Rancho 9000's might have been an oops

i had some 9000's years ago.. the first thing to fail was the bushings... lot of "clunking" from the rear when the "eye" bushings either were worn 50+% or completely gone.

contacted rancho for some replacement bushings, but they are factory pressed so they just sent me a new pair of shocks (kudos).

my issue is that all these 2" shocks are not "right sized" for our trucks. esp. with a heavy TC.

so i upgraded to:
king 2.5" diameter remote reservoir (adjustable) shocks.

they are nice (expensive) but the % flow change w/ the adjustment knob is barely discernible. i have meant to get them revalved as they are stiff in stock configuration for an unloaded truck.. but the loaded, off-road (washboard, whoops) are much better handled w/ these shocks

sway-a-way, walker-evans, icon, fox, also make adjustable remote reservoir 2.5" shocks and some of those have greater flow differences between settings than the kings

"if you have the means, i highly recommend picking one up"
- Ferris Bueller

I stuck with OEM's in the front and have no complaints.

Super_Dave wrote:
Bill,
I would never drive my truck unloaded if I couldn't turn down the shocks from the "9" setting when not loaded.

Does that mean the "9" setting is above/beyond what one could expect from a non-adjustable shock?

How do the settings relate to an OE shock...i.e. is "5" about same damping you would get from OE shocks?
Edit; never mind...they have an example on their website!

I have also heard of Folks running 9000 in rear and 5000 in the front, as for most of us the front loads do not change much loaded vs unloaded.
Anyone running like this?

Tx, B

Bill,
I think Brad's thread on servicing the piston will eliminate the ill effects of the salt. It may have to be done annually but should certainly keep it from rusting up. I would also take all the other failure reports with a grain of salt, no pun intended, as so many here knowingly or unknowingly overload their rig so badly. I would never drive my truck unloaded if I couldn't turn down the shocks from the "9" setting when not loaded.

720Deere wrote:
Look around and you will find dozens of instances where Fox, Icon, King and other premier performance shocks have failed and been replaced under warranty. Some people have more demanding driving styles or situations than normal and can make anything fail. Anything can fail if it is pushed hard enough and some people can make everything that they touch fail.

It sounds like you don't push your vehicles very hard if you have never had an OEM shock fail. Also the fact that you run shocks "well over 100k miles" tells me that you may not be near as critical of shock performance as your post seems to indicate. If you typically just live with sub-par shock performance well beyond their normal useful life, why all the sudden concerns?

True...but for some reason there are many posts about R9000 failures...that is what I am trying to understand


We do not abuse our vehicles. Our trips usually involve long highway runs and maybe some forest service roads or Scout camps...nothing I would consider abusive, certainly not Jefe or whazoo style wheelin'! I did say we keep our vehicle beyond 100k miles...I never said we kept the shocks for all those miles. Any shock replacements we have done were OE. I don't believe they have ever performed sub-par...but I am no suspension expert. Other than the bounce test, or leaking oil, or collapse, I really wouldn't know what to look for?

I also know that we are running heavier with our new TC and I am looking for the best performance possible...and that may mean shocks that perform better than OE. I am not 100% convinced there is such a creature. There are plenty of Folks that swear by OE equipment, and our experience has been we have never had an OE shock that failed.
(Failure, IMO, is part of the total performance evaluation).

I think having a shock that is adjustable COULD be an advantage as our truck spends half it's life with no TC on board. But if the adjustability of the shock is negated because it corrodes...well then...what have you got?

Tx, Bill

billtex wrote:

This is what concerns me...this is NOT the first time I have read about Rancho failures.

Look around and you will find dozens of instances where Fox, Icon, King and other premier performance shocks have failed and been replaced under warranty. Some people have more demanding driving styles or situations than normal and can make anything fail. Anything can fail if it is pushed hard enough and some people can make everything that they touch fail.

billtex wrote:

I have never had an OE shock fail...ever...and have kept all our vehicles for well over 100k miles, so these failures do concern me.

Tx, Bill

It sounds like you don't push your vehicles very hard if you have never had an OEM shock fail. Also the fact that you run shocks "well over 100k miles" tells me that you may not be near as critical of shock performance as your post seems to indicate. If you typically just live with sub-par shock performance well beyond their normal useful life, why all the sudden concerns?

ISBRAM wrote:
I installed Rancho 9000’s on my Ram when it was less than one year old; the improvement in ride was great, and I really liked being able to adjust them for the load and ride I wanted.

In less than two years one of the Rancho 9000 fronts started leaking oil and the dealer exchanged it no problem. A year or so later the other front started leaking and the dealer said that Rancho had to approve of the warranty replacement after they send the shock in.
So either I can purchase a new shock and be reimbursed after it’s approved or not have a shock on my truck for several weeks. I called Rancho told the customer service person it was leaking oil, and asked what more was there to check? All I got then was attitude about how I could have damaged it.

So after calling Rancho and not getting anywhere with them on the warranty, the front of my truck got a pair of Bilstein 4600’s. About two years later one of the rears started leaking oil so they got replaced with new Bilstein 4600’s also. Those Bilstein’s are still on my truck and going strong!

Because of the attitude and lack of customer service I got from Rancho over the phone I will never spend another penny with that company.
A few years after this happened I went to work for a fleet with almost 2000 vehicles. Since I’ve been there we have never bought a Rancho product and that will not change, at least until I retire!

This is what concerns me...this is NOT the first time I have read about Rancho failures.

nycsteve wrote:
I don't bother adjusting. Found the sweet spot and left it there.

Exactly...if there is a more robust shock (not prone to failure, can handle a heavy TC) that does not require adjustment,then why not choose that?

My concerns are twofold regarding R9000's;
* That the adjustment feature on R9000 becomes unusable due to New England winters negating any adjustment advantage.
* I Have read several reports of R9000 failures

Are there other adjustable shocks not prone to failure?

What about the non-adjusting Rancho's (R5000?) are they good for heavy TC's?
Are they also prone to failure?

How do the Bilsteins hold up?
Is the damping sufficient for TC's?
Do they damp better than OE shocks?

I have never had an OE shock fail...ever...and have kept all our vehicles for well over 100k miles, so these failures do concern me.

Tx, Bill

billtex wrote:
Well...so far, no one has offered a worthy alternative to the almighty adjustable Rancho 9000?!

Are they that good!?

Yep.

2 trucks 2 sets of Ranchos. Demanding offroad beach driving. No issues. I don't bother adjusting. Found the sweet spot and left it there. If it fails I get a new one per warranty. I'll deal with the seller not Rancho, I don't forsee anyissues. But they havnt failed yet.

I installed Rancho 9000’s on my Ram when it was less than one year old; the improvement in ride was great, and I really liked being able to adjust them for the load and ride I wanted.

In less than two years one of the Rancho 9000 fronts started leaking oil and the dealer exchanged it no problem. A year or so later the other front started leaking and the dealer said that Rancho had to approve of the warranty replacement after they send the shock in.
So either I can purchase a new shock and be reimbursed after it’s approved or not have a shock on my truck for several weeks. I called Rancho told the customer service person it was leaking oil, and asked what more was there to check? All I got then was attitude about how I could have damaged it.

So after calling Rancho and not getting anywhere with them on the warranty, the front of my truck got a pair of Bilstein 4600’s. About two years later one of the rears started leaking oil so they got replaced with new Bilstein 4600’s also. Those Bilstein’s are still on my truck and going strong!

Because of the attitude and lack of customer service I got from Rancho over the phone I will never spend another penny with that company.
A few years after this happened I went to work for a fleet with almost 2000 vehicles. Since I’ve been there we have never bought a Rancho product and that will not change, at least until I retire!

Well...so far, no one has offered a worthy alternative to the almighty adjustable Rancho 9000?!

Are they that good!?