Shock mounting help

[k5 krawler 50]

Well i am getting everything ready to do my 52" spring swap up front, and i am going to be using the ford shock towers with my 15" travel pro comp es 9000 shocks. I have a couple question about mounting them up though. I was wondering what should the shock tower length be(from the bottom to the eye for the bolt), since you have to cut some of the tower off i believe. Also i thought i saw a webpage on here on how to do it , but since i am doing the 52" springs, do you guys think its ok to mount them behind the little hump in the frame? I am just wondering on how much of the chrome shaft should be showing when sitting on flat ground, and the total length of the tower after its been modified. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Cory

 

[CyberSniper]

Mine looks a little funny because the axle moved forward 4.5". The tires rub on the shocks because of it.

 

[k5 krawler 50]

What are the pros and cons of mountint that low(compared to others i've seen)? Do the bumpstops prevent the shocks from bottoming out? How tall are ur towers from the eye to the bottom of the frame? Thanks for the pic and response.
Cory

 

[CyberSniper]

My leaf springs are nearly flat as you can see. They're only about 1.5" off the bumpstops. I have lots of shock left anticipating putting a thinner pack in so I'll have more up travel. I wanted to put the tower straight up from the shock but at the time I didn't have facilities to weld a new shock mount on the axle. Plus, I can run cheap Superlift shocks if I mount them on an angle.

I have a sh¡t-ton of droop. I haven't actually tried yet (short brake hoses) but I think the shocks are going to be limiting straps.

I'll try to remember to take measurements tomorrow.

 

[jekbrown]

I was wondering what should the shock tower length be(from the bottom to the eye for the bolt), since you have to cut some of the tower off i believe.

best way would be to do the spring swap, mock up your towers to figure out about where they will be, ramp it, use the measuring tape to see how long the shock should be during max suspension compression and use all the rest of the travel, however much it is, for droop.

I am just wondering on how much of the chrome shaft should be showing when sitting on flat ground

depends on suspension travel, there is no standard answer for your question.

and the total length of the tower after its been modified.

you can chop the remainder off after you mount them, I wouldn't worry about it until then.

j

 

[k5 krawler 50]

It looks like you would have major droop, so lets say i measure from the bumpstop to the top of th spring plate, then add about 2-3 inches to that amount, and that would be a good hieght for the shock towers to be? How have others figured out how tall their towers had to be?

 

[jekbrown]

It looks like you would have major droop, so lets say i measure from the bumpstop to the top of th spring plate, then add about 2-3 inches to that amount

without looking at the geometries involved and knowing where you are going to mount the towers/axle tabs I'm not sure how well this will work. If the distance between the axle housing and bump stop changes during flex the same amount as the distance between the upper and lower shock mounting points... then yeah, that method would work fine. If those distances don't change at the same rate or the same amount, you may still be able to use your method, you'd just have to take that into account and adjust. In any case, with 52s up front you'll have a lot more droop than compression... so whatever you do, don't do what I did with my ford towers when I mounted them and set them up 50/50 compression/droop. In my case it didn't end up mattering much because I had stiff front springs... but it still wasn't optimal shock mounting.

anyway, your rig isn't going to blow up if you put the springs on without any shocks. Why not then, swap/ramp/measure?

j

 

[k5 krawler 50]

well, i dont have a ramp, and the nearest forklift is about twelve miles away. i think i might go there and see what i can do, but ramping it is kind of out of the way.

 

[CyberSniper]

I compressed mine using several people standing on the vehicle pushing on the rafters to compress it.

Remember, the axle moves back as the springs compress. Also remember the fact that since the shocks are mounted on an angle and the shock travels a lot less compared to vertical travel of the axle. Also remember that when you articulate that shock moves more because as one tire drops the other one stuffs and that shock mount is out past the spring.

 

[jekbrown]

yeah, with a lot of forward axle relocation, I think it may be time to reorient the front shocks so they are vertical above the axle. Mine already lean waaaay back and with the front end moved another 2" from the 52 swap, it will be even worse. Custom hoops here I come.

j