Rear Shock Upgrade Help

[SportySpace]

It’s best to not jack up the truck when installing rear shocks so the bushings are unstressed and in their normal position when you torque things down.

Otherwise, as mentioned, very easy install. All you need is a 18mm wrench, 15mm socket, small pry bar, & a torque wrench set to 66 foot pounds.

Sponsored

 

[Wvmtneer]

@Stage3Motorsports
Frank, what rear shocks do you recommend between fox, bilstein and icon. The use is mainly on road, with a decent amount of hauling and driving on crappy roads?

 

[Stage3Motorsports]

@Stage3Motorsports
Frank, what rear shocks do you recommend between fox, bilstein and icon. The use is mainly on road, with a decent amount of hauling and driving on crappy roads?

In that situation i think the Bilstein's would be perfect and not a reason to go any "more"

 

[Wvmtneer]

In that situation i think the Bilstein's would be perfect and not a reason to go any "more"

Thank you.

 

[Calson]

The problem with the rear wheels of a pickup truck that has very little weight at the back is best fixed with a heavy duty anti sway bar. I put a Hellwig Big Wig sway bar on my 3/4 ton diesel pickup and the change was night and day. Going around corners and hitting a bump the rear wheel hop was drastically reduced.

The reason is simple as the sway bar transfers the shock from one wheel to the opposite one and the shock is spread across both rear wheels. This is normally seen as a drawback to using a sway bar but with a pickup truck it is a virtue.

Shock aborbers are more accurately referred to as "dampeners'" as all they do is dampen spring movement and nothing more. Spend your money on adding a rear sway bar and you will get a much greater improvement in the ride.

Often changing the shocks is the approach taken when the problem is with inadequate load support by the rear springs or the lack of a rear sway bar (one came stock on my GM 2500 diesel pickup).

Unfortunately with all the price gouging and freight costs often quadrupling the price for the Hellwig sway bars has doubled and I would look for an alternative like the one from Steeda.

 

[RickBullotta]

The other aspect of rear shocks on F-150s that remains a puzzle to me is the huge different in spring rates across various models/builds/options. I'm not sure how a single damping setting can be optimal for all of those leaf spring combos.

 

[HDT05]

The other aspect of rear shocks on F-150s that remains a puzzle to me is the huge different in spring rates across various models/builds/options. I'm not sure how a single damping setting can be optimal for all of those leaf spring combos.

Yup.... I'm doing some digging as I had an XLT loaner that outperformed my Lariat from a body roll perspective but was tail happy over bumps. Both 4x4 (mine FX4, and max tow)...

Found out that the Lariat is a softer ride, but that they also both use exactly the same Rancho shocks between both models. Contacted Rancho about rebound rates but they make the shocks to Ford specs and couldn't really help.

I'm not interested in lifting the truck to get it level as that only raises the centre of gravity. Have spoken to Belltech about a rear sway bar (not as low as the helwig) but they say they don't have anything at present.

Next stop is springs and the front sway bar.....

 

[Calson]

Bilstein 5100 as good as you can get if you do not need to adjust for different loads in the bed of the truck. For adjustable shocks the best choice are the Rancho XL ones that have 10 different stiffness settings.

If the factory shocks are not adequate the problem is more likely to be with the rear springs not proving enough support or the need for a rear sway bar. People tend to replace the shocks when they are not the cause of the problems being experienced. Easy to spend $500 on new shocks with little or no gain in ride or handling.

 

[JerseyMike]

5100’s certainly changed my rid, seems much more planted and I just installed them in the rear….factory ride was nice but too boat Like for my liking, then again I don‘t have fx4 or max tow

 

[RellIk&5]

My truck has a 6" lift, but I swapped out my rear shocks in my driveway with no help. The shocks I bought (RC Vertex) came compressed with a string holding everything down. All I did was unbolt and remove each shock (one at a time) and slide in the new one. I used a jack to just ever so slightly lift up the side of the truck I was working on, just enough so that the new shock easily slipped in to place. I bolted in the new shock, dropped the jack, cut the string on the shock, and switched to the other side. The entire job took me less than 30 min.

 

[Mtnman1]

Is it necessary to jack up the truck and take off the wheel? Seen a few youtube videos that says the previous gen didn't need to have the wheel taken off and the install would be better on the ground.

Jacking and removing tires is a waste of time.

Not needed.

 

[MarineVet6113]

So changing these out was a breeze…but I had issue with the torque. I have a very hard time getting the torque. I feel like it’s squeezing the bushing excessively and I ended up bending the lower bolt on one side. So I’m gonna need that bolt number now. My torque wrenches are new and they both were the same. Just kept turning and turning and after seeing the bent bolt I stopped at 40 pounds until I figure it out. Almost seem like the brackets were compressing a bit. Ami missing something here? Do these bolts really need that much torque. So I’m not sure what to do…obviously I need to replace that bolt but not sure what to do with the torque. On one side the bushings are pretty compressed to the point of almost being flat. On the other side not so much because I didn’t want to crank on it anymore. Any thoughts or help much appreciated

 

[grayDawg]

I'd like to upgrade my rear shocks on my stock FX4. I'm using a 2020 F-150 search and not 2021 F-150 b/c a lot of places don't have something for the 2021 but I'm guessing they are the same shock in the rear. Seems like my choices are

- Fox 2.0
- Bilstein B8 5100 ( BIL-33-253190 ) 0"-1" lift
- Bilstein B6 4600 (BIL 33-253183) no lift

I'm guessing there is no reason to go with the B8 if I don't want to lift the rear? The Fox are a little more expensive but not sure they offer anything that the Bilstein don't.

Thoughts?

Would be interested in your selection. I'm not looking to mod. Just want to replace the stockers with a decent upgrade. The B6 4600 looks to be the answer. Anybody have experience or suggestions?

 

[Littlefield82]

Would be interested in your selection. I'm not looking to mod. Just want to replace the stockers with a decent upgrade. The B6 4600 looks to be the answer. Anybody have experience or suggestions?

I went with the Fox. No complaints.

 

[gagliano7]

I put Bilstein 4600 on my STX. I couldn’t believe how weak the stock shocks were. I could easily collapse them by hand. The ride is great with the 4600 shocks. Doesn’t feel any stiffer over bumps stopped the bounce of the stock shocks. Seems to also handle better.

Sponsored