Suspension Tech General discussion of suspension for the Ford Ranger.

RCD experience

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  #1  
Old 10-29-2007
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RCD experience

I just wanted to share my experience with RCD. I purchased the kit from a local shop reccomended by RCD. I installed it myself. The directions were not helpfull at all. The kit was missing alot of minor parts I had to get at hardware stores and such. When I finally got it installed I drove it to the shop to have it welded and aligned. Well The coilovers were so stiff that they acted like steel bars. The ride was terrible. It will not hold an alignment. The ball joints are wearing extremely fast. The axle shafts are wearing very fast. There is no articulation whatsoever in the front and I have to say it wheeled better stock. The rear lift is a joke. The shop looked everything over and spent several hours with it on the lift scrathcing their heads. It was installed correctly and they could find nothing wrong. They suggested I contact RCD. Then it got worse. The customer service is horrendous. I have been calling and emailing for over 4 months and get the run around every time. They have done nothing but empty promises. They keep saying " I will look in to it and call you back" Then I noticed that one of the parts was bent and tried to order a replacement. after a week I called to see what the status was and they are telling me that they cant even take an order. So basically I have to go to a shop and have a part fabricated. I love my truck and it has been really frustrating not being able to drive it for nearly 5 months. With no resolve in sight I think I just sunk almost 6 grand into suspension upgrades that need to be taken off and ebayed.

I would definately recomend against RCD. I have nothing positive to say about the kit whatsoever. I wish my truck was back to stock. Which it may well be if I ever get time to tear it all apart.
 
  #2  
Old 10-29-2007
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I know HighrollerII has said his RCD rides really smooth, maybe theres a problem that they havent found yet?
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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yea ive had mine on for about a month..

RCD, body lift running 37s

im not using the rear lift..i got pro comp lift springs, beltech shackle..

i think mine rides better then what it was before i lifted which was body lift, cranked t-bars and add-a-leaf in the rear

its stiff but its going to its 37" tires and a 6" suspension lift..i havent flexed or had it offroad and i wont becuase i go for show..but i still have my old 33s so i might do it just to see how much flex i can get out of it


but i love the kit, install was a breeze, hardware was there everything bolted up welding was good..nothing gone wrong yet but your normal tighten everything after 500 miles or so..
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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superlift kit with chevy shackels and aal is no caddy either. hope you get the prob fixed.
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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A friend of mine has the superlift kit and his rides fine. about what I would expect from a lifted ranger. mine rides like a beat up dump truck. If i lift one side up the other comes with it. removing the sway bar helps until I get up to speed and then it sways pretty bad. I think I could tinker with it and change out the coilovers and I would be happy but I dont think I should have to. Also if I cant get replacement parts for a trail rig I am not really sure I see the point. Do I have to buy a whole new kit every time something breaks?

Also In the rear I went with deaver springs and the RCD shackles. I had one break and one bend so I will probably go with somethiing else, belltech maybe.

The install wasnt too bad if all of the little pieces were there it would have been a breeze. but running to the hardware store 20 miles away everytime I noticed a part was wrong or missing got old. It was only fasteners and bushings and stuff that I could source locally but still not what I expect from a "kit"
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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mine feels like i have 3/4 ton suspension in the rear. my 6'8 380lb buddy jumped as high as he could and only commpressed the rear sus about 2-3in
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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i loved my rcd, rode very smooth, i think you have a problem with your coils .... can you get pics? what part was bent?
-Jared
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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Hm... I'm going to have a talk with some RCD guys at SEMA this week and see if I can get somebody to take care of all these ranger problems, or at least fix some problems.

Also, i'm going to try and convince Rancho to produce their 4x4 ranger lift.... cross your fingers
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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im with jared..i love the way mine rides..highway driving is smooth..other then rumble of the tires and exhaust rides like its on air..
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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do you have any pictures of the front end? would love to see them
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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Did you cut off the factory jack lift points on the lower arms. If not those can cause a lot of the symptoms you're describing. So I've heard anyways.
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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wow thats pretty crazy
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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yea it really sounds like something wasn't installed correctly, I know the directions aren't the best but there are some writeups of other people who have installed the RCD kits which could help to figure out something that may be wrong. As far as a shop goes, unless it is specifically a custon truck shop that has dealt with custom ranger suspensions they won't know any more about the truck or the kit than you do.
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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are u ****ing retarded?
worse than stock? it rides so smooth
wearing cvs fast? i have wheeled the **** out of mine, and except for over extending them twice i have had no troubles..
no articulation?
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idk what you did wrong.. but thats completely the opposite of what i have experienced
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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You don't have the anti sway bar attached at both ends. I bet he does. Either way nice front end flex.
 
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Old 10-29-2007
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get the dixon bros long travel kit :) sure its a wider stance.. 3+ per side i think. and gets about 13-14" travel heh.... but then again i am against drop brackets...

but good luck with getting it all figured out. can you change the coil overs to a sway away or a king?
 
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Old 10-30-2007
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Originally Posted by Cape Fear
You don't have the anti sway bar attached at both ends. I bet he does. Either way nice front end flex.
yea... what does that have to do with anything? he could take it off..
its about 100x better than you can get with stock.
 
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Old 10-30-2007
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Originally Posted by Urandaman
get the dixon bros long travel kit :) sure its a wider stance.. 3+ per side i think. and gets about 13-14" travel heh.... but then again i am against drop brackets...

but good luck with getting it all figured out. can you change the coil overs to a sway away or a king?
yea i think you can.. but i wont have this kit long enough to need new coil over, oh i forgot the other 2 drawbacks, the driveshaft.. and the ****TY bilstein coils.. other than that, its a pretty damn good kit.
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i would say its decent for stock geometry and still ifs..


you didnt expect 24" of travel and the ride quality of a caddy for $2300 did you?
 

Last edited by 99ranger4x4; 10-30-2007 at 01:40 AM.
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I saw this post on ORR and laughed. I'll go with the general populace and say something isn't installed correctly. I'll definitely agree their directions suck at life though. My only other complaint about the kit is the coil sag, but t-bars sag too! For the price of a brand new kit they [RCD] could have used better coils.

99ranger4x4....what's crappy about the bilsteins? Being a level II I had the factory bilsteins and compared to the RCD shocks, I sure ride softer - though there are other suspension factors in play now, like coils up front and deaver leaf packs that deleted my need for OEM lift blocks in the rear.
 
  #20  
Old 10-30-2007
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hell no problems here. i am gonna get some new 800# coils and driveshaft. the instructions sucked ***** but whatever i got it done. i havent dont the welding yet. probable wont ever. driveshaft ill replace when i get some cash. i like the ride better than stock. way better.
 
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yeah, I called and complained about the instructions while installing the kit. What I'm baffled on are some of the posts I see about poor customer service, etc. When I got the kit, used mind you, I had to order new shackles, driveshaft spacer, and a few other misc hardware kits from RCD. I ordered directly from them and the dealings couldn't have been smoother.

As it stands right now I'm waiting for my paycheck on Thursday so I can order new coils. Still undecided on 700 or 750 lbs coils. The RCD coils are only 600, so I'm worried 700+ lbs coils are going to ride stiff as hell.
 
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I was just looking at jaysend5.0's profile and noticed he's got a 2000 ranger...

Wasn't 2000 the last year for PVH? Couldn't THIS be part of his problem, theoretically?

http://www.racecardynamics.com/produ...specsheets.htm

and I quote:

Originally Posted by RCD website
System Designed to work with manual or electronic front hubs. System will not work with pulse vacuum hub equipped vehicles.
 
  #23  
Old 10-30-2007
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Originally Posted by Lefty04LevelII

99ranger4x4....what's crappy about the bilsteins? Being a level II I had the factory bilsteins and compared to the RCD shocks, I sure ride softer - though there are other suspension factors in play now, like coils up front and deaver leaf packs that deleted my need for OEM lift blocks in the rear.
the shocks arent bad, i have nothing against them, i meant the coils.. i have had mine on for 4 months, been driving it for 3... the coils are already saged like a ****..

and hell yea, for $2300 they could have thrown in some better coils, and maybe even better cv shafts

Originally Posted by Lefty04LevelII
yeah, I called and complained about the instructions while installing the kit. What I'm baffled on are some of the posts I see about poor customer service, etc. When I got the kit, used mind you, I had to order new shackles, driveshaft spacer, and a few other misc hardware kits from RCD. I ordered directly from them and the dealings couldn't have been smoother.

As it stands right now I'm waiting for my paycheck on Thursday so I can order new coils. Still undecided on 700 or 750 lbs coils. The RCD coils are only 600, so I'm worried 700+ lbs coils are going to ride stiff as hell.
yea, dealing with them to get the new bracket went smooth, in fact i need a 3rd one
i thought the coils were 650, thats why i was looking at 750-800... if they were only 600 im only gonna go 700 to cope with all the extra metal on the front of my truck
 
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Old 10-30-2007
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Originally Posted by Lefty04LevelII
I was just looking at jaysend5.0's profile and noticed he's got a 2000 ranger...

Wasn't 2000 the last year for PVH? Couldn't THIS be part of his problem, theoretically?

http://www.racecardynamics.com/produ...specsheets.htm

and I quote:
i have it on my 99.. if you have manual hubs it works, the problem is the spindle isnt drilled our something for the vaccuum lines..



did anyone else's come with dustboots for the rear shocks?
 
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Old 10-30-2007
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I could be wrong on the 600s, I'll have to check my subscribed threads, but I thought the coils were 600s. I know they are at least 600-something.

rear dust boots......yup mine came with.

Originally Posted by BIGDREAMER02
They are bilstein 5100's that are obviously a special coilover style:
Extd: 19.125"
Col: 14.625"
Dia: 2.0"
Spring Rate: 600 lbs
Inside Dia: 2.5"
Spring Length: 12"
from: https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...07&postcount=2
 


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