Shock Absorber Question

[chbracke]

Hey guys, does anyone know if it's possible to use 6in lift shocks with a 4in lift? I have a 6in lift right now but plan on going down to a 4in and want to save money anywhere I can. It seems like it wouldn't be a big deal but I figured I'd ask the gurus

 

[goathearder]

I have just spent the last month screwing with shocks and shock lengths and learning about them and the best advice I can give you is to measure the eye to eye length at ride height and decide from there.

Using a 6 inch lift shock on a 4 inch lift will probably be too long meaning you won't have very much up-travel and you'll have lots of down-travel. It would certainly work temporarily and it may not even matter that much depending on how you use the truck. If you do keep a shock like that, just make sure you space the bump stops so those hit before the shocks bottom out so you don't damage the shocks.

On the flip side, if you like to fab you could make extended shock mounts (search for Ford Shock Towers for examples) and keep the longer shocks without worrying about bottoming them out.

 

[Greg72]

That sounds about right.

You need to make sure that the amount of visible chrome shaft stays the same as you would have with only a 4" shock. With a longer-than-normal shock, that means either dropping the lower mount or raising the upper somehow.

If you can weld, you should be able to save a few bucks. If you can't, you'd be better of buying the correct shocks and not paying for custom welding & fabrication


-G

 

[blazinzuk]

Put zip ties around the shock shaft. Go out drive flex it as much as possible see how much of your travel you are using I bet its not much. If you aren't using at least 2.5 " then you will probably be fine

 

[chbracke]

Thanks guys, I hadn't considered the implications involving up-travel and down-travel. I'll probably just go with new shocks that are the appropriate length. I plan to get into welding and fabrication eventually but there seems to be a clear limit as to how many things I can convince the fiancé that I "need"...