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need rear shock mount location advice

V

Vee

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I've been running my rig with only 1 rear shock (and it's blown :doah:) for the last few months. I was just gonna re-weld my busted bracket and get new shocks, but I was thinking I might as well move the mounts to a safer location. what do you guys recommend? I was thinking of putting them on top of the axle tube and getting shorter shocks. any ideas? pics? I'd like to keep the upper mounting location where it is on the frame. will I run into any adverse affects with them on top - should they be staggered like the stock ones were - 1 on the front of the tube, the other on the back? should I move them in or out a little, or keep them on the same line as the originals? it's a 14BFF under my 81 K5
Thanks
 
I like the shaggy joint but have not tried it yet. Seems to me the strength issues and maintenance might be a PITA.

shock_joints1.jpg
 
Inboarding can cause some axle wrap if you are not careful though. I say weld up the existing brackets. I was lucky in that MOO Offroad was in business when I did mine and he fabbed me up some bolt on brackets for my 14bff axle tube that work great and don't hang down as low.
 
i got crossmember and put mine angled in from the outside torward the center.lets the axle articulate smoother i believe.much cheaper to just reweld the stock bracket and replace the shock though.
 
Here is my setup. The shocks aren't much more angled in than they were angled fore and aft stock. Also with the lower shock mounts offset from the vertical axle centerline, it should help a little with axle wrap (though probly not as much as the stock setup).

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True the less angle, the better dampening so inboarding them too radically is not a good idea. However, any inboarding is going to remove the ability of the shocks to deal with axle wrap. This is why they are fore and aft to begin with. Lots of folks inboard, but then fab up some kind of straight bar system that attaches to the frame and axle to remove that axle wrap. Rancho used to even sell a kit that put a shock in line with the springs attaching to the top of the spring pack in the back and the frame in the front. They were called kicker shocks. It wouldn't be as effective as a straight piece of metal, but probably better than nothing. Rancho also makes a straight bar system as well.
 
Desert Rat said:
I was lucky in that MOO Offroad was in business when I did mine and he fabbed me up some bolt on brackets for my 14bff axle tube that work great and don't hang down as low.
Click to expand...
Kert makes some brackets like MOO used to make http://www.diy4x.com/drivetrain.htm they are not shown but he mentions them in the options on the razor back axle clamps
 
I bought mine as a temporary fix at the time, but they were so beefy that I ended up leaving them intact. The DIY4X ones would be a good temp solution that could also be used long term.
 
that shock mount looks like it wouldget caught on rocks pretty easy desert rat.how they holfing up?any probs with hangups?
 
No problems at all, they don't hang down any farther than the stock ones did. The pumpkin hangs much lower. They were supposed to be temporary, but I've never swapped them out. They are very beefy but I probably need to yank them off and re-paint them.
 
I'm not a big fan of inboarding the rear shocks. Maybe if it's done without too much angle, it wouldn't be so bad. I'd be more inclined to attach them close to flush with the bottom of the axle tube, but in basically the stock location. I think there is still enough room to moount the top of the shock a little higher on the frame if necessary. Just my $.02.
 
I'm gonna just re-use my old mounts, just chop them down a bit and move them up on the tube a little, but basically keep em in the stock location. since the axle was out of a 2wd rig they originally hung down pretty low. I'll post some pics when I get it finished.
 
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