Shock question

[MarcS]

I am just about finished with my lift and a friend came over and said my shocks were upside down (the internal valves won't function right). They are TC 5000's. I have the white tube up. Does it matter or am I that gullable ??? Sorry if it's a stupid question.
Thank you.
Marc

 

[4X4HIGH]

Your friend is correct, most shocks cannot be run upside down. I know the Rancho 9,000s can be mounted either way though.

 

[Muddytazz]

What he said, my DT's can be mounted either way also.

 

[Stephen]

Actually, despite what they say, any shock that's not a high pressure gas MONOTUBE should be mounted with the rod end up. A monotube doesn't know what position it's in but any other shock has the possibility of having a little bit of gas floating around and it can get stuck up around the piston. I had that happen with my rancho 9K's (I think I broke the gas bag) and the shocks ended up with about 5" of free motion before the damping started. With the rod up though, they worked OK. That's the problem with the cheaper shocks, they don't always have all the air out and they don't have any pressure in them to keep the oil from foaming so that they don't fade. If that oil gets in the valves in the cannister end of the shock, you get no damping. So put the piston up for best results.