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K30 shock inboarding

k5blazerguy

k5blazerguy

1/2 ton status
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I’m pretty excited. Headed to TX to pick this beautiful gem up and add it to the family! Have a 600 mile trip back home!
Although there’s a list of things I have planned for it…..number one on to do is get the suspension right.
PO cut off rear shock mounts in prep for a blazer/suburban tank. I was looking on DIY4X site and they don’t seem to have the inboarding kit available anymore. I will still plan to put a blazer tank in it. So would like to mount the shocks inside the axle. Has anyone just welded some sort of bracket on the frame for shock mounts? Is the inboarding kit best option? Any pics of K30s with inboard rear shocks? And is it best to keep shocks inside the frame or outside when I do it? I prob won’t wheel this thing like I do my blazer, it’s gonna be my daily. Has a 12v and nv4500.

3F9DCB44-8B13-463D-B1C1-4E6A64DD7B3E.jpeg
 
Why would you inboard the shocks? I'd rather keep them outside the frame so they will function better.
 
mrk5 said:
I wondered about that. I thought DRW might be inboarded, but wasn't sure about SRW. It's been too long since the crewcab was factory.
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c/k30 got 1" less hang out off the frame for leaf springs . = why they need c/k30 specific hangers on frame . this killed the gap for the outside shocks as no room . this was yes for the narrow drw tires being sucked way in .

and to you @k5blazerguy just the 1 shock mount needs moved from factory as there 1 front / 1 rear for frame bracket .
 
k5blazerguy said:
I’m pretty excited. Headed to TX to pick this beautiful gem up and add it to the family! Have a 600 mile trip back home!
Although there’s a list of things I have planned for it…..number one on to do is get the suspension right.
PO cut off rear shock mounts in prep for a blazer/suburban tank. I was looking on DIY4X site and they don’t seem to have the inboarding kit available anymore. I will still plan to put a blazer tank in it. So would like to mount the shocks inside the axle. Has anyone just welded some sort of bracket on the frame for shock mounts? Is the inboarding kit best option? Any pics of K30s with inboard rear shocks? And is it best to keep shocks inside the frame or outside when I do it? I prob won’t wheel this thing like I do my blazer, it’s gonna be my daily. Has a 12v and nv4500.

View attachment 440875
Click to expand...
How did you end up fixing this? I’m wanting to do the same thing with my 85 Sierra 3500. Move the passenger side shock to the front of the axle to make room for a Suburban tank.
 
k2mslskier said:
How did you end up fixing this? I’m wanting to do the same thing with my 85 Sierra 3500. Move the passenger side shock to the front of the axle to make room for a Suburban tank.
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I haven’t yet. Have done a lot of other stuff to the truck and haven’t messed with the tank yet. But it’s on the to do list. I bought new shock mounts to weld on the axle. I’m thinking I’m just gonna relocate the passenger shock to the front and move the top shock mount also.
My 14BFF just shit on me other day and looking to put an AAM in now. Might be the time to swap the shock too.
 
I found this recently and spoke to their tech support. They said it should work just fine for what I was wanting to do. I might give it a try.

switchsuspension.com

Rear Shock Relocation Kit & Crossmember

Improve the suspension setup of your vehicle with our universal rear shock relocation kit. Enhance performance and handling. Shop now and upgrade today!
switchsuspension.com switchsuspension.com
 
I'll dig up pics of how I did mine. It was pretty simple really. Give me a few.
 
I started with some pre-bent 3/16 I had around.
Angle iron would have done the same.
Then put a 2x3 rectangle tube I had laying around between them and welded all the way around.
The actual shock mounts are 1" (or 1¼")square tube with 1/2" coupling nuts welded in them.

IMG_20200511_182507778_HDR~2.jpg

IMG_20200511_182514500~2.jpg

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IMG_20200509_201211004~2.jpg

IMG_20200509_201200677~2.jpg
 
Yellow bar is my burb tank mount.
 
The only down side to the inboard towards center is the shocks don't do much for dampening axle wrap like the factory front rear direction. However, that direction is much better for flex.
 
I have thought of that axle wrap thing and have never figured out how it's supposed to help with it.
The springs are WAY harder and stiffer than the shocks, so if it's already moving the spring the shock just doesn't have the power to stop that:dunno:

I could see under a straight up bump, how the pressure of both shocks on the same side could CAUSE that side of the axle to have more resistance. Which could let the non shock side of the axle move up faster. Creating a slight wrap. But it wouldn't be from grip and torque like people think when they think of axle wrap.

Having one on each side would make the axle move up evenly under a straight hard bump like that.

All just my theory though.
 
shady said:
I have thought of that axle wrap thing and have never figured out how it's supposed to help with it.
The springs are WAY harder and stiffer than the shocks, so if it's already moving the spring the shock just doesn't have the power to stop that:dunno:

I could see under a straight up bump, how the pressure of both shocks on the same side could CAUSE that side of the axle to have more resistance. Which could let the non shock side of the axle move up faster. Creating a slight wrap. But it wouldn't be from grip and torque like people think when they think of axle wrap.

Having one on each side would make the axle move up evenly under a straight hard bump like that.

All just my theory though.
Click to expand...
Dampening systems are a complex problem to solve. They depend on both spring rate and dampening rates. Dampers do not stop the bounce, they slow it down until it stops itself and make a big difference in the natural frequency of a system. Without dampers (or with the wrong rate), you can hit a harmonic frequency where the bounce accelerates and gets larger on its own after the bump.

The rotational effects over axle wrap are similar. The purpose is not to stop axle wrap, but to slow it on each cycle at a rate that keeps it from accelerating after the start.

The biggest problem explaining this system is the math that is used gets into differential equations. I cannot find a video that is good at an explanation without a lot of high level math being used to describe it that anyone other than engineers and mathematicians can follow.
 
On the one I did on mine I used 2013 f250 stupid duty shocks. I set my lower mount, then used the position of my uppers to set where my shock needed to be for droop/stuff. I figured out how long they were, where they sat, and where I needed to be as far as length on flat ground. Then measured from my lower mount to where the correct length met the upper.
Being angled is ok on that because my truck is lighter than the stupid duty, so it evens it out some.

Do have to say I'm happy with the ride of them SD shocks. I have them all the way around.
 
This post started just about a year ago I see there are recent posts. So, I thought I'd share a couple videos of my rear axle which show most (not the bar between the fram rails though) of my inboarded shocks using the DIY4X kit. I can report performance is wonderful, the ride is great and coupled with the shackle flip from ORD it's been a fabulous set up. The kit's mounts were welded to the frame and bar was bolted in using grade 8 zinc plated bolts with locking washers and a nut. Been solid ever since.

View attachment 20230924_182255.mp4

View attachment 20230925_120856.mp4
 
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