rear upper shock mount broke..ideas?

[dsmd58]

so i go wout to the burb yesterday to take it to work, and notice that my rear driver side shock is now laying against the spring pack...hmmmm

could it have been tooling around on the snow banks and the fact that the driver side wheel was seriously tucked? damn, well the upper half of the shock mount on the frame was torn right off. you could see where the shock bolt was widening out the hole...

so is my only solution to have the old mount torched off, and a new one welded on?

i have a 14sbf under a 1/2 frame not sure if that helps....

 

[dfl701]

i think a picture would help, but i torn the threads off my shock mount and i just welded on a bolt and put a nut on. its not pretty but it was all i had at the time

 

[RAY]

I think this is pretty common with these trucks. I tore the upper mount on my K5. I ended up getting the upper shock mount from the dealer, dropped the gas tank, grinded and drilled the rivets out and bolted the new one in place. I tried welding the crack up before I replaced it, but it didn't hold. Hope this helps.

Ray

 

[dsmd58]

it does. how much was the mount? roughly...

putting the new mount in didnt require any welding right?

 

[RAY]

Not sure on price? I want to say that it was under $25 but could be wrong. I did it about 5 years ago. It didn't require welding, just some patience and time.

 

[dyeager535]

IMO you are best served by welding the mount in place, then welding the shock bolt in place, but NOT using one of the nuts to hold the shock on that tear the threads up, since obviously you won't be getting the mount bolt out again.

My theory on these is that the shock bolt gets just a tad loose, and then the bolt torques the hole every time the shock tries to compress. Once the hole gets big enough, the shock hammers the mount, which is why the hole goes oblong, and/or the mount shears off the frame.

Later on GM pressed the shock mount bolt into the mount, so they knew there was a problem with the bolt/nut setup.

 

[tRustyK5]

My theory is a lot simpler, shock length that doesn't jive with the bumpstop location if it's unlifted...and shocks that are too long if it is lifted. Either way, when that shock bottoms out the mount doesn't have a chance.

I've re-welded the drivers side one on my K5 once, and that worked quite good. The passenger side I never had a problem with. Eventually I relocated the upper shock mounts inboard of the frame with a DOM cross member.

Rene

 

[dsmd58]

I guess I could always try to inboard on a custom crossmember, pick up some shock mounts for the 14bsf from DIY and go to town. hmmmm, does anyone have any pics of a similar setup?

and since I dont have a welder is it ok, after the crossmember is built, to bolt it to the frame, rather than weld? i dont have access to a welder...

 

[dyeager535]

I've lost two rear shock mounts, with factory or factory replacement shocks, both on stock vehicles. Both mounts were the ones that are on top of the frame. I've bent the front quad shock bolts using stock shocks on stock suspension. I think the mounts, frames, or bolts are about at their maximum load, stock.

Granted, worn rubber bushings would cause similar.

 

[chulisohombre]

i put in a crossmember shock mount.it works real well and allows better articulation i believe with a couple xtra inches of shock travel.i got a 2 inch longer shock and also had to reroute the exhause because it was in the way of where i had the shocks.i dont have a ny pics right now.i dont think i actually ever took any pics after i put it in.i got it from jeremy at howlin' offroad.i dont know if he is still on here or not.i also bolted it to the frame with 2 1/2 inch bolts on each end.just have to line up the crossmember over the axle and bolt it on.had to weld the shock tabs to the axle though.i got a 200 dollar mig welder at sears that works great for little jobs like this.