Muddytazz
1 ton status
For those of you that have done it, how did you figure out how much tower you needed for the shock travel?
CK5
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Ford shock towers
- Thread starter Muddytazz
- Start date
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
It is the reverse, you pick your tower and match the shock to the tower location. There are basically two shock towers people go with. One is the Ford stamped metal design which puts the top of the shock parallel with the frame rail. The other is the cast metal design from a Ford Super Duty that puts the shock tab straight out from the frame rail. With the stamped design, some folks cut down the bottom of the mount to make it shorter, and you can always move the mount up and down on the frame. I went with the cast design and you don't have a lot of choices since the holes are already in the tower limiting up and down movement. I clamped my tower to the frame, measured the distance to the lower shock mount, and then figured out which shock length I needed. I ended up with Bilstein 5150's in the 14" travel configuration which is their longest one. I ordered my shocks from shockwarehouse.com
Muddytazz
1 ton status
I've got the stamped kind and i've also got DT's with I believe (I'll have to measure again) 12" of travel. What I'm trying to figure out is do I mount my tower at 50/50 shock travel or 60/40 or what?
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
I'd go 50/50. I made sure that is where mine sat before I drilled my holes into the frame to match the ones on the tower. With the stamped kind, you can get your shock at the mid-point and then see if you need to modify the tower to accomodate the 50/50 position. Another thing to consider though is the droop of your springs. If you have springs that droop a long ways, the shock has to be able to handle that otherwise you will constantly be slamming the shock out at full max when you go full droop and you will trash your shocks in no time. Some folks get limiting straps to keep their shocks from pulling out to the max. I rigged up my own version of a travel ramp using my cherry picker to get my front springs at full droop to make sure I had enough down travel to keep them from pulling too far out. I also did full compression to make sure I wasn't jamming them the other way as well. You don't want the shock being the only thing stopping your compression. The spring should hit a bumper before you fully compress the shock. My springs are TC EZ-Rides and they tend to flex quite a bit.
Muddytazz
1 ton status
Well currently the front suspension is stock 3 leaf springs with an add-a-leaf(installed by previous owner)Someday that will get swapped out.
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
Then you probably won't get nearly enough movement to cause any problems. However, I'd also be inclined to check to see how much flex you get from the stock springs. If you are not moving much to begin with, putting shock towers and longer shocks in is kind of a waste of money. If the shock movement is not that much to begin with using stock springs, simply adding longer up and down travel capability doesn't mean it will use it. If the spring at full compression and droop is only a few inches, the longer shock isn't going to give you much. If you are planning on a future upgrade, then I say go for it.
Muddytazz
1 ton status
Future upgrades are in order yes, just don't know exactly when LOL
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
I would say the up and down travel is going to be dependent on the springs. The last thing you want is the shock being the stopper for either. If your springs have significant droop, then you want more down travel. But, if your springs barely drop, but compress quite a bit, then make sure you don't bottom them out either. You really need to match the shock movement with the spring movement. However, if you go with a really tall shock, and your springs don't move much now at all, you should be safe either way for the time being until the later spring upgrade.
90'K5
1/2 ton status
IMHO, I don't think mounting the shock tower then choosing shocks is the best way.
I have 52s up front, and the pressed towers..but the steps should be the same. Before I mounted anything I measured from the spring to the frame at static ride, then full droop and finally compressed to figured where/if I needed bump stops. I figured the amount of travel I had and ordered shocks - 15" Doestch. I then figured the shock length fully ext/comp and decided what comp/droop i needed. For me it was ~4-5" compression, the rest droop. Measured the towers and a little math then mounted.
-JC
I have 52s up front, and the pressed towers..but the steps should be the same. Before I mounted anything I measured from the spring to the frame at static ride, then full droop and finally compressed to figured where/if I needed bump stops. I figured the amount of travel I had and ordered shocks - 15" Doestch. I then figured the shock length fully ext/comp and decided what comp/droop i needed. For me it was ~4-5" compression, the rest droop. Measured the towers and a little math then mounted.
-JC
LUBA
1/2 ton status
What is the benefit of the ford shock towers? Just a pre-made mount? Where are you guys getting them and how much do they cost?
If you do 52's there is no way you can mount a shock in the stock position and get enough travel
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
Actually you made my point exactly. You measured droop and compression and then figured out what you needed. If you ignore the spring aspect and only concentrate on the tower or shock, I think you can really have problems. I would submit however that if you have stock springs, you can pretty much mount any shock tower and put long shocks on and you won't pull them apart or bottom them out, it is just a waste of money since your spring is only going to extend and compress the shock a small fraction of its potential.
Yup and about $20 each seems to be the going rate, though you could probably find them cheaper in junk yard.
Bringing this back to the top. I have a set of the stamped Ford towers on the rear of my k10 and was going to order a set for the front but now that I've seen the cast versions that might be an option too.
Anyone know the part number for them?
EDIT: I guess I should have been more specific... I'm looking for the part # for the cast towers pictured first in this thread. I'm running Bilstein 5150's that have a fixed reservoir so running the cast towers looks like the hot ticket due to clearance issues with the reservoir.
Anyone know the part number for them?
EDIT: I guess I should have been more specific... I'm looking for the part # for the cast towers pictured first in this thread. I'm running Bilstein 5150's that have a fixed reservoir so running the cast towers looks like the hot ticket due to clearance issues with the reservoir.
Last edited:
Good ol' Google...
To answer my question from above the part # for the cast newer style towers is F81Z18183AA
To answer my question from above the part # for the cast newer style towers is F81Z18183AA
Desert Rat
Fetch the comfy chair
Most any Ford dealership will have them for pretty cheap, that is where I got mine. I've seen some folks trying to gouge higher prices on other sites though. One thing about the cast ones is that the top post for the shock is slightly angled so you don't get a perfect fit with the top of the shock but I haven't had any issues with it.
Hey tazz, what I done was wired the shock to half travel, bolted it to the mount and to the axle then swung it up into place, marked the holes and called it good! Should I post a couple photos? hahahahahahaha
