2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Rancho RS5000 shocks installed - Noise & feeling bump in floorboard? HELP!

[gtobey]

I just installed a set of RS5000 Rancho shocks on my '02. I didn't like the upper shock bushings, (looked very small compared to OEM) but I installed them anyway. Now when I go down the road, if the road is smooth, all is OK. If the road is rough, it handles it wonderfully. If the road is just barely rough, like a minor washboard, I hear some noise and feel the "thump" or "bump" in the floorboard as if the shock is making contact somewhere. I can't tell if it is left or right, and I have rechecked the tightness of the mounting bolts on the bottom, the nuts on the the shock towers, and the locknut on the shock itself.



I have tightened the nut down to expand the bushings just slightly wider than the washers.



Has anyone had this same problem?

 

[SMorneau]

Yes this is a common problem. Tighten them down some more.

 

[gtobey]

Yes this is a common problem. Tighten them down some more.

Thanks for the reply! Tonight I'll go home and tighten the top bushings more and let you know what I find...

 

[THUREN]

It's the bottom that needs tightening...



Don

 

[gtobey]

It's the bottom that needs tightening...



Don

Would it be "banging" on the bolt? I noticed that the lower shock bushing (steel) was not as wide as the OEM shock, so that may be it! How tight do you recommend on the lower bolt?

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

You probably should have reused the stock sleeve on the bottom. If you read the shock instructions they will tell you to compare the sleeves and that you may need to reuse your stock ones. The sleeves they include with the shocks are not specific to each vehicle. On the top bushing the nut should be tightened until the bushing is even with the outside of the washer.

 

[SBettencourt]

The bottom shock bolt torque is about 105 ftlbs. You really need to tighten them to bend the mounting tabs into the sleeve.

I found the wieght of the CTD overpowers the RS5000s on slow speed bumps. Do you find the same thing?

 

[amnewsom]

I just got back from a backcountry trip and many miles later, I think the re-badged Monroes that I bought as RS5000s have had it. I am currently looking for Bilsteins. I have never been able to get the "bump" out.

 

[gtobey]

I am sorry for the slow reply... I had to go out of town for a couple of days...



I finally got to check the top nuts, and cranked them down about another 1/2 turn, expanding the rubbers out a bit more than the metal top washers, and then went to the bottom. I could only put a bit more torque on them, as I didn't have time to run the truck up on ramps to give room for my long torque wrench to turn under the truck.



I think I helped the passenger side's shock, as it is quiet now, but still have the "thump" on the driver's side only felt when you are traveling along on what seems to be a smooth road, but it is actually slightly washboarded. Larger movements of the front wheels are silent and smooth, but the very slight up and down movements make the noise and you feel it in the floorboards. My shocks had no instruction papers in the boxes.



I think I remember that the lower bushing on the shocks were bigger than the OEM ones, and the bolt had play in that bushing.



I will try to get it in the garage up on ramps and try to retorque them... I may remove the bolts, re-oil the threads and put some never-seez under the bolt head to assist the torque process... I will report back...

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

As I said above if there is play between the bolt and the sleeve in the bottom of the shock you will have the symptoms you describe. MANY times I've installed shocks and needed to remove the sleeve from the stock shock and use that on the new shocks because the included sleeves were not of the proper size.

 

[TboneMan]

I just changed my shocks, using Rancho 9000's. I had the clunk also after installation. I did notice during installation the the lower shock bolts were worn. They should have threads to within ablout 3/4 of an inch from the bolt head. The remaining 3/4 inch should be solid and slightly larger diameter (visually observed not measured).



I ended up buying new lower shock bolts (and nuts) and the problem was fixed. I could only locate the bolts through a dealer. The bolts were $3. 70 and the nuts were $4. 85. OUCH!



My truck has 138,000 miles on it (100,000 of that on the previous set of Rancho's). I figured thing are just wearing out.

 

[gtobey]

Thanks, guys. I loosened and re-torqued the lower bolts 2 times, and now I'm going to do what you have suggested. Remove the shocks and check the lower bushings for play. I threw away the old shocks, so I'll have to find some around if I need to replace them, or I will have to go back to our lathe and machine some that will be tighter. I feel like we're getting close to a solution... .



I'll try to reply by the weekend...

 

[rluft]

I super cheap, quickfix that I did was to remove the bottom bolt and wrap it with electrical tape. Reinstall and tighten as tight as possible. This should last for a while but is not permanent. One wrap of tape without overlap was a tight fit, it does illustrate how much play exists between the bolt and the bushing.

 

[gtobey]

I super cheap, quickfix that I did was to remove the bottom bolt and wrap it with electrical tape. Reinstall and tighten as tight as possible. This should last for a while but is not permanent. One wrap of tape without overlap was a tight fit, it does illustrate how much play exists between the bolt and the bushing.

While eating lunch, I thought if I take the shock off at home and find out that the play is too much between the bolt and the shock bushing, I could use some shim stock I have and fit it inbetween the bolt and the bushing to take up the play.



I'll let you folks know as soon as I get one off...



Thanks so much folks!!!

 

[gtobey]

Final fix

Well, after threatening to put wing nuts on all the connections for the shocks... taking them off and putting them back on...



Bottom bolt torque 100 lbs. ft. , 105 lbs. ft. , up to 120 lbs. ft. etc,

Shimming the gap around the bottom bolt up to 0. 025" thick shims in the metal bushing where you could just thread the bolt through it...



Top bushings, tighter, looser, spreading the rubber bushings a little to a lot... .



Speaking with Rancho, talking to the Auto Parts stores, etc.



I talked to my local alignment/frame-suspension expert who builds/straightens/modifies all sorts of vehicles from stock to off-road to racing, and he enlightened me quite a bit. He informed me as soon as I mentioned the RS-5000, (he knows which truck I have) that they won't quit that noise no matter what I do. He's tried all of that and more... He also told me that the rod is smaller on them than the OE shocks, which I had made note of when installing them in the first place. He told me that it was almost as if they took a "stock" shock and assigned it a part number to work on the Dodge, not really designing it for the application.



I went back to the auto parts store where I got them, explained my problem to them, and they told me, "yea, we have had a few complaints about that on the Ranchos... . " So I returned them and put on the Reflex gas filled front shocks. Problem solved, and man does it drive better. My alignment specialist was right! He told me the Reflex shocks were good! Hats off to him. Now I've got to change the rears...



Thanks for all your tech assistance. Anybody else have similar experience?

 

[THUREN]

wink ..... wink......

A thread I started a few months back... .



shock thread



Don...

 

[SBettencourt]

I have RS5000s on my 01 4x2. I do not have any "clunk" but I am NOT impressed with the damping of these shocks. I had 5000s on an 89 T10 Blazer and it rode hard. This set feels like mush, like when doing a slow roll over a speed bump or going over the "whoop-dee-doo" thru and intersection. The rears are OK. Now I see your post that the shaft is smaller than stock I checked the rod size on the Rancho web site but never got to check my old shocks. I still have them so I will be checking them tomorrow.

Now, I can say that my old stock shocks still have gas pressure but they rode the same (mush).

I hate to spend more $$ but I don't think these shocks are helping a front end vibration/shimmy I've been fighting. (even with a tight front end)

I looked at Bilstiens but $$. I might call Summit about trading these Rancho's for a pair but I doubt they'd do that.



gtobey-2 questions

Do the Reflex shocks actually have a beefy shaft?

Are they stong enough to control the weight of the Cummins?



I was going to ignore this problem but after swapping the front tires side for side today I made the problem worse so I think I have an out of balance tire and possible shock problem.



Well, that's it for my RANT. I know what I have to do but I just hate spending double $$ for something not to mention double the work. I really like the Rancho 9000s on my 1/2 ton and the 5000s on my T10 went 100k but those are light duty applications which obviously makes a difference.



SteveB

 

[gtobey]

I have RS5000s on my 01 4x2. I do not have any "clunk" but I am NOT impressed with the damping of these shocks. I had 5000s on an 89 T10 Blazer and it rode hard. This set feels like mush, like when doing a slow roll over a speed bump or going over the "whoop-dee-doo" thru and intersection. The rears are OK. Now I see your post that the shaft is smaller than stock I checked the rod size on the Rancho web site but never got to check my old shocks. I still have them so I will be checking them tomorrow.

Now, I can say that my old stock shocks still have gas pressure but they rode the same (mush).

I hate to spend more $$ but I don't think these shocks are helping a front end vibration/shimmy I've been fighting. (even with a tight front end)

I looked at Bilstiens but $$. I might call Summit about trading these Rancho's for a pair but I doubt they'd do that.



gtobey-2 questions

Do the Reflex shocks actually have a beefy shaft?

Are they stong enough to control the weight of the Cummins?



I was going to ignore this problem but after swapping the front tires side for side today I made the problem worse so I think I have an out of balance tire and possible shock problem.



Well, that's it for my RANT. I know what I have to do but I just hate spending double $$ for something not to mention double the work. I really like the Rancho 9000s on my 1/2 ton and the 5000s on my T10 went 100k but those are light duty applications which obviously makes a difference.



SteveB

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!



My truck rode harder with the RS5000s than it did with the OEM shocks, but I thought that the original shocks were just worn out badly. That is until I realized that the noise was in there.



To answer your questions, no, the Rancho rods were smaller in diameter than the OEM, but that is not to say the pistons inside were small also. I just feel like the smaller rod is not as strong as the OEM especially on rough roads or cruising off-road and using the shock a whole lot. I was disappointed in that aspect. But the biggest thing was the bushing size for the bottom bolt was too large and the noise unbearable. The Reflex fit perfectly, dampened better, handled better, steering was better, and it was quiet! It made it a different truck altogether, and now it is a pleasure to drive... .

 

[SBettencourt]

Thanks G

I think I'm going to stick with the RS5000s. I had a bad tire on the front that did not help. I never had the clunk issue so I will keep 'em a bit longer.

I was looking at getting Bilsteins but they list the same PN for 3500 and 1500 so either they are too stiff on a 1/2 ton or too soft on a 1 ton. Everyone seems to like 'em but I need to be a cheapskate and use what I have now.

 

[dmhollister]

So I returned them and put on the Reflex gas filled front shocks. Problem solved, and man does it drive better.

Is Reflex the brand name of the shock? or is it a type of shock? I am considering replacing the stock stocks on mine, they don't act right.



However on my jeep I had a clunk in the shocks after a lift was installed and fixed the problem by installing a compression fitting on the lower mounts in the front and the upper mounts in the rear. This was a $20 fix from quadratech.