Fox 2.5 coilovers install on 2020 Rebel

[User_21361]

Attaching my heights in a similar format as yours, all measurements with same 33in tires fyi.

With my weight in the back and your report I'll go with the Clayton's as well to get to ~2in above non ORP, I'd really like more than 0.5in of rake as I load up the bed with gear and not worrying about being nose high would be nice.

You do need to remove the front fox shocks to change the preload, right?

The only way Fox recommends adjusting preload is by taking them off the truck. Several internet searches have shown people who adjust them while on the truck (lifted up on a jack). Would love confirmation from someone who has tried as well. There are also several brands who suggest adjustments while on the truck. YMMV. There is a shop down the road from me that will only charge me 140$ to adjust them. If I don't get confirmation or don't have the time, I may just have them do it.

Ive decided to run with these for a while. From what I've read they really shine under load. They should not compress as much as the ORP springs.

Good luck on your install. I'm very happy I took the risk on these. Looking forward to adjusting the fronts.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

You don’t have to remove the coilovers to adjust them, I think the Fox 2.5 adjuster is similar to King so lift the front and let the wheels droop in the air, remove the wheels in full. Loosen up the pinch bolt (one full turn) then turn the adjuster clockwise. Every one full turn in your adjuster should be 0.2” lift. Once you have them where you want them height wise tighten the pinch bolt and put your wheels back and test. You’ll need an alignment again after adjusting the height. Fox should have given you guys the spanner needed for the work.

It might be a little tricky to do if the strut tower is similar to the one we have in the 4th gens because the tower or the control arm will be in the middle when you’re trying to complete the turn. I’ll post some pics tonight with what I had to do to turn my adjusters but it’s super easy to do. I can do both sides in 30min now days

 

[Techguy2000]

I did not have the spanner with my front shocks, @seribralcrow did you?

 

[User_21361]

No spanner included. I believe this is because Fox wants you to take them off the truck to adjust. I called them and their tech dept told me I should be able to adjust by hand once the springs are compressed. Therefore, you don't need a spanner wrench. However, I have read that a 5/16 punch fits perfectly and works great for adjusting in tight spaces. I ordered one on Amazon for way cheaper than a spanner wrench.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Looking from the picture above the adjuster is pretty much the same thing I have with Kings
The difference seems to be the Reservoir hose location so I think you guys can do this without taking the CO out of the truck. You’ll run into same issues I ran to (see pics below)

I used this video as the premise for what i needed to do. My Kings came with instructions that also say to take it a shop but for what it's is super easy to do and it's a lot more useful to learn how to do it yourself and believe me you'll play with those adjusters more than once. I've adjusted 4 times already, initialy because the springs settled some over time, then because i keep adding weight, (Rock sliders, then prerunner bumper, now a winch bumper with a 12k winch) Always spray wd40 or similar into the coilover threads before turning the adjusters, will make the job easier...

King instructions say to loosen up that pinch bolt one full turn and nothing more, so whatever you do, don't remove that little sucker off cause you'll screw it all up , ONE full turn off is all needs.

This is from my built thread in the 4th gen RAM forum
"Decided to give my coilovers one turn as they've settled a little more and was running 39 1/4 to the ground from the 39 3/8 i had originally, not that i'm that picky, but mostly because i wanted to see how tough was the job of adjusting them while on the vehicle

, let me tell you is a little biatch, doable though, but it's not a breeze.

Main issue is the reservoir hose being in the middle asides from the strut tower clearance.
There is no way to turn the fackers on with the tool provided or any other spanner wrench if i had one.
This is the tool provided by King, kind of like a long punch, can't turn past this point on the driver side because the hose is in the middle, and there are not visible holes where to place the tool.

The pinch bolt is visible in this pic. Again, don't loosen that one up in full. just one full turn and that's it.

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Here comes Harbor Freight to the rescue

They have a punch set i bought for $8 i think, picked the 5/16 punch and made a mark where i thought the piece i needed was going to clear the hose, and used my HF grinder to cut it, 1 min job total

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Then wrapped one end in electrical tape and inserted the tip in the hole..
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

and then just pounded away until any hole is available for the the King provided tool to fit

, passenger side is another mess on it's own, but the combination of the little 5/16 punch with the longer one does the job well.
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Also, this are the spanner tools i have. the T one i can tell you is the best of them all. King sell that one and it should fit your Fox 2.5's adjusters (confirm it just in case). I bought a set of punch tools from HF and cut one of them short (the 5/16 one) which i use to turn the adjuster where the big T spanner doesn't fit as you see in the pics. You have to pount the tip that is exposed with a hammer, so just be carefull to hit it where you should..
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Hope it helps.

 

[User_21361]

This is from my built thread in the 4th gen RAM forum
"Decided to give my coilovers one turn as they've settled a little more and was running 39 1/4 to the ground from the 39 3/8 i had originally, not that i'm that picky, but mostly because i wanted to see how tough was the job of adjusting them while on the vehicle

, let me tell you is a little biatch, doable though, but it's not a breeze.

Well this was an understatement haha. I tried to do them and only got about 1/4 turn in. I have a slight tear in a tendon in my forearm and I won't be able to crank these things down another .5 inches. Off to the garage haha.

Your guidance has been invaluable through this and I really appreciate your time. I'll post back when the preload is adjusted on Friday. Then I have to find a shop for an alignment and fight the urge to buy tires at the same time.

 

[PROJO]

No, I think FedEx has a person actually walking them from CT to WA...

They should arrive Friday. Fingers crossed I can install this weekend, but may have to wait for some time next week.



Current height change: No change over Bilstein 5100 on setting 5. Front 39" from ground to fender w/ stock duratrac. Rear, no change 39.25" ground to fender. I would consider this a level kit

Planned adjustments: New springs will arrive Friday which should give me an extra inch in the rear. Then I will adjust the front coilover to add an inch of preload.

Hi,

You have the Bilstein 5100 up on the front? Does it hit your upper control arms, or change the angle of the coils? I'm wanting to install these to my Ram Rebel (that is currently running the 3.5" Readylift - without preloaded spacer - 2" rear lift and 1.5" tophat spacer for the front) I'm trying to gain 2" of height in the front lost from removing the preloaded spacer.

Would the Bilstein 5100 acheive these two inches with the stock rebel coils, and Readylift upper control arms - with no issues?

 

[User_21361]

Hi,

You have the Bilstein 5100 up on the front? Does it hit your upper control arms, or change the angle of the coils? I'm wanting to install these to my Ram Rebel (that is currently running the 3.5" Readylift - without preloaded spacer - 2" rear lift and 1.5" tophat spacer for the front) I'm trying to gain 2" of height in the front lost from removing the preloaded spacer.

Would the Bilstein 5100 acheive these two inches with the stock rebel coils, and Readylift upper control arms - with no issues?

Dont know about the UCAs but I ran the 5100 at setting 5 (2" lift/level) with Stock UCAs and no issue for a few months.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[PROJO]

Dont know about the UCAs but I ran the 5100 at setting 5 (2" lift/level) with Stock UCAs and no issue for a few months.

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When you say, "For a few months" - did you run into any problems after those months? - I have the Readylift 3.5" lift (upper control arms) installed - would you think i'll run into any issues installing the Bilstein 5100s on my setup? Currently, with stock rebel springs

 

[User_21361]

When you say, "For a few months" - did you run into any problems after those months? - I have the Readylift 3.5" lift (upper control arms) installed - would you think i'll run into any issues installing the Bilstein 5100s on my setup? Currently, with stock rebel springs

I upgraded to the Fox shocks listed in this thread. I honestly have no idea on whether it would fit with those UCAs. I spent a ton of time researching the set up that I have but didn't learn generics about suspension.

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[PROJO]

I upgraded to the Fox shocks listed in this thread. I honestly have no idea on whether it would fit with those UCAs. I spent a ton of time researching the set up that I have but didn't learn generics about suspension.

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Yeah, your shock system is awesome, but I'm just trying to achieve 2" of lift form the front - while keeping my 3.5" readylift kit without the preloaded spacer. So far, I've only come across the bilstein 5100s to gain 2" of front lift - that was once there with the preloaded spacer. Do you have any other suggestions to gain the 2" of lift missing?

 

[User_21361]

Yeah, your shock system is awesome, but I'm just trying to achieve 2" of lift form the front - while keeping my 3.5" readylift kit without the preloaded spacer. So far, I've only come across the bilstein 5100s to gain 2" of front lift - that was once there with the preloaded spacer. Do you have any other suggestions to gain the 2" of lift missing?

The 5100s will probably work. you may want to start a separate thread to see if anyone's running into issues with the UCAs you have.

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[User_21361]

I adjusted the preload on the fronts. Based on the info from Fox (I called to verify). Each .5" of thread should equal 1" of lift on the truck. I was sitting dead even at 39" floor to fender (1" of thread showing) on the stock rebel duratracs. I adjusted the preload and have an extra 3/8" of thread showing. Oddly, I only got 1/4" on the driver's side and 1/2" of lift on the passenger side. Not sure what's going on, but I'm not planning to mess with it much more. I doubt adding and extra 1/8" would do much and I don't feel like messing with it.

I would love to hear if others had similar experiences and what their thread measurements are.

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[Techguy2000]

Did you remove the shocks from the truck, or take a second try while still mounted?

On my passenger shock the allen head set screw is pointing away from me/towards engine so pretty sure shocks have to come off to fiddle with it.

 

[User_21361]

I picked up a set of compressors and was able to crank them enough that I could adjust the preload on the truck. I still jacked it up. Took about an hour to do both sides.

When you get a chance, can you measure how much thread showing you have?



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[Ram1500rsm]

I adjusted the preload on the fronts. Based on the info from Fox (I called to verify). Each .5" of thread should equal 1" of lift on the truck. I was sitting dead even at 39" floor to fender (1" of thread showing) on the stock rebel duratracs. I adjusted the preload and have an extra 3/8" of thread showing. Oddly, I only got 1/4" on the driver's side and 1/2" of lift on the passenger side. Not sure what's going on, but I'm not planning to mess with it much more. I doubt adding and extra 1/8" would do much and I don't feel like messing with it.

I would love to hear if others had similar experiences and what their thread measurements are.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Your arms motion ratio is 1.6 so every full turn in your adjuster is .2" of lift. Turn 5 times and you get 1"

Count the number of open threads you have above the adjusters. You may want one more open thread showing in the front driver to account for the gas tank weight on the driver side.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Did you remove the shocks from the truck, or take a second try while still mounted?

On my passenger shock the allen head set screw is pointing away from me/towards engine so pretty sure shocks have to come off to fiddle with it.

That's because whoever did the install forgot to make your life easier turning the collar until the screw was facing towards the outside of the truck. You'll have to take that CO out and adjust out of the truck.make sure the screw will face the outside for next time.

 

[Techguy2000]

That's because whoever did the install forgot to make your life easier turning the collar until the screw was facing towards the outside of the truck. You'll have to take that CO out and adjust out of the truck.make sure the screw will face the outside for next time.

Hah story of my life.

I measured the threads but counting them would be much better so I will go check this out and update this thread. I'm also getting rear sag measurements at different weights so I can ensure I won't be nose high on a trip and/or towing a small trailer.

 

[Techguy2000]

I added the fox 2.5 front stock settings to the below, looks like my passenger is one thread less than the driver, so if they would have spun the collar around 180 degrees where I could loosen the set screw they would be even/very close.

I loaded the bed (300 and 500lbs are in addition to the topper) and at 300lbs in the bed my rake is 1.35in, and at 500lbs I'd estimate it to be 0.7in (ran out of time to measure the front at 500lbs).

This is without anyone in the cab so it is possible with 2 adults and 2 children the rake would increase or at the least not get worse (nose high).

 

[User_21361]

Just counted mine and I'm at 18 threads on both sides. I may crank the driver side another turn to see if I get another .25 out of it. I don't want to impact ride quality, so I may just deal with 2.5" of lift

Also, my sag numbers match yours. I lost about an inch of height with 500 lbs of plates on/near the tailgate