Shock rattle how to fix?

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MNRaptorDad

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Ive had my gen 1 (55k miles) for a couple months now and noticed from day 1 an anoying ratttle from the shocks when hitting potholes, cracks, sewer caps. I brought to the dealer and The tech narrowed the noise down to the lower front shock mounts. I have the premium extended warranty so i tried but was denied by ford for shock replacement. Do i just need a new lower bolt or new shocks? Also shouldnt ford be able to recharge the shocks? I keep getting the same front desk service guy at ford that doesnt seem to know anything about these trucks.
 

NateMob

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Ive had my gen 1 (55k miles) for a couple months now and noticed from day 1 an anoying ratttle from the shocks when hitting potholes, cracks, sewer caps. I brought to the dealer and The tech narrowed the noise down to the lower front shock mounts. I have the premium extended warranty so i tried but was denied by ford for shock replacement. Do i just need a new lower bolt or new shocks? Also shouldnt ford be able to recharge the shocks? I keep getting the same front desk service guy at ford that doesnt seem to know anything about these trucks.

Denied on what basis?

Sounds like you need to have the lower bushing in each replaced. No modern Ford mechanic would you want recharging your shocks and your best bet is to send them into TSW Offroad, Forged Offroad, or @ShocksbyHammer which is much closer to you and can perform a proper rebuild.

The bolt isn't really a wear item so nothing to worry about there.
 
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MNRaptorDad

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They said the shock absorber doesnt fall under the contract even tho it said right on the service guys computer screen under premium care “ shock absorber” when we looked it up. So the service guy said i should call them to dispute just not sure if anyone has had any luck with that.
 

Sozzy12

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Probably about time for a rebuild. You can replace the bushings with spherical rod ends. Never have to worry about bushings again. I had Forged do mine and also added Schrader valves to recharge them, among other upgrades. I also replaced the lower shock bolt with thier kit... IIRC the stock bolt threads bottom out and can prevent proper torque.
 

Christyle

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Proper torque on the lower bolt is like 230 ft-lbs...lots of people point to that as a cause for front end noise. I've had a front end clunk ever since installing coilovers and cant seem to narrow it down, so I just live with it.
 

Nesc204

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Probably about time for a rebuild. You can replace the bushings with spherical rod ends. Never have to worry about bushings again. I had Forged do mine and also added Schrader valves to recharge them, among other upgrades. I also replaced the lower shock bolt with thier kit... IIRC the stock bolt threads bottom out and can prevent proper torque.
I Did Exact same
 

BenBB

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Ive had my gen 1 (55k miles) for a couple months now and noticed from day 1 an anoying ratttle from the shocks when hitting potholes, cracks, sewer caps. I brought to the dealer and The tech narrowed the noise down to the lower front shock mounts. I have the premium extended warranty so i tried but was denied by ford for shock replacement. Do i just need a new lower bolt or new shocks? Also shouldnt ford be able to recharge the shocks? I keep getting the same front desk service guy at ford that doesnt seem to know anything about these trucks.
It could be lower balljoints, you can check that yourself with a jack and a prybar. Dealerships are hit and miss, so like medical things a second opinion isn't a bad idea. But assuming they are right and it's the lower shock mount, then you can have them replaced along with a rebuild from somewhere as others mentioned (Forged, TSW, etc.) but...
They said the shock absorber doesnt fall under the contract even tho it said right on the service guys computer screen under premium care “ shock absorber” when we looked it up. So the service guy said i should call them to dispute just not sure if anyone has had any luck with that.
I would definitely pursue this angle first, they are still available new last time I looked so if it says covered they should honor it.

Side note, no I don't think any Ford dealers can recharge the shocks. Fox shocks come factory with a rubber pellet on the nitrogen chamber so you need the needle along with a nitrogen tank/regulator, along with at least some understanding of the process. But just charging them likely isn't going to help anyone as chances are the nitrogen went into the shock and emulsified with the shock oil, so if the nitrogen charge was low it really means you need to rebuild the shock and replace whichever o-ring blew (they use a floating piston and a separate chamber for the nitrogen against the shock oil itself).
 

Jhollowell

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Ive had my gen 1 (55k miles) for a couple months now and noticed from day 1 an anoying ratttle from the shocks when hitting potholes, cracks, sewer caps. I brought to the dealer and The tech narrowed the noise down to the lower front shock mounts. I have the premium extended warranty so i tried but was denied by ford for shock replacement. Do i just need a new lower bolt or new shocks? Also shouldnt ford be able to recharge the shocks? I keep getting the same front desk service guy at ford that doesnt seem to know anything about these trucks.
I know you said the tech narrowed it down, but i had the exact same problem and it ended up being the nut on the top of the shaft being loose. tightened it up and the rattle went away.
 
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