Suspension upgrade on a 2003 FX4? (with front chicken-leg shocks)

[Erland]

I'm looking for a bit of advice because none of the usual parts suppliers seem to have my model in their system or they insist on trying to sell me the wrong front shocks which leaves me questioning their recommendations for the rear; the usual "well the computer tells me that's what all the Rangers use".
I'm not building my Ranger up for any serious off-roading, but we do explore the BLM lands around Moab on the weekends (an hour each way of highway @ 75mph with 4-6 hours of puttering through rocky & sandy roads in the middle).

My plan is to crank up the torsion rods to raise the front 1.5-2", replace the tires & shocks (I know the shocks were supposed to be Bilsteins, but it's 17 years old and I don't see any labels, just black chicken-legs in the front and big silver traditional ones in the rear).
Aside from the cat-back done by the previous owner, it's a low-mileage, bone-stock FX4 club-cab with the 8.8 LSD rear axle & towing package. I'd like to make the dirt/back-roads a less-uncomfortable drive (at least stay off the bump stops) without dumping a ton of money into it.

Any advice on using the stock torsion keys vs. a new set of keys, like those from Rough Country? ie. does my year FX4 typically have enough adjustment in the stock torsion keys to bring the front up 1.5" ? Current height to the fender lips is about 33" front, 35" rear.

Any advice on replacing the stock front shocks? The Rancho RS55374 appears to be my only option with a raised front, however I've heard from a number of people their quality isn't what it used to be. Or is it better to change something with the front control arms/suspension so I can fit regular type shocks? I read about coil conversions, but all the links were dead.

(Note the clean area where the bump stop is always making contact, and that's just driving around town)

On the rear suspension, are the rear shocks all the same across all the trims? I've attached some pictures, so I'm curious if anyone can tell me if the rear leaf springs look standard? Not sure if it's been modified for towing.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The bent thing on the back of your leaf springs is an add-a-leaf for towing/payload. May cause an increase in ride height and a harsher ride.

 

[rubydist]

No the shocks (both front and rear) were different for the FX4 than for the regular 4x4 Rangers in 2003. A quick look at RockAuto shows 5 different Motorcraft numbers for the rear shocks including one for the Off Road Package, and 3 different front shocks including 2 different ones for the torsion bar front suspension. And there are options for raised ride height shown as well.

btw, the Bilstein front shocks on my 2003 FX4 were much better than the Rancho front shocks on my 2009 FX4 - the Ranchos are nib Motorcraft parts and they are way too soft - the front bounces up and down several times after going over a big bump.

 

[gw33gp]

Bilstein shocks for a regular 4WD Ranger will work for you. My 2002 FX4 came with Ford tuned Bilstein shocks and I thought they were a little soft for off-road. At around 100K miles I installed Bilstein tuned shacks and am very happy with them. I have run with the 1.5" torsion bar lift since near new and the those Bilstein shocks work just fine with that. Bilstein keeps changing the part number but I think they are called B6 4600 now. If you lift higher, you may want to go with Bilstein 5100 shocks.

 

[Erland]

The bent thing on the back of your leaf springs is an add-a-leaf for towing/payload. May cause an increase in ride height and a harsher ride.

That's kind of what I figured, helper springs, but they look to be as old as the rest of the leafs so I wasn't sure if they were a factory item or an aftermarket helper installed by the original owner.
I might pull those out then and add a longer shackle if needed to bring the height back up.

No the shocks (both front and rear) were different for the FX4 than for the regular 4x4 Rangers in 2003. A quick look at RockAuto shows 5 different Motorcraft numbers for the rear shocks including one for the Off Road Package, and 3 different front shocks including 2 different ones for the torsion bar front suspension. And there are options for raised ride height shown as well.

None of the ones I'm seeing (front) other than the Rancho's have both the peg-leg design (to clear the CV shaft) and the raised height.

btw, the Bilstein front shocks on my 2003 FX4 were much better than the Rancho front shocks on my 2009 FX4 - the Ranchos are nib Motorcraft parts and they are way too soft - the front bounces up and down several times after going over a big bump.

Definitely, Bilstein would be preferable to Rancho.

Bilstein shocks for a regular 4WD Ranger will work for you. My 2002 FX4 came with Ford tuned Bilstein shocks and I thought they were a little soft for off-road. At around 100K miles I installed Bilstein tuned shacks and am very happy with them. I have run with the 1.5" torsion bar lift since near new and the those Bilstein shocks work just fine with that. Bilstein keeps changing the part number but I think they are called B6 4600 now. If you lift higher, you may want to go with Bilstein 5100 shocks.

That's what I've been wanting to find out, if they'll work with the torsion bars cranked a bit. The documentation for the B6 4600s repeatedly say they are for "stock height, 0" lift only!", but those would be my first choice. eg. front 24-188241 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=6321306&cc=1438311&jsn=1409 & rear 24-188258 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=6321306&cc=1438311&jsn=1409
I've looked for the 5100s, but I haven't come across any part numbers that match up.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The 5100's have the same guts as the 4600's with a different finish and a boot instead of a sleeve... And they are for lifted applications.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The thing to remember with torsion bar suspensions... while cranking the torsion will provide "lift".... the up travel stop and down travel stop remain unchanged. So it doesn't change the wheel travel at all.... in theory a factory length shock will still work.

 

[rubydist]

None of the ones I'm seeing (front) other than the Rancho's have both the peg-leg design (to clear the CV shaft) and the raised height.

The ASH1094 is the stock Motorcraft for torsion bar front. The BILSTEIN 24188241 is the torsion bar heavy duty front. Both are the "chicken leg" look and are on RockAuto.

 

[gw33gp]

The thing to remember with torsion bar suspensions... while cranking the torsion will provide "lift".... the up travel stop and down travel stop remain unchanged. So it doesn't change the wheel travel at all.... in theory a factory length shock will still work.

It not only works in theory, it works in practice. My Ranger has been doing it that way for over 250K miles with no problem. It even still has the original CV joints and drive axles. The top ball joints were replaced at around 200K miles and the lower at around 230K miles. So it seems that 1.5" torsion bar lift is not harmful to the front suspension or drivetrain and I have not experienced any effect on the ride quality.

 

[Uncle Gump]

It not only works in theory, it works in practice. My Ranger has been doing it that way for over 250K miles with no problem. It even still has the original CV joints and drive axles. The top ball joints were replaced at around 200K miles and the lower at around 230K miles. So it seems that 1.5" torsion bar lift is not harmful to the front suspension or drivetrain and I have not experienced any effect on the ride quality.

I totally agree with you...

However I have seen a few discussions where the re-indexed key and maxed out torsion crank crowd say that the extended travel shocks provide better compression characteristics then stock length shocks when running close to max. I have no experience with it but I did leave the door open for those folks by saying... "in theory".

 

[gw33gp]

That is kind of true. It is the extension of the shocks that becomes the problem. I think anything over 2" T-bar lift is too close to the stock shock travel length. It can make the suspension feel rough when it hits the stops at full extension. That is why I stay at 1.5" to be on the safe side. Extended travel shocks do eliminate this problem but it also is harder on some of the front suspension components and CV joints.

I don't think the compression characteristics change that much but I have never used the extended travel shocks and could be wrong on that. The bump stops in compression are on the lower control arms and not in the shocks so I would think the extended shocks would not preform much better in compression unless they are valved differently.

Even at 1.5" lift, the rubber boots on my ball joints start cracking sooner than I think they should. I don't know if a non-lifted 4WD Ranger has this problem. Fortunately, silicone seals the cracks up nicely and extends the life of the ball joint considerably.

 

[Erland]

So I pulled off those helpers in the rear and figured I'd try winding up the stock adjusters.
Is it normal for the adjusters to be quite different left to right? The passenger side adjuster is barely turned in with about 1.56" of bolt remaining, while the driver side is cranked in most of the way with about 0.75" of bolt left. If it's not unusual, any idea how many turns are needed? I'm half wondering if I might need a fresh set of torsion rods or a new set of keys. The truck only has 70k on it, so they shouldn't be tired yet.

 

[Erland]

The thing to remember with torsion bar suspensions... while cranking the torsion will provide "lift".... the up travel stop and down travel stop remain unchanged. So it doesn't change the wheel travel at all.... in theory a factory length shock will still work.

I'll have to take another look at the front suspension. I had thought the droop was only limited by the shock.
I noticed one company, Wulf, had their own shocks with a shortened rod section on their lift kit so they could have a longer stroke. That way they have a similar to stock compressed length but a longer extended length.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The torsion adjuster bolts (side to side) almost always vary how much they are turned in. This is courtesy of @gw33gp in another thread (post 2)... it's all about the ride height regardless of where the adjuster bolts end up. This is out of his factory manual for 02... your 03 should be the same.

'01 Torsion Bar Stock Adjustment | The Ranger Station

I looked at the Wulf stuff when I bought my 06... and after a bunch of thought... I decided not to go that route. For one... who makes those Wulf shocks? I'm sure it isn't Wulf. Secondly... in their shock installation video... they claim several times that the shocks will give you more travel. That is just not true. Unless you alter the up and down stops on the truck... there is only the travel built in from the factory. Then lastly... I wanted to keep the ride quality and longevity of the front suspension and drive axles. When you start going much higher then the allowable upper limits of the factory specs... the suspension has very little drop... your axles run at some pretty radical angles and there is a bunch of undo stress placed on the ball joints and bushings. Things just wear out at an accelerated rate. So for me... I can get everything I need out of the factory parts,

 

[gw33gp]

The stop for the suspension in compression is on the truck (bottom control arm). I am pretty sure the stop in extension is in the shock, I know it is on the rear. If that is true of the front too, shocks with more extension can give more travel on the front suspension. I agree, that could result in accelerated wear on some things and I also like to use parts that keep the suspension within the design parameters of the Ford engineers.