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By: Matthew Beccue - 9/2005
Rancho RS9000 RCX Remote Control Damping System
Intro
So you have those really neat adjustable Rancho 9000X shocks. The only problem is you are getting tired of getting out of the vehicle every time you want to change the dampening of the shock. Well Rancho has made a product to pamper us even more, the Rancho RS9000 RCX Remote Control Dampening System. The RCX comes with all the necessary hardware to set up and use the system. I did have to buy a few extra little things like some butt connectors and tap splices to make everything function perfectly.
The adjusting knob on the RS9000X is just a screw that pushes on a valve that controls both compression and rebound dampening. The RCX replaces this knob with an air fitting. It works a lot like an ARB air locker, instead using pneumatics to actuate the shocks. Apparently the valve has a good enough seal on it that it can withstand the pressures needed to push the valve in.
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| Air fittings and pump mount, along with the finished control panel. | ||
Install
Installing consists of mounting the pump, installing the new air fittings in place of the adjusting knobs, routing the electrical for the pump, mounting the controller, and routing the air line.
Pump
I lost my entire factory under-hood tool set, so I chose to bend some of the tines out of the way and mounted the pump directly on it. This way I don’t have to drill any holes in the fenders so I won’t have rust problems down the road. Be sure when you are picking a location to mount the pump that there is ample room for all the lines and fittings that have to go on the pump. I removed the tool holder and used the pump as a template to drill the holes. The installation hardware comes with rubber grommets for the pump to sit on so you don’t have the pump rattling around when it’s on. When you are mounting it, attach the motor’s ground wire on a good clean ground. There are a couple of air fittings that need to get installed on the pump: a nipple, a "T", two check valves, and two push fittings. When putting the check valves in place remember air is flowing out of the pump. The direction is labeled, but just to be safe suck on the fitting to verify direction and install in the direction you were able to suck air through.
Control Panel
The control panel has to have some room behind it for the air lines and electrical lines to come in. On YJs there is a perfect spot to the left of the ash tray. You can use the control panel as a template to drill holes, but I found it easier to use a measuring tape rather than holding the panel in place. There are three things that need to go into the control panel: front and rear air lines, pump electrical, and lighting electrical.
The pump’s electrical lines come with all the connectors attached. One wire goes from positive to the switch, the other wire goes from the motor to the switch. It will be fairly explanatory as to which line goes where. I hooked my power line directly to the battery. Instead of cutting and soldering the line to the exact size, I just wrapped it up nicely, zip tied it, and hid it off to the side.
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| Control panel air setup and the gauge lighting tap. | |
In order to have the gauge and the bleed buttons function you will need to make your own T out of 4 short pieces of tube and a quick connect T fitting. Leave one side of the T open for the lines coming from the air pump. Once the T is made and installed, the air line setup is done for the control panel.
The lighting needs to be hooked into the lighting circuit for the gauge lights. On my 91 YJ the main feed line for the gauge lighting is orange with a black tracer. I tapped into the system with a tap splice right next to the steering column main connector. On other YJs and most other Cherokee XJs you can tap in there as well, the wire coloring will be different. Once the wire is tapped, hook the new wire up to the red lines coming out of the lights, and hook the black wires to a good ground. If you got the right wire, the lights will come on with the rest of the gauge lights, and the dimmer switch will work as well.
Placement of Air Fittings on Shocks
The adjusting knobs come off fairly easily with the right Allen key, sometimes a bit of old gasket will try and stick, just use a putty knife or razorblade and get it all off. Clean off the valve area and put a bit of grease on the valve area. Install the rubber O-ring on the air fitting and use the Allen head bolts from the adjusting knobs to hold them in place. Be careful not to over tighten.
Air Line Routing and Setup
First the pump needs to get set up with air lines. Whenever you cut the air lines, use the red cutting tool that came with the controller, it gives a nice square cut. Put a small 2” piece of tube in the end of each of the air fittings on the pump, and put a T fitting on each of the tubes.
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| Shock adjusting knob. The tee on the front axle and the tee off the pump. | ||
The shocks of the same axle need to be T’ed together so that they can get air from the pump to both of the shocks. Take a piece of line and go from one shock to a T. Locate the T where you want the air supply line to come in at. Then go from the other shock to the T. Hold the line down to the axle with some of the big zip ties that came with the controller. Now route a length of line from the axle to the pump. Make sure that you give the line from the T on the axle to the point where you locate it on the frame enough slack so that you don’t pull and break the air line when you fully droop the axle. Repeat this for the other axle; make sure you put the lines coming from the axle into the different Ts. Do not put both lines from the axles into one T. Take a length of tube from the other side of the T on the pump and hook it into the equivalent gauge.
Installation should be complete. Push the red button and fill up the system until it hits a full 9. It will leak down slowly, but it will not be visible on the gauge. If you can watch it go down, get some soapy water and put it on all the air connections until you find the leak. Be careful when you fill the system, there is no safety from over pressurizing the system. I don’t know the limits of the pump, I bet it’s a lot higher than the rating of the shocks.
Conclusion
It is very nice to be able to adjust the shocks from inside the cab. I find myself adjusting them for different driving conditions, different load conditions, or even just cause its fun to push the bleed buttons and here the hiss. So far the system works flawlessly. The shocks do bleed down over a period of hours, but that’s to be expected with push together air fittings. I’ve been to the local dunes a couple times with the system and it still works great.
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