Guess I'm finally going to order some bilsteins or something for the rear...

[Toto]

Got my pool of oil at 28K.
Called dealer. Yes, it is under warranty. Bring the truck over, and leave it for the day. So we can inspect the bad part and talk to Ford. If Ford approves the replacement you can bring the truck one more time to replace the shock.
Forget it. I got 2 Bilteins 5100s, from rockauto, that got installed by the local garage in town.

Ranger rides smoothly now.

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[reidmefirst]

Ordered up some Eibach Pros, will do the install myself. No fronts yet, I may have to find a shop to do them as I'm not sure I'm smart enough or tooled enough to do that anyhow. No lifting or leveling on my truck, I'm still under warranty for a while and don't want any future drivetrain/transmission issues blamed on changing suspension geometry.

 

[got3fords]

Ordered up some Eibach Pros, will do the install myself. No fronts yet, I may have to find a shop to do them as I'm not sure I'm smart enough or tooled enough to do that anyhow. No lifting or leveling on my truck, I'm still under warranty for a while and don't want any future drivetrain/transmission issues blamed on changing suspension geometry.

I had the dealer install my fronts. Didn't want the hassle of working out in the driveway with insufficient tools. Had to have an alignment done after anyway.

 

[Frenchy]

Wha

Ordered up some Eibach Pros, will do the install myself. No fronts yet, I may have to find a shop to do them as I'm not sure I'm smart enough or tooled enough to do that anyhow. No lifting or leveling on my truck, I'm still under warranty for a while and don't want any future drivetrain/transmission issues blamed on changing suspension geometry.

T made you change your mind? Just curious

 

[Langwilliams]

I changed the rear leaf springs myself, I paid a guy I know that does car work as a side hustle. He's done several F-150's an jeeps an lowered lots of sports cars. They did a good job for $350.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

An added benefit to the Bilsteins or the Eibachs is the lifetime warranty.

Well, the Eibachs actually only have a million mile warranty ?

The rear shocks are one of the easiest upgrades you can do to your truck.

They also happen to be one of the best upgrades as well.

Bilstein 5100 all around with Tremor leafs here.

100% happy with ride and handling.

 

[reidmefirst]

Wha

T made you change your mind? Just curious

Doesn't seem like much difference between Eibach and Bilstein based on forum posts. I have Bilstein on my Miata (from factory) and do like 'em, but figured I'd try something different.

Got one installed tonight (not the leaky one). It was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I compressed the eibach a bunch of times to help loosen it up (or so I hoped), ended up needing a ratchet strap to compress it and get it into place. It was a little tricky to get the strap off and get the bottom of the shock seated into the holder such that I could get the bolt in. The 'tape trick' worked great for holding the captive nuts in place, just taped both nuts before removing the old shock. So that was nice at least.

I didn't tackle the passenger side (the leaky one) as it was getting dark out. Will give it a go tomorrow. May try and jack up the truck or something, or try and use a floor jack to get the eibach in place. Not a lot of room under the passenger side shock though since the bottom is further forward. I guess one idea would be jack up the driver side rear axle so that the passenger side articulates a bit and lets me install the passenger shock while it is a bit longer. Will see if that works out.

While the Eibach was really hard to compress, the FX4 was incredibly easy. I could easily compress it by holding it in both arms and squeezing, and I'm pretty weak. This isn't even the one that sprung a leak! I imagine that one is going to be a soft sponge. I had to lean on the eibach with a significant amount of my body weight (one end on the ground) to get it to compress. I'm sure this will help with that spongey-floaty feeling in the rear at least.

 

[EJH]

Doesn't seem like much difference between Eibach and Bilstein based on forum posts. I have Bilstein on my Miata (from factory) and do like 'em, but figured I'd try something different.

Got one installed tonight (not the leaky one). It was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I compressed the eibach a bunch of times to help loosen it up (or so I hoped), ended up needing a ratchet strap to compress it and get it into place. It was a little tricky to get the strap off and get the bottom of the shock seated into the holder such that I could get the bolt in. The 'tape trick' worked great for holding the captive nuts in place, just taped both nuts before removing the old shock. So that was nice at least.

I didn't tackle the passenger side (the leaky one) as it was getting dark out. Will give it a go tomorrow. May try and jack up the truck or something, or try and use a floor jack to get the eibach in place. Not a lot of room under the passenger side shock though since the bottom is further forward. I guess one idea would be jack up the driver side rear axle so that the passenger side articulates a bit and lets me install the passenger shock while it is a bit longer. Will see if that works out.

While the Eibach was really hard to compress, the FX4 was incredibly easy. I could easily compress it by holding it in both arms and squeezing, and I'm pretty weak. This isn't even the one that sprung a leak! I imagine that one is going to be a soft sponge. I had to lean on the eibach with a significant amount of my body weight (one end on the ground) to get it to compress. I'm sure this will help with that spongey-floaty feeling in the rear at least.

If you didn't, try removing the spare for a little more working room under the rear of the truck.

 

[Deleted User 61245811]

Here's a Ranger owner that tried Fox, Bilstein, and Eibach on the same truck and his thoughts about the characteristics of each.

After agonizing for months about what to buy, I decided on Bilstein. Went to try to buy them and they were on back order. So I went with Eibach because they were available at the time and am very happy with them.

 

[reidmefirst]

I finished the passenger shock in about 10 minutes this morning. I jacked the truck up by the frame rail, forward of the rear wheel. This made it super duper duper easy. Getting the eibach in meant I only had to compress it about 1-1.5 inches, which was totally doable to my weak self. I used a flathead screwdriver to lift up the bottom of the shock such that I could get the bolt through. When the truck was not in the air (the other side), I had to compress it 4 or 5 inches which was impossible for me to do and required the ratchet strap and a few swear words trying to get the bolt lined up (and numerous failed attempts where the shock shot out of the carrier, hence the naughty words ;-))

The truck does ride a lot better! I drove it through the local cemetery, which has really awful roads. It does still wallow a tiny bit, especially when going over lumpy potholes while turning...maybe I will have to do the fronts after all, sigh =). Another time, though. No more puddles of oil in my driveway at least. Unless one of the fronts decides to start leaking...

 

[Frenchy]

Definitely a good idea to have the front and rear matched on the shocks for balanced ride purposes. Without that done it becomes interesting to say the least

 

[Blackeagle]

Here's a Ranger owner that tried Fox, Bilstein, and Eibach on the same truck and his thoughts about the characteristics of each.

After agonizing for months about what to buy, I decided on Bilstein. Went to try to buy them and they were on back order. So I went with Eibach because they were available at the time and am very happy with them.

That video is what helped convince me to get the Eibachs with the reservoirs in the rear.

 

[Crow_of_judgement]

This thread was a curse, I went and checked and sure enough my driver side oem rear shock is moist with oil.
New rear eibach shocks will be here next week

 

[reidmefirst]

This thread was a curse, I went and checked and sure enough my driver side oem rear shock is moist with oil.
New rear eibach shocks will be here next week

Sorry to hear that. I should have taken a video of the blown shock: I could wipe it dry, then compress it fully between my arms. When I released it and let it expand, there would be a dribble of oil on the shock body. Quite amazing that the seals failed so soon.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

This thread was a curse, I went and checked and sure enough my driver side oem rear shock is moist with oil.
New rear eibach shocks will be here next week

Think of it as a "motivator" instead of a curse ?

You're going to love the improvement and wish that it had failed sooner ?

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