Got Some Rebuilt Factory Shocks

[2020Raptor]

With 12k miles, I am already dreading this.
I will not be swapping mine for someone else's.
I will will have my shocks rebuilt.
As the Raptor is my only vehicle, the challenges abound.

 

[Jakenbake]

Decide to start on the swap last night. Got the front driver’s side done. Wasn’t horrible but did take more time and sweat than I anticipated. I watched a bunch of shock installs for Gen 1s but I can tell you the Gen 2 is a little harder. In addition to disconnecting the tie rod and upper ball joint I had to disconnect the sway bar end link to get enough travel on the lower control arm to get the assembly out. Swapping the spring wasn’t horrible just tedious with the cheap spring compressor I got off of Amazon. Getting the clocking right on the assembly takes some attention. Then came reinstallation of the assembly. This kicked my butt. I couldn’t get the control arm pushed down while at the same time getting the bottom of the shock in place. Fought it for probably 30 minutes before I finally got it. A buddy could help on this step since two hands are the limiting factor. The whole job took me about 1.5-2 hours. I think I can get the other front one done in an hour or so now that I have some experience. I’ll try to get the remaining 3 done today. Rear shocks should be simple.


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If you need the lower control arm to droop more, you can take the axle nut loose and unbolt the brake lines from the knuckle. I also agree doing it by yourself isn’t a ton of fun. Lining the axle back up going into the knuckle can be frustrating too, one of those things where you have to hold you mouth a certain way.

 

[DeerHunter44]

If you need the lower control arm to droop more, you can take the axle nut loose and unbolt the brake lines from the knuckle. I also agree doing it by yourself isn’t a ton of fun. Lining the axle back up going into the knuckle can be frustrating too, one of those things where you have to hold you mouth a certain way.

I was able to get both fronts done without having to remove the axle nut. I’ve done a normal F-150 before and I did have to remove the axle nut on that one.

I agree that doing this alone is tough. I just finished the second one and it went much smoother. Probably less than one hour.


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[DeerHunter44]

With 12k miles, I am already dreading this.
I will not be swapping mine for someone else's.
I will will have my shocks rebuilt.
As the Raptor is my only vehicle, the challenges abound.

I agree. I was torn on what to do. Buying new ones was out of the question for $$$ reasons. I was open to buying factory take offs but being that mine is a 2018 and the newer Raptors have Live Valve my options were limited. Finally decided on the exchange program. This route limits my downtime because I can install the rebuilt ones as I take off my worn out ones. Then I just send the old ones back.


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[DeerHunter44]

Got all 4 swapped out now. Haven’t driven the truck so I’ll make another update once I do with my thoughts on ride quality.

The rears were simple as expected. Took about 30 minutes to do both which does require moving the hard plastic shaft protector from the old to the new. I also jacked up the rear under the receiver to where both back tires were just above the ground. Worked one side at a time using a bottle jack to push up on the frame and down on the axle to get that last 1.5” so the bolt hole lined up perfectly. I saw that on a YouTube video for rear shocks and it worked great.


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[DeerHunter44]

Put 80 miles on the new shocks this evening driving to hunting camp. There’s definitely a big difference in ride quality. Less harshness over road imperfections and what tiny bit of vibration I could feel at highway speeds is non existent now. Tomorrow I will get her on some dirt roads and pastures, hopefully with a deer in the bed but either way I’ll test it in some relatively rough stuff. I’ll keep you updated on how they feel off road.


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[Trooper]

Looking forward to the update and good luck in the woods! Where are you hunting?

 

[DeerHunter44]

Looking forward to the update and good luck in the woods! Where are you hunting?

I’ve got some land in the eastern Texas Panhandle. It’s an incredible place with lots of game. Taking the kids (8 and 10) for them to try and get a deer with their crossbow. It’s challenging to say the least.


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[Trooper]

Nice! The season just opened up two weekends ago here in Ohio. I've only been out once though. It's been too warm to sweat my ass off climbing a tree, ha

 

[MrGable27]

Through Forged Offroad. Took about 7 business days to get them from when I placed the order. Opted for the Flutter Stack upgrade which cost $80 on top of the $690 rebuild cost for a full set. Had to put a $600 deposit down that will be refunded when they get my exchange shocks back.

The new to me shocks arrived today. I unboxed them and they are in decent condition. They definitely have some wear on the outside but that’s to be expected for used parts. Hopefully they perform as good or better than new and I’ll be satisfied.

I will probably get to swapping them into my truck later this week so I can still make a hunting trip this weekend. I will update once they are installed with my thoughts. Not really sure what to expect. Mine have 53k miles and seem to be decent (just got the truck)but I assume they were due to be rebuilt or replaced. Truck shows no signs of ever being abused offroad so I’m assuming most of the miles are on road. I feel more harshness than expected when out in the fields or on the dirt roads so I’m hoping for an improvement. Currently it doesn’t feel much different than my wife’s 2015 F-150 with stock suspension.


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Glad you had a positive experience with Forged. It took them almost 10 weeks to get me my rebuilds earlier this year.