Bad shock absorber?!

[crowsnest]

My 2019 ranger lariat 4WD sits 2” lower on the left side rear. Is it just the shock? Nothing appears broken with other suspension parts. Unfortunately, even with low miles it’s beyond the 36 month warranty period. It’s like oil change every 3 months or 3,000 miles, as if the oil is wearing out while the car is parked even though you only drove 1,000 miles.

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[chrisakz]

I recall reading somewhere on here about the need for an adding a shim under the leaf spring to make up for it.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

My 2019 ranger lariat 4WD sits 2” lower on the left side rear. Is it just the shock? Nothing appears broken with other suspension parts. Unfortunately, even with low miles it’s beyond the 36 month warranty period. It’s like oil change every 3 months or 3,000 miles, as if the oil is wearing out while the car is parked even though you only drove 1,000 miles.

Broken spring ?

 

[Jhbryaniv]

My 2019 ranger lariat 4WD sits 2” lower on the left side rear. Is it just the shock? Nothing appears broken with other suspension parts. Unfortunately, even with low miles it’s beyond the 36 month warranty period. It’s like oil change every 3 months or 3,000 miles, as if the oil is wearing out while the car is parked even though you only drove 1,000 miles.

2" indicates suspension componenet failure to me.

Look at shocks and leaf springs on each side (take pictures/video) to compare them.

if you stand in the bed on each side and bounce, does the suspension respond differently?




In good news though, you have fixed that annoying engineering problem with the trucks rack, at least on one side /sarc

 

[crowsnest]

Measured the shocks. One is definitely compressed 2” more than the other. Can’t jump up and down in the bed; has a shell. I’ll look at the springs more closely. I suppose I could just swap out the shock and see if that works.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I wouldn't think that the factory shocks could make a 2" difference in height, even if it was completely blown.

I think it's either spring or shackle related.

 

[got3fords]

Measured the shocks. One is definitely compressed 2” more than the other. Can’t jump up and down in the bed; has a shell. I’ll look at the springs more closely. I suppose I could just swap out the shock and see if that works.

Do you still have stock shocks? If so, I would invest in aftermarket like a set of Eibach. For around $200 you can get a much better ride and see if that drop is still present. One of my stock shocks had a dead spot in it when swapped to Eibachs. When compressing it, there was a spot where it just dropped with no resistance. Even if that doesn't fix the drop, you will still have a much bette ride.

 

[Big Blue]

I wouldn't think that the factory shocks could make a 2" difference in height, even if it was completely blown.

I think it's either spring or shackle related.

This!
Shocks have nothing to do with ride hight. Definitely sounds like spring or shackle issue.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Trucks tend to lean to one side and they try to correct this with shims at assembly but not as much as 2”.

There have been a few cases of broken leafs in the forum. I’d start there.

Good luck.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

The shock shouldn't be supporting the truck - they should be there to dampen the amount and speed of rebound.

Spring and damper systems are amazing.

 

[got3fords]

Shocks have nothing to do with ride hight. Definitely sounds like spring or shackle issue.

Shocks have a certain amount of extension pressure. So they do have a little affect on ride height. It's minimal. but it's not nothing. The Eibach's for example have a lot more resistance to compression than the stock shocks.

 

[chrisakz]

I agree with the others here, it’s not the shocks job to support the weight of the vehicle, I’d really be looking at other suspension components. An easy 5 min test would be to pull the left and right bolts that secure the shocks to the axle while leaving the frame mounting location alone. This will rule out your shock absorbers. Recheck your ground to top wheel well height and axle to frame measurement

 

[crowsnest]

I’ve been under the truck. Shackle, leaf springs and attachment points are all intact. There appears to be one shim on passenger side and two on driver side. They’re about 1/4” thick. Can I make up the 2” with shims?

 

[Dr. Zaius]

Adding more shims, especially 2" worth, would at best be a band-aid covering up the problem.

You definitely have something else going on.

Do you have a floor jack?

Raise the rear of the truck and set the frame on jackstands.

Remove the wheels and let the axle droop.

Take a good look at the springs to see if there's anything obvious when there's little pressure applied to them.

If all looks OK and you have the time, space, and tools, I'd switch the springs from driver to passenger. Battery or air impact will definitely be your friend.

I did a complete spring swap in my driveway in a couple of hours with lots of breaks, interruptions, and taking photos.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Do you have any packages that would change your rear leaf springs to a multi leaf, vs single leaf?

Someone in here had a set where the helper spring maybe broke. The main spring was intact, but the smaller spring broke. (it may not have even been on here but in fb)

I think the key to diagnosing will be to get the suspension to full droop and see wtf is going on under there... Even a bottle jack under one side at a time is better than nothing.

If you have the ability to post some images of the suspension it might give the tech savy folks here the ability to go "that doesn't look right"....

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