01350banshee

After a few days of use I can say they have made a night and day difference in the ride of my truck. The truck feels much tighter now and does'nt seem to "wallow" as it did with the stockers. I also noticed the front does'nt sag as much and both front and rear feel much firmer now. Also, I highly recommend an axle lift when attempting to do a change out. Overall it took me just under 1.5 hrs to do the swap and road test drive. If I were in a hurry, I could have done it in 45 minutes.

Front set install and evaluation (RS 5279)
After removing the front set, I realized how light and cheesie the stock set was. My right front was blown, so I was able to move the shaft in and out w/o any effort at all. (after only 22k, ?????) You can see the difference in the Rancho over the stocker in quality of workmanship and construction. The installation was pretty cut and dry if you have ever installed shocks on a truck before. You will need a medium pressure air gun, 2' extension with a 18mm socket, this will allow you to remove the top bolt via the engine bay. The lowers are a snap, two small bolts and the shock falls right out. Pay attention as to how to reinstall the new (2) washers and (2) rubber bushings, as the shocks do not come with instructions. Getting the shock boots through the small shock hole in the a-arm was a bit of a task, so be patient. Also, I was'nt sure of the torque spec, so I made sure they were cinched down pretty good and I will recheck them again in a week or so as the shocks and bushings settle.

Rear set install and evaluation (RS 5269)
The rear Installation was pretty cut and dry also. The right side is a breeze, took me about 5 minutes to remove and install the new one. It took me longer to install the boot than the whole shock. The upper bolts have a anti spin brace on it so removal/reinstallation was pretty easy. The left side however was another oredeal, as the shocks lower mount is on the opposite side of the axle mounting plate. This required me to lower and relift the truck so I could move the axle lift block as it did not allow the lower bolt to come out. I solved the reinstall issue by swapping the bolt head sides. The upper mount required me to remove one screw from the rear fender liner so I could pull it back to get the air gun in. Once removed it came off just as easy. I observed the same shottie construction of the stock rear shock as I did for the front, quality of the Rancho speaks for itself. All I need to do now is hook up my trailer and go for a little ride to check how well they perform under load.

Finally, I could have spent more $$ on the next two upper level shocks, but I really didnt feel I needed to for auto leveling and what ever else they offer. Those who are looking to replace your stockers with Rancho's feel easy as they still have the same made in america aftermarket quailty you'd expect from a big name company and the price was easy on my pocket book. Thank goodness cause the wife would kill me then take away my "get it now freedom card" if I spent over $200.00 again without informing her.

MikeyB

Excellent writeup!

MikeyB