....use a ratchet, go a bit loose, then tighten back up...go loose, tighten back up....back n forth till it becomes easy to remove.
I was lucky....bolts came off with no problem.....many posts about broken bolts, so be careful.

 

[quangdog]

Start soaking your bump stop bolts NOW with some Break Free or similar !!! The bolts are notorious for rusting in or being tightened so much at the factory that they can snap. It's hit or miss....some come off no problem, and some snap, which can be a pain to remove the broken bolt. Yours are 4 years old so they may be tight/frozen.
When you do start to remove the bolt, go slowly.....use a ratchet, go a bit loose, then tighten back up...go loose, tighten back up....back n forth till it becomes easy to remove.
I was lucky....bolts came off with no problem.....many posts about broken bolts, so be careful.

Good tip - I've seen similar warnings. I bought my truck just over 3 years ago now, and am approaching 35K miles on the odometer. So far, all the stuff I've needed to get in and tweak has been pretty manageable... including driveshaft carrier bearing bolts (others have reported those really stuck) and all the front suspension components, as well as rear shocks. I'll definitely be careful though with these bolts, and will use some heat if necessary to melt the factory loc-tite.

 

[quangdog]

Good tip - I've seen similar warnings. I bought my truck just over 3 years ago now, and am approaching 35K miles on the odometer. So far, all the stuff I've needed to get in and tweak has been pretty manageable... including driveshaft carrier bearing bolts (others have reported those really stuck) and all the front suspension components, as well as rear shocks. I'll definitely be careful though with these bolts, and will use some heat if necessary to melt the factory loc-tite.

Quick update: Used a breaker bar on the first bolt, but did not heat it first. At first it felt like the loc-tite broke free, but then the bolt head broke off.

If you install these: HEAT UP THE FACTORY BOLTS FIRST.

Dealing with getting that broken bolt out has turned into a nightmare for my son and I. I'll come back with updates when we win.

 

[ctechbob]

Yep, my recommedation for anyone taking the factory bumpstops off is to just pull the urethane stop out and heat the bolt right out of the gate. It doesn't have to be red hot, but you need to get a good amount of heat in it, and if you feel it tighten up coming out, heat it some more.

 

[quangdog]

Yep, my recommedation for anyone taking the factory bumpstops off is to just pull the urethane stop out and heat the bolt right out of the gate. It doesn't have to be red hot, but you need to get a good amount of heat in it, and if you feel it tighten up coming out, heat it some more.

We got the job done - carbide burrs for the win on the side where we broke the bolt! Unfortunately, after breaking the bolt we started with a pretty small drill bit to hopefully get an easy - out in... but broke the drill bit after getting about 1/2" into the bolt. And, of course we broke the bit off flush right at the base of the broken bolt. Thus began 2 evenings worth of work with increasingly more aggressive attempts to get that bolt out of there no matter what. Eventually we were able to grind enough of the bolt away with a combination of other drill bits, carbide burrs, and cuss words that we could drill up at a sharp angle through the sides of the factory welded-in nut inside the frame. Once we punched some holes in the nut, we widened them with carbide burs until it finally popped free under the force of a pneumatic hammer.

Here are a few pictures of the carnage:

After hours of drilling and numerous ruined bits, we finally punched through the walls of the nut.

.

Then we widened those holes with a carbide burr:

And finally popped it free with a pneumatic hammer:

Then just had to wiggle it around with a wrench to get it to break completely free:

On the other side I spent 10 minutes heating up the bolt, then we just cracked it loose, then tightened it back up again. Then cracked it again (it went further this time), then tightened it back up again. Did this back-and-forth procedure 4-5 times and then the bolt just came right out with minimal fuss. The longest part of putting the spring in on the second side was waiting for the frame to cool enough that we could install the second spring.

I don't care what anyone else says... if I'm EVER going to take out a bolt that has been installed into a captive nut in the frame, out comes the torch before any wrench.

Finished shots of the installed springs:

 

[ctechbob]

Job done, and that's what counts. Sometimes you've got to improvise, but no harm, no foul.

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