Do new Rancho 9000s work with an old Rancho air compressor?

[abeere]

Hello,

I've looked through the forum and can't seem to find an answer to my question.

I have a 1994 L-300 (Chamonix) with a 2 inch lift and Rancho 9000 shocks with a small air compressor that allows me to stiffen the shocks from within the cabin.

That's all good, except I need to replace the shocks. The compressor still works, so my question is: Are modern Rancho 9000 shocks compatible with this old (probably original from 1994) compressed air control system? Note that Rancho still sells a compressed air system that looks very similar:
http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/rancho_9000.cfm

I called Rancho, but the guy seemed to be at a loss to answer my question.

I will likely try calling again, but this time armed with the Pro Comp numbers I've found on this side. Namely:
Front: 313515 or 913515
Rear: 319520 or 919520

At least that way he can cross reference to their part numbers. For some reason he'd never heard of a Delica I'll also see if I can find some sort of part number on the control system itself.

Any thoughts or advice would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Andrew

[FalcoColumbarius]

I have the My Ride set up. I can't think why the new shocks wouldn't work with the old compressor system. You have the blue tooth system that talks with the compressor, the only thing that connects between the compressor and the shocks is the air hose.

MyRideManual.pdf

(1.87 MiB) Downloaded 406 times

If you have the My Ride system that is designed for the RS9000 shocks, then the compressor is not from '94, more likely from '08. By the way you're wording your post I'm led to believe that the shocks were already installed when you purchased your Delica? When I got my Rancho RS9000s I took the pin mounts off of my rear axle and replaced them with loop mounts. I'd double check the mounts on your rear axle to see if this is the case with your Chamonix. If the mounting brackets are for loop end shocks then those Pro Comp numbers probably would match for the rear shocks.

The Rancho numbers that I have for my wagon are: RS9000XL(RS999188); RS9000XL(RS999151) ~ but remember, I replaced the mounts on my rear axle with loop instead of pin mounts.

Falco.

[abeere]

You are correct when you assume that my vehicle came with the shocks installed.

However, I don't have the bluetooth system.

What I have is a guage in the cab with 3-buttons (compress, release front and release back). This is directly connected to the compressor. And when I say directly connected, I mean it! When I press the release buttons, I actually get a shot of air that comes out.

Though whether Bluetooth or directly connected, your comment about the only connection being the air hose makes a lot of sense. However, given that we are potentially talking about 2 decades between when this system was built and what they have now, my concerns are:

- do the connectors fit (i.e. do I need to convert)?
- is the pressure compatible (i.e. will my compressor create enough/too much pressure)?

As to your comment about pin vs loop mounts ... I don't know. I will take a look, but let me ask a naive question. If I do indeed have pin mounts and ordered a shock with loop mounts ... couldn't I just take the pin from my existing shock and use it to attach the new loop shock? The reason I ask is that from the images I've been able to pull up about pin and loop mounts, the shocks themselves look the same.

Andrew
P.S. Thanks for the Rancho numbers, but does your ride also have a 2" lift?

[FalcoColumbarius]

P.S. Thanks for the Rancho numbers, but does your ride also have a 2" lift?

I got the shocks first. Then I had my leaf packs recurved with one more leaf spring included into the pack. This lifted the wagon roughly an inch and an half. Consequently I re-indexed my torsion bars in order to lift the front to match the back. Still the same shocks. I think they would be okay with a two inch lift, always prudent to double check.

The hose slides into a "Push To Connect" (PTC) adaptor. When you crawl under your wagon to look at the rear axle mounts, check to see how the hose connects to the shock absorbers. If your current shocks have the PTC connexion then the new shocks should fit the existing system.

I tried to talk to the people at Rancho but got a kid that had about as much knowledge as the ones in Canadian Tire. I would recommend finding an off-road shop that's a dealer for Rancho and ask them. On the west coast we have a shop called "North Shore Off Road", whom are pretty knowledgeable regarding various shock absorbers ~ I'd imagine that there would be a dealer in Ontario, given the demographics. Ideally you want a shop that has a garage, ergo a working knowledge of these products.

The blue tooth system is convenient as I can take the unit outside and show off to my friends and the occasional stranger, however it usually stays mounted to the front console. I would think that your physically connected system would be less prone to failure. The receiver on my blue tooth system packed it in one day, it was replaced, gratis ~ and the replacement receiver has lasted me longer than the original one, which leads me to believe that the original one was a dud. Still ~ simple tends to trump.

If I do indeed have pin mounts and ordered a shock with loop mounts ... couldn't I just take the pin from my existing shock and use it to attach the new loop shock? The reason I ask is that from the images I've been able to pull up about pin and loop mounts, the shocks themselves look the same.

There are articles on this website that refer to pin adaptors that you will find if you search "Rancho", also interesting observations in general. I've had my RS9000s for five years now and apart from that one issue with the blue tooth receiver ~ I'm really glad I have them ~ they work really well with my P25W Starwagon... smiles.

Falco.

[abeere]

The hose slides into a "Push To Connect" (PTC) adaptor. When you crawl under your wagon to look at the rear axle mounts, check to see how the hose connects to the shock absorbers. If your current shocks have the PTC connexion then the new shocks should fit the existing system.

Good to know. I'll take a look this weekend.

I tried to talk to the people at Rancho but got a kid that had about as much knowledge as the ones in Canadian Tire. I would recommend finding an off-road shop that's a dealer for Rancho and ask them. On the west coast we have a shop called "North Shore Off Road", whom are pretty knowledgeable regarding various shock absorbers ~ I'd imagine that there would be a dealer in Ontario, given the demographics. Ideally you want a shop that has a garage, ergo a working knowledge of these products.

Thanks for the thoughts. The Racho dealers (as per the Rancho site) in Ottawa are chains (e.g. Canadian Tire, Frisby, etc.). Without much hope for success, I tried calling one. As I expected, they just order the part; they don't know much about them. However, one of the older guys was able to put me onto a "tuner" shop around the corner. I wasn't aware of them (and couldn't find anything like that on Google). While not off-roading experts they do deal with both on and off road suspensions. They're looking into it.

I would think that your physically connected system would be less prone to failure.

My thoughts exactly. I'm actually a computer guy, so have no fear of tech/gadgets, but in this case I prefer to look for reliability. In such cases, simple tends to be best choice ... though it would be cool to have a Bluetooth system and figure out how the control works so that I could write an app for my smartphone

There are articles on this website that refer to pin adaptors that you will find if you search "Rancho", also interesting observations in general. I've had my RS9000s for five years now and apart from that one issue with the blue tooth receiver ~ I'm really glad I have them ~ they work really well with my P25W Starwagon... smiles.

Thanks. I had looked at those before, but had missed/not paid attention to the pin mounts. The Pro Comp adapter looks good. As to my original question, I had it answered pretty quickly when I looked under the van. Loops on the front, pins on the back. I'll see what shocks I can find, but I'm thinking a pin to loop conversion is likely.

Thanks for all the comments. With any luck I'll be able to keep the systems as it is rather than replacing the shocks with standard (i.e. "dumb") shocks.

Andrew
P.S. I have sent my question/details to Rancho ... but no response yet.

[abeere]

Update: Rancho got back to me and said they should be compatible. So I'm going to give it a shot and will know in a couple of weeks (one of the shocks is on back-order).

Andrew

[Big-Bird]

I have had the Rancho kit when it was offered with the 5000s shocks. I ended up doing an upgrade 2 years later to the RS9000X series which was done when I coverted my Xterra's IFS suspension to a solid axle.

The shocks come with a manual dial that must be removed so that the air fitting can be installed in their place. You will need new gaskets(or salvage the ones on the plastic dials and reuse) for that swap. Use of silicone can be done but it must be thin so that excess material can't gum up the small hydraulic piston that adjusts the soft/stiff setting of the shock.

Lets assume you have the gen 2 kit with gauges that read 0-9

If you have the first generation of this kit your gauges will read 0-5. The only difference here is the numbers....all you do is pressurize to half points 1.5 on the gen 1 system is the same as 3 on the new gauge.

[abeere]

Thanks for the tips (especially about swithing from dials to air; that was a piece I was wondering about). As I have the 0-5 scale, sounds like I have the first gen. As I doubt I'll ever be aiming for a specific setting (e.g. 6), I don't think I'll even need to do the mental conversion. I'll simply be looking for more or less and will adjust accordingly.

Andrew

[almac]

I have considered the inside cab control system(not the Bluetooth), but am unsure where to mount the air gauges.
I could butcher my dash over my glovebox, but i'm undecided.