General Advice for Factory Shock Service

[No Brakes]

Hey all,

The truck is a 2013 and just crossed 50k on the odometer. It's high time these shocks get serviced. I have some logistics questions about how best to accomplish this. I do have an open service request with Fox, and shocks themselves are in fantastic shape.

I called a local shop I've worked with before to get some deavers and bumps on and they obviously can't have the truck idle on a lift for 7+ days. In my head I see a few options but I really want to know how others have addressed this common challenge.

• DIY. Get the truck on jack stands, get all the shocks off, remove the coils(?) Send them in myself, maybe have a shop help with the packaging. I have 1/2" socket set and a torque wrench but obviously might need another body and more tools to accomplish this without headache.
• Set up some kind of swap where I buy a used set and send in mine (like this)
• Find a shop elsewhere willing to accommodate or one that does the shock service themselves (I am located in Montana)

Thanks for the advice! Eager to hear what solutions other folks have opted for.

 

[Gumby]

There are a couple of options for you
#1 get some rebuilds from a reputable rebuilder they will send you shocks and you will have XXXXX amount of time to send them your old ones once you swap them.
#2 buy new ones swap them.

IMO.... I think#2 is a better option I have had 2 friends do the rebuild route and shipping and core hassles for $150.00 more they could have bought new ones from rock auto.
I feel like the rebuilders get you with a LOW rebuild cost then when you send them your core they pick them to death and you don't get all your money back.
I just got a set(used) from a friend who ordered new in rock auto he paid $1474.10 I bought his old ones. I am going to rebuild his old ones for my truck put them on the shelf till needed.

 

[2slo4u]

spend a few extra bucks and get new ones. You can send in the old ones to get rebuilt on your own timeline

 

[Gumby]

@Jhollowell is somewhere in your neck of the woods. He dose rebuilds.

 

[Jhollowell]

PM me and we can talk. My price is $650 for a set of 4 which is quite a bit cheaper than buying new or any other exchange companies. I also don't nit pick on core returns. As long as your shafts are good and your top cap bleed screws aren't stuck you'll get your deposit back. You do have to factor in the drive since i don't ship, but you can always schedule service up here, stop by and get your shocks, have them installed and drop off your old ones on the way home. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thanks @Gumby for the plug

Edit: looks like he's in Montana, not Oregon? Might not be worth the drive

 

[No Brakes]

@Gumby and @2slo4u I appreciate the wisdom (and the part numbers). I hadn't even considered that the shocks could be bought new, and for a reasonable cost. For a brief moment I considered just shelling for the 3.0s from SVC to round out the suspension upgrades be a lot cooler if I did.

Getting the parts new and servicing the old set in time makes a lot of sense for my situation. I went ahead and put an order in @ Rock Auto. I'll post to this thread as updates come in from the install and the factory service on the old set.

 

[No Brakes]

Yeah I moved from Central Oregon to Western Montana recently. @Jhollowell I have a friend in Bellingham that has a Gen 1. I'll let him know you are in the area

 

[No Brakes]

Some updates on the whole process of getting these factory shocks swapped.

So I did end up ordering a new set from rock auto. For the crew cab raptor a new set of shocks cost $1,359.
The packages came pretty beat up (the boxes are quite heavy of course) but the boxes inside the packages were well protected.



I had a local shop take the old ones off and put the new ones on. I called a few suspension shops just to check prices but most didn't deal with owner purchased parts, the 4x4 shop was much more understanding. It was $1050 from the shop for the job and the alignment.

I cleaned and packaged the old ones up in the same boxes and sent them off to fox for the service request i made many months ago



To ship the hogs cost about $140. Fox made fairly quick work with them and they were back to me in about 10 days total, minus $965 for the trouble.
They came back in a single massive box (altoids for scale).



So all in it was about ~$3500. Not bad given you get a brand new set of shocks and a second set rebuilt and on hand for the next service interval.