Rear shocks vs front and rear (Summary, do them all!)

[EJH]

I hated the suspension ride quality on my Ranger from day one...way too bouncy and uncontrolled.

At 4k miles, I replaced the rear shocks with Fox 2.0s. That made such a difference. Somewhat due to my budget and somewhat due to listening to many on this forum state that you only need to do the rears to improve the ride quality, I left the fronts alone. I also read posts here where folks stated that replacing only the rears gets you 80% or so of perfect and then replacing the front shocks is only a marginal improvement.

Today at 30k miles and 2.5 years of ownership, I finally had the front shocks replaced (Fox 2.0s to match the rears). I cannot disagree more with those that state to only do the rear. The improvement in ride quality by replacing the fronts today was just as dramatic as replacing the rears only. The truck is so balanced now. To anyone with only the rears replaced on your Ranger, please try to find the budget and time for the fronts also.

I am super impressed with the Fox 2.0s but also feel the truck rides now like an off-road packaged factory truck should ride. We should not have to do this upgrade to the FX4s, but it is what it is.

Next spring I will be moving up to 265/65R18 Wildpeaks, which should improve the look and ride (the Hankooks are too bouncy/squishy). I need a little time before the wife will let me put more funds into my Ranger

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[Frenchy]

Regardless of what shocks you decide to install on your vehicle it is always a good idea to have them matched front and rear. It helps with Comfort, Handling and Braking. I'm sure there are a few other aspects I might be missing, but the point is to match the suspension components. That also includes springs

 

[Sparky2]

My 2019 4x2 with stock shocks and tires is a rough rider that I’d love to get a better and smoother ride. I’m not a off road rider, street driving only but do not appreciate how rough it rides. I assume different shocks would help just not sure which ones to consider for street driving.

 

[brroberts]

4x2 I put Bilstein 4600’s and blue Sumos on the rear the day I bought it. It’s been fine ever since.

 

[4fxgrabo]

Did you measure height before and after? I’ve also wanted to install Fox or Eibach coil overs but have been concerned the front would be too high as I don’t have excessive factory rake on my 2021 FX4, only 1.75 - 2 inches vs the 3+ inches frequently mentioned.

 

[GreyAreaRanger]

I plan on doing front and rear Bilsteins 4600 by the end of the year. Are the fronts as easy to change like the early 2000s GM and Ford trucks or are they more like a car where you need to compress the spring to change them?

 

[Bob902]

Did you measure height before and after? I’ve also wanted to install Fox or Eibach coil overs but have been concerned the front would be too high as I don’t have excessive factory rake on my 2021 FX4, only 1.75 - 2 inches vs the 3+ inches frequently mentioned.

If you go with the Eibach, they include a spanner wrench to adjust the height while the coilovers are on the truck. I adjusted mine down to give an inch of lift.

 

[subquark]

My 2019 4x2 with stock shocks and tires is a rough rider that I’d love to get a better and smoother ride. I’m not a off road rider, street driving only but do not appreciate how rough it rides. I assume different shocks would help just not sure which ones to consider for street driving.

Like many will say, I just ordered Bilstein 4600 rears for my 2WD XL. And hope to install them in the next month or so.

I only have 3,200 miles but the bounce when pulling out and turning from some places makes me bananas.

The cost isn't bad, I think I paid $158 from Shock Surplus (a $10 discount for newsletter sign up).

I'd like to do the front too but am holding off because it looks harder to do, I'm concerned about alignment, and I may (or may not) be lazy! =p

I'll certainly post the install and my thoughts but it seems pretty clear that even just the rear makes a noticeable difference. =)

https://www.shocksurplus.com/produc...s-rear-pair-for-2019-2021-ford-ranger-4wd-rwd

 

[EJH]

Did you measure height before and after? I’ve also wanted to install Fox or Eibach coil overs but have been concerned the front would be too high as I don’t have excessive factory rake on my 2021 FX4, only 1.75 - 2 inches vs the 3+ inches frequently mentioned.

I did measure before and after. Like you, my truck only had about 2 inches of rake stock. Some of that might be due to my keeping about 200-250 lbs of constant weight in the bed (two swing case tool boxes, Yakima rack and RTT). The extra weight probably sags my rear leafs .25-.50 of an inch.

I did not want a full 2" of front left with the Foxes. I specifically had the coilovers reduced in height some. I had to pay extra (about an hour of labor) for this. The Fox 2.0s are a pain in ass in this regard because you have to compress the spring to adjust them. The spring is large and doesn't fit a lot of spring compressors you can rent or buy for home use. You really need a floor or wall mounted setup to compress them. My shop had to test fit the shocks first, to see how much front lift they provided out of the box, then remove the shocks and adjust them as needed. Then finally re-installing them and an alignment. I paid for three hours of labor total plus an alignment at 4 Wheel Parts (who did an awesome job by the way). I often worry about alignments too, but the shop did mine perfect.

Unless, like me, you really want to go with Fox, the Eibachs would be a better option for adjustment. I do not like digressive shocks personally (Eibach and Blistein). I prefer a softer, controlled ride. I drive on a lot of poor forest roads.

In the end, I netted between 1.0" - 1.5" of front lift from stock. I will measure again after a few hundred miles when the coilovers have a chance to settle in. My Ranger is now left with 0.5" of rake, plus or minus.

 

[Bsenecal]

If you go with the Eibach, they include a spanner wrench to adjust the height while the coilovers are on the truck. I adjusted mine down to give an inch of lift.

So you went with the Eibach front and rear?
How much rack was there after installing?
Thank you.
Brian

 

[Bob902]

So you went with the Eibach front and rear?
How much rack was there after installing?
Thank you.
Brian

I'm at 37 in the front and 38 in at the back wheel.

 

[Bsenecal]

I'm at 37 in the front and 38 in at the back wheel.

Excellent, did you do the front install yourself or did you have a shop?
Brian

 

[Bob902]

Excellent, did you do the front install yourself or did you have a shop?
Brian

I'm a cheap sob. Took a couple of hours in the garage. The Eibachs come with pretty good directions.

 

[EJH]

I'm a cheap sob. Took a couple of hours in the garage. The Eibachs come with pretty good directions.

Search for the directions for the Ford tuned Fox shocks. They have excellent instructions if you want to do it yourself. My time was limited so I outsourced my installation. It was within my ability though, just didn't want to lose a Saturday.

After my install I am approx 37.5" front, 38" rear. I do expect the fronts may settle a quarter inch or so.

EDIT: I've attached the Ford instructions for their Fox kit.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

I definitely agree with the original post, if you have the means it is worth it to do both

I had similar situation also, did the rears first (King) due to cost and that was more of the problem, made great improvement for towing and general ride quality

Later on when I could save up and get a deal when they were actually available, I did the fronts with the UCA also

As junk as the FX4 shocks were, I did pay for it as part of the cost of the truck so I wanted to get some use out of it first

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