Clunking sound on Gen 3 too

[New recaros]

So, they would rebuild to the new spec?

 

[Raptorbert]

So, they would rebuild to the new spec?

No they said rebuilding them was not an option you would need to buy new shocks.

 

[New recaros]

No they said rebuilding them was not an option you would need to buy new shocks.

Sorry, I missed that. Have you tried calling the major shock rebuilders and see if they can fix?

 

[Raptorbert]

I talked to either accutune or shock surplus and both were unfamiliar with what the differences are between old and new versions.

 

[taquitos]

So I thought I'd reach out to Fox service directly to find out if there's a specific change that they had to do to get rid of the clunk. I thought if maybe ford was unwilling to fix it I could just fix it with my next servicing with a new updated valve stack or some other part. While I didn't get a specific answer it seems like it was a redesign literally to just address the noise. The fox tech said that the ones that are part of the build date SSM work perfectly fine outside of the noise. It almost makes me wonder if these revised shocks were in some way neutered to appease the noise complaints. Anyone else?

Honestly that was a concern of mine as well. So far in terms of feel I haven’t found anything that stands out as neutered. That said, I think if the clunk was truly an intended part of the functionality then ford wouldn’t be allowing shocks to get replaced and instead telling people it is part of what makes the shock good. Would save them a fair bit of money. Also there would be a ton of negative press if it ever got out that the shocks were neutered which could potentially lead to another round of replacing shocks haha. At the end of the day I figure I will likely put different shocks on down the road when Fox has aftermarket ones for the truck and then the stock ones would turn into back ups.

 

[Raptorbert]

Honestly that was a concern of mine as well. So far in terms of feel I haven’t found anything that stands out as neutered. That said, I think if the clunk was truly an intended part of the functionality then ford wouldn’t be allowing shocks to get replaced and instead telling people it is part of what makes the shock good. Would save them a fair bit of money. Also there would be a ton of negative press if it ever got out that the shocks were neutered which could potentially lead to another round of replacing shocks haha. At the end of the day I figure I will likely put different shocks on down the road when Fox has aftermarket ones for the truck and then the stock ones would turn into back ups.

I wondered that too but there is a few ways of looking at it.

A.) it's a case by case basis because a person or a group made these out of spec and a percentage of the shocks are bad in the model year (but if thats the case why is there a redesign and not just a fix)

B.) Fox / Ford found out that the previous design was faulty and causing the noise (although they are saying that the noise is just noise and not a technical issue) and created a new version.

C.) they made a redesign to appease owners complaining about a noise which might or might not affect performance.

I feel like B is most likely the case, but what is frustrating is the leave it up to the Techs at dealerships to decide what's noisy and what's not. Fox / Ford admitting there is a new design made to address the noise to me is a sign that 100% of all shocks in that SSM build date range are built the same and they should be all treated as such. I hope that one days some of these big name shock rebuild companies pull apart a 21 shock and a 23 shock, and notice enough of a difference to share their findings on what it is.

 

[taquitos]

I wondered that too but there is a few ways of looking at it.

A.) it's a case by case basis because a person or a group made these out of spec and a percentage of the shocks are bad in the model year (but if thats the case why is there a redesign and not just a fix)

B.) Fox / Ford found out that the previous design was faulty and causing the noise (although they are saying that the noise is just noise and not a technical issue) and created a new version.

C.) they made a redesign to appease owners complaining about a noise which might or might not affect performance.

I feel like B is most likely the case, but what is frustrating is the leave it up to the Techs at dealerships to decide what's noisy and what's not. Fox / Ford admitting there is a new design made to address the noise to me is a sign that 100% of all shocks in that SSM build date range are built the same and they should be all treated as such. I hope that one days some of these big name shock rebuild companies pull apart a 21 shock and a 23 shock, and notice enough of a difference to share their findings on what it is.

I would agree. B seems most likely. Highly unlikely that it’s A because of the redesign. The only thing I find weird is they should have had test vehicles out on production ready shocks for some time before release and presumably would have signed off on that design. I know often times preproduction stuff, while supposedly the same as a production version, isn’t made with the same level of care.

 

[New recaros]

That redesign may be true, but I had my rear shocks replaced on my 21 and it made a huge difference.
I was told that Fox just screwed up and got air in the shock causing a liquid hammer effect, like water hammer in pipes. The shock piston would slap the oil in the shock body causing the noise.

 

[Raptorbert]

That redesign may be true, but I had my rear shocks replaced on my 21 and it made a huge difference.
I was told that Fox just screwed up and got air in the shock causing a liquid hammer effect, like water hammer in pipes. The shock piston would slap the oil in the shock body causing the noise.

I mean I could understand that making the noise but then a simple servicing would fix it. Hopefully if that were the case fox would have just said so

 

[New recaros]

Fox will not admit fault,