Will Gen 3 live valve fit Gen 2 trucks?

[Springer01]

I am trying to find a set of live valves to send to SDI for re-valve so my truck doesn't have to be down. Only thing I have come across is a set of Gen 3 take offs. Does anyone happen to know if they are the same shocks? TIA

 

[brianh87]

I was wondering this myself. Anyone know the differences?

 

[WireNutz]

They are not the same shock spec wise and are a little longer than ours. I know the Gen3 guys are running Gen 2 FRS 3.0's on their trucks with a little loss of travel in the rear.

So they will bolt up and work on our trucks, but may be in the wrong ride zone do to the shock being compressed to fit our trucks, and valving will be off too.

But if you are using them as a temp/spare set to get you factory Gen 2 shocks rebuilt, I think they work fine for that.

 

[Springer01]

They are not the same shock spec wise and are a little longer than ours. I know the Gen3 guys are running Gen 2 FRS 3.0's on their trucks with a little loss of travel in the rear.

So they will bolt up and work on our trucks, but may be in the wrong ride zone do to the shock being compressed to fit our trucks, and valving will be off too.

But if you are using them as a temp/spare set to get you factory Gen 2 shocks rebuilt, I think they work fine for that.

Thanks man! I was hoping they were the same shocks, but kind of figured they weren't especially in the rears.

 

[BoostCreep]

With the exception of the top hats on the front shocks, I would bet they bolt right up. Only one way to find out.

 

[lawtonmc]

I did this on my 18 after seeing this thread, https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/gen-3-suspension-37-package-on-a-2017.89226/page-2

I wanted to use the e-click but couldn’t find any Gen 2 live valve take offs, so went with gen 3 shocks. I also bought the SDI top hats so I could clear my 37s and they came with new hardware so I had no issues with the top hat bolt size. The stock top hats would work though, they line up, but the bolts are bigger so you would just need the nuts from a gen 3 which you can get from a ford dealership.

So far they’ve been great and based on calls with SDI and Mike from Levelup Suspension, the stock valving in the Gen 3 shocks is much better than the Gen 2 shocks.

 

[lawtonmc]

 

[WireNutz]

Good to know it works. How do you like the Gen3 valving vs the Gen2?

 

[lawtonmc]

It’s tough to say. my shocks had 75k miles on them and were definitely worn out. And being that I did the upgrade in the winter I haven’t really been able to do much in terms of off-roading. But the day to day ride has been great, especially with e-click.

 

[EastEndAngler]

Approaching 45k and while I haven't beat on the truck but I am a firm believer in proper maintenance. Looking into rebuilds but not thrilled about the down time. Am I reading correctly that Gen3 to Gen2 is a pretty basic swap or is E-Click required even on a 2020 to handle the "live" aspect?

- Any concern with the rear solenoid making contact in the fender well?

- When you mention the top hat bolts if not installing the SDI top hats is any modification required besides the Gen3 bolts?