Shock questions

[kevinr1970]

Maybe stupid question here, but...
I have a set of four Rancho what I believe are RSX9000 shocks on my parts truck. This truck has a single front shock set-up. I was told they have less than 10,000 miles on them but the truck sat for about four years so they have about 6-8 years on them.
When I try to compress the shocks by hand it is very difficult. Once I get them to the bottom they return to full extension by themselves in about 30 seconds.

On my good truck I have a set of Rancho what I believe are RS5000 shocks. This truck has the factory quad-shock set-up. I bought these shocks in around Octoer 2004. They have about 6,000 miles on them.
When I compress them by hand it is relatively easy. Once they are to the bottom they do not return by themselves, even over night. I can extend them by hand with slightly more effort than compressing them.

My question is which one of these sets of shocks are working properly or are they both?
Can I install the a single front shock in place of a quad shock or is it too different?

The parts truck had a 2" lift (which is migrating its way to the good truck) but the shocks in the front are about 1-2" shorter than the ones on the good truck at stock height? Is this beacuse of differences with the quad-shock set-up?

[eagle23]

Answer: they both may be

Seriously, the ones (9000's) that are hard to compress that open up again are gas-charged; when in a static position they expand to full length. That's normal and sounds like they're still in good shape. If they fit, use them. They are slower to compress but do a good job of damping the spring's tendency to oscillate (which explains the British term for what we call shocks as "dampers").

The others (5000's)sound like traditional shocks that are whatever length you leave them in. They also are much softer on ride, but do not offer the better control (damping) of the gas shocks.

Hope that helps.

Brian

[kevinr1970]

I ended up talking to a gearhead at work a little and he said pretty much what you did - one set is probably gas charged and the other isn't.

I'll use them if I can?

[piecesparts]

The 5000s were a gas charged shock ALSO, if they stay where you leave them, then they are KAPUT and are not doing you any good. They should react like the 9000s are and extend themselves to length.

[kevinr1970]

I was putting the shocks back on the truck today and noticed that I had to have the 9000's extended completly out just to mount them.

It seemed to me that if they are extended completly while just sitting there then what happens if I hit a big bump and the springs unweight? Couldn't be good on the shocks if they are are being pulled on to extend but there's nothing left???

So I put the 5000's on as they had almost 2" I could extend still from the length for mounting them.

[piecesparts]

Maybe your 9000s are the worng number and are to short. The 5000s are the right length, but are wore out. Do a litttle research and get the right 9000s and I think you will like them. As for mounting, remember that when you put the truck on the ground, then you collapse the shocks most of the way to compressed state. and then run from there. I have 9000s on the front of all my trucks and just lately I put a set of Edelbrock IAS shocks on the back of my 91 Silverado lowered DD and that was a major improvement there. That was a good thing.

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

As for mounting, remember that when you put the truck on the ground, then you collapse the shocks most of the way to compressed state.

The truck is resting on jackstands under the front axle so it should be compressed to a static height.
A guy I know was selling a set of the Edelbrocks a while back. Wouldn't work for one reason or another. Maybe I'll look to see if he still has them.