Suspension

Dangriga

New member
I am looking to upgrade my suspension. I drive mostly dirt roads, with washboard, potholes and ruts, some rocky roads, and mud, some off-road. No racing or speed, just getting from one place to the next comfortably, often through the jungle. I am looking at getting Fox 2.0 Performance Shocks or 2.0 with reservoir front and rear. I have a 2006 E350 with the standard SMB 4x4 conversion with 4” lift. So how does one measure the size of the shock for both front and rear? Does the fox come in one size fits all, or do you need to measure something in order to get the right length? I have asked numerous locations (Weldtec, Agile, etc.) but everyone is on lockdown and not answering. Thanks!
 

marret

Active member
Sorry for the caps, this is how it is done in the link.

HOW TO MEASURE EXTENDED, COLLAPSED, & TRAVEL LENGTHS NOTE: BE SURE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION PIVOT ANGLES OF CV AXLES, DRIVESHAFT, SUSPENSION, AND STEERING COMPONENTS ON BOTH EXTENDED AND COLLAPSED SUSPENSION CYCLES. A LIMIT STRAP AND BUMP STOPS SHOULD BE USED TO LIMIT THE SUSPENSION TRAVEL, NOT THE SHOCK. STEP 1 (MEASUREMENTS) EXTENDED (EXT) – SECURE THE FRAME WITH JACK STANDS OR LIFT. REMOVE SHOCKS AND SPRINGS FROM VEHICLE ALLOWING THE SUSPENSION COMPONENTS TO DROP DOWN. ONCE THE DESIRED EXTENDED LENGTH OF THE SUSPENSION TRAVEL IS SET, MEASURE FROM THE CENTER OF THE TOP AND BOTTOM SHOCK MOUNTING POINTS. THIS MEASUREMENT IS YOUR EXTENDED TRAVEL LENGTH. COLLAPSED (COL) – SECURE THE FRAME WITH JACK STANDS OR LIFT. REMOVE SHOCKS AND SPRINGS FROM VEHICLE. USING A JACK TO COMPRESS THE SUSPENSION TRAVEL TO FULL BOTTOM OUT INCLUDING THE BUMP STOP. MEASURE FROM THE CENTER OF THE TOP AND BOTTOM SHOCK EYELET MOUNTING POINTS. THIS MEASUREMENT IS YOUR COLLAPSED TRAVEL LENGTH. STEP 2 (TRAVEL) DETERMINE YOUR REQUIRED SHOCK TRAVEL BY SUBTRACTING THE COLLAPSED LENGTH FROM THE EXTENDED LENGTH. THIS MEASUREMENT IS YOUR TRAVEL LENGTH. STEP 3 (SELECTING PRODUCT) USE THE TRAVEL LENGTH TO BEGIN TO NARROW DOWN THE REQUIRED SHOCK FOR THE VEHICLE. LIMIT STRAP LENGTH SHOULD BE CHANGED TO ACHIEVE THE REQUIRED EXTENDED LENGTH OF THE SELECTED SHOCK. OPTIONAL SHAFT EYELETS CAN BE PURCHASED TO SLIGHTLY INCREASE OR DECREASE SHOCKS EXTENDED AND COLLAPSED LENGTHS.

Link: Fox Offroad

You might get more response in the Camper Van forum.
 
Last edited:

shenrie

^^^ hates cars
Load up your van like you would for any trip, take it to a scale, and get specific weights for each axle. Provide info to agile and be done with it. They have custom valved fox shocks for the heavy e350’s. John worked at fox before he worked at agile and knows how to make these heavy rigs perform their best. Imho, custom valved vs off the shelf is a no brainer.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Load up your van like you would for any trip, take it to a scale, and get specific weights for each axle. Provide info to agile and be done with it. They have custom valved fox shocks for the heavy e350’s. John worked at fox before he worked at agile and knows how to make these heavy rigs perform their best. Imho, custom valved vs off the shelf is a no brainer.
Before the Virus madness Agile had ten bays doing upgrades for Sprinters mostly and domestics. They have a way of putting 285's on the Sprinters.
 

Dangriga

New member
This is really interesting. I finally got through to Agile, and they have recommended the suspension for the rear of the van.

2 - Agile tuned Fox shock, 986-24-057 V4, 2.0, IFP, 6.1 Travel

1 - Add-a-leaf Rear 3.0W Ford E-Series (Set--2 ea.)

1 - Load Spring 3.0W Ford E-Series (Set--2 ea.)

1 - AO Custom Rear 3.0W Re-Arched Platform Spring

4 - U-Bolt, Ford, 11 1/2" x3 5/8"x5/8" Round Plated

4 - Universal Shock Boot, Black, bulk, 2.0

They will not give any recommendation for the front except for 2 - Ford Sportsmobile Custom Front Shock, PS, 2.0, IFP, 7.6", 0-1" Lift, they say the only way to do the front suspension is to bring the van in for a week so that they can experiment with the leaf springs to see what is best. Living in Belize that will not be possible. So I asked them for a starting point and I will do the fine tuning. They said they could not do that cause the possibility of a negative result is too great. What?

So where do I go or where do I start to upgrade the front suspension? Is it really that difficult? I am going with 4 Fox shocks from Agile, but how do I modify the leaf springs to improve suspension on the front? Again it is a 2006 Ford E350 6.0l SMB.
 

C p weinberger

Active member
“They said they could not do that cause the possibility of a negative result is too great. What?”
Sorry, no shock advice but, from experience, measure everything 10 times because it always seems to go wrong some how the farther you are away. Hand carried shocks for a landrover defender once from USA to Tanzania, didn’t fit. That was a suckie day my friend.
I hear your pain.. As far as I can tell.... unfortunately businesses in the states have to try and limit their liability regarding customers giving them poor reviews or ratings or even seeking damages because the customer themselves screwed something up. But in typical human nature the customer never mentions the fact they had any part in the poor performance or installation of a product. So now many companies just try to limit possible scenarios that might cause them headaches, which turns into a pain in the butt for all of us.
Where in Belize? Went there April 2019 for several weeks of vacation with mine and my brothers families. Had a great time. We’ve now visited Panama, Costa Rica and Belize and had nothing but great things to say about the experiences! I do have to say I was shocked at the poverty in Belize, and this from a guy who lived in some of the poorest countries in Africa. What’s always so amazing, the tough circumstances does not prevent most people from these poorer countries from being happy and hospitable.
Wow, what difference in the world now to when we were there in Belize exactly 1 year ago.
Good luck ?
 

chet6.7

Explorer
I am looking to upgrade my suspension. I drive mostly dirt roads, with washboard, potholes and ruts, some rocky roads, and mud, some off-road. No racing or speed, just getting from one place to the next comfortably, often through the jungle. I am looking at getting Fox 2.0 Performance Shocks or 2.0 with reservoir front and rear. I have a 2006 E350 with the standard SMB 4x4 conversion with 4” lift. So how does one measure the size of the shock for both front and rear? Does the fox come in one size fits all, or do you need to measure something in order to get the right length? I have asked numerous locations (Weldtec, Agile, etc.) but everyone is on lockdown and not answering. Thanks!
Is there a negative for reservoir shocks? Beside the price of course.
 

surferdave

New member
Prob a little late but just in case you are still figuring this out. I have an Agile converted 03' e350 with the 7.3. I run the exact setup they suggested and it's great. Have put about 50k on it with a ton of Baja and back roads and in general hard use. I just replaced the shocks and it was pretty easy to do. You need an Allen wrench for the top and I recommend a ratcheting wrench, on the front, it's a bit of a pain to get to, and a socket won't fit. jacking the car up was not required but made it easier. Did not need to jack the whole front or back. Just one side like you are changing the tire was good enough.
 

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