Motorcraft vs. Rancho shocks

[Li'l Work Truck]

I'm a few weeks out from a major suspension refresh on my 2008 Ranger (single cab, 6' bed, 2.3L, 5-spd, HD rear suspension) and I've been looking for some good shocks. I know the common consensus is that it's difficult to realize part quality as a whole per brand anymore, but I wanted to ask about Rancho shocks, mostly because of the price difference ($111 for Motorcraft and about half that for Rancho).

Has anyone had any notable experiences, good or bad, with Ranchos for things like perceived build quality, longevity, noise, ride quality, etc.? My truck is stock, save only for the wheels which are Ultra mods at 8", but nearly the same weight as the stock steelies.

 

[SenorNoob]

Motorcraft is essentially repackaged something else. (WAG Monroe) Rancho has a pretty significant brand name to uphold themselves. I'd be willing to bet they are as good or better then the Motorcraft. Maybe someone has more concrete evidence.

Do wanna say this, I bought a pair of Rough Country from the scratch & dent store on EBay when they changed the model line-up in like 2014. Just took them off last year for the lift and they still worked fine...

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yeah, I doubt Motorcraft are made by Ford.

I used to always just buy middle of the road shocks by Monroe or one of the others like them. More recently I got a pair of KYB shocks for the rear of the Choptop and they surprised me. I’ve known that KYB, Rancho, Skyjacker and the like are supposed to be better shocks but here we are and I’m looking at trying some Rancho or Skyjackers on the front of my Choptop. Actually have some Rancho shocks ordered in for me to take a look at probably this week. I wanted to look at a pair of Skyjackers too but they were out of stock

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Actually have some Rancho shocks ordered in for me to take a look at probably this week.

I'd be interested in learning about your experience with them.

 

[Curious Hound]

I ran Rancho on my 88 F150 many uears ago. I liked them. But, that was way back in the 90's. Don't know if they're the same, better or worse these days.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

I ran Rancho on my 88 F150 many uears ago. I liked them. But, that was way back in the 90's. Don't know if they're the same, better or worse these days.

Thanks, Hound! I hope they're still as good as you remember.

 

[rubydist]

I had a 03 FX4 that had Bilstein shocks from the factory. Very good shocks. I had a 09 FX9 that had crappy shocks on it when I bought it, and I replaced them with the factory parts which in 09 were Rancho. They sucked right out of the box - way too soft, took multiple bounces to dampen out going over a stiff bump, just not enough control for the highway. Likely were good for offroad, but not for my use. The 01 I have now has Bilstein shocks on it. Far far better than the Rancho.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I'd be interested in learning about your experience with them.

Well, I may be picking up a set this week, we shall see. I really was interested in a set of Skyjackers but they’re out of stock. The Ranchos I’m looking at are the N3 variant.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

A lot of offroad companies seem to sell white shocks with stickers you put on... I'm not saying they all don't have their own shock factory but I don't think they all have their own shock factory.

The Skyjackers I had were junk, I love my Bilstein's.