A question about shock absorbers and bushings...

[joescott]

Hello all
I have posted a question about cv joint rebuild and received excellent advice that got me through it. But it is on to the next project.

I have a 78 blazer with a 6 inch lift already installed. This truck is beat to death but so far I enjoy it. The shocks look to be in pretty bad shape and I would like to replace them. How would I shop for shocks on a blazer with a 6 inch lift? Would stock shocks work? Money is an issue so just working shocks for now, I will upgrade later as the truck gets closer to reliable.

Also many noises come from under this thing. Are bushing kits available?

Thanks
Joe

 

[mrk5]

I would search Summit Racing for shocks. You can find them by application and narrow the parameters to work with a 6in lift. I used to get Explorer ProComp shocks with reasonable performance and about the best price. IIRC, you're going to spend $35-$40 per shock.

Aside from that, you might try giving Offroad Design a call.

 

[mwwebmstr]

I found a set of rancho 9000's for 100$ on craigslist. But I live in a large area....and got super lucky. In the past I've even been able to buy a basic 4" lifted rancho shock off the shelf at advance auto parts. Not sure about 6" tho.

 

[dhcomp]

search ebay too. Superlift or someone had a "scratch and dent" store on there.

Or maybe something this these. Not great, but the price is right, and they are new:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-Sk...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439db581ca

 

[joescott]

Thanks for the replies! I honestly had no thought on how to proceed to find the necessary part numbers for the lifted shocks. I think my next move is to measure the existing shocks to see how much travel they have just to be sure.

 

[andyblack]

Just about any aftermarket shock company will be able to send you the right shocks if you tell them your make and model and how much lift you're running. You could measure them and then go over to 4 Wheel Parts or down to Summit in McDonough and ask them to let you look at some shocks and measure them to make sure they're the right length (assuming the ones you have are the right length to start with). Or you could take one off and take it up there with you. Get on all the shock companies' websites (Rancho, Edelbrock, Bilstien, Trailmaster, etc.) and enter your information and see what they have. I got mine from Trailmaster. They were just right as far as length and valving.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I'd try and actually measure the distances between the mounts with your suspension flexed and compressed. This will give you the actual measurements for the shocks.

I did this on Big Ugly and found that with a stock rear suspension I could safely use a 6" lift shock and the front with 1" of lift has a 2-3" lift shock on it. Aftermarket lift makers are famous for having short shocks with their lifts, usually due to them just going, "well, the factory shock (that may already be short) is x long so we need x+4 for the 4" lift..." However the lift might not actually be 4" taller, might flex very well, the factory shocks might have been short to begin with, they might have used a bad spec, they might choose to compromise and use a shorter or too long shock they already had on the shelf for a similar application, etc etc etc.

I like Rough Country Nitro 9000's from JCWhitney. $35 each and nitrogen charged monotubes. Either that or NAPA's truck shocks for $30 each, both are FAR better than the generic Rancho hydro crap.