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So tonight I just realized...

Avery4jc

Avery4jc

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why my shocks have always been on upside down...

its because on the front driver's side the draglink would smash into the body of the shock if it was on the correct way (body at the bottom and shaft at the top)...

so do I have any options? I was going to order new ones since mine are empty and I'm tired of shaking my teeth out but I don't know what to do now...

Are there shocks that are designed to be run the other way? (Body at the top and shaft at the bottom)? Or am I just going to have to wait until I go x-over this summer so I can ditch that draglink and order some to put on the correct direction?

Thanks!
 
NOT SHOCKS AGAIN:doah::doah::doah::doah::doah::haha:

Yes, your shocks should be on right side up. If the draglink hits it then something is wrong. As in bent, maladjusted, or on upside down, backwards, sideways or inside out:(
 
nope its not...everything is the same as I've seen on every other truck w/o x-over...

stock pitman to a drop draglink (attached to the bottom of the pitman and the top of the steering arm) to a raised steering arm...nothing out of the ordinary as far as that goes...

I'll get some detailed pics tomorrow and post them up...
 
My shock are upside down too, w/o x-over. Dunno if they'd fit right side up (PO put them on). One of my shocks is empty (it has soaked the ground beneath it), even though they seem pretty new (far as I know less than a year old). Be interesing to see the answers here!
 
Depends on the shock and the valving. IF the valving for compression/ rebound are the same then yes you can run the upsie down. Otherwise it will be opposite of what it should be...
 
I dont think being upside down will affect the valving of in and out. its still going to be compression when its pushed together. I think the ranchos can be run upside down but not certain.
 
k204dr said:
I dont think being upside down will affect the valving of in and out. its still going to be compression when its pushed together. I think the ranchos can be run upside down but not certain.
Click to expand...
Not this again:rolleyes:
 
Yeah...it is this again b/c there is no real answer out there other than what people "think" in regards to valving, so unless its something constructive, shush.




I've always thought the same way as k204dr in that if the body moves up and down around the shaft and piston or the shaft/piston moves up and down through the body its going to be the same...

The only thing that I have been worried about is which way they are designed to be mounted so that I don't leak all the fluid out like I did this time...
 
From Monroe's website:

Q: Can shock absorbers be mounted upside down (rod end down) and still function properly?
A. Most modern shock absorbers utilize a twin (dual) tube construction; in order to work properly the inner of the two tubes (working chamber) should stay completely filled with oil. The outer (reserve) tube contains an oil reserve along with air or a pressurized gas. If the unit is mounted inverted (rod side down), the air or gas in the outer chamber can enter the inner working chamber, resulting in poor damping performance. Therefore, twin tube shock absorbers should not be mounted upside down (or on their side), with the exception of specially designed units that incorporate a gas cell, or cellular gas material, designed to keep the gas retained in the outer reserve tube
Click to expand...

And the valving is different between rebound and compression most always.

John
 
On a shock, compression is always compression and rebound is alway rebound no matter orientation the shock is mounted.

There are some shocks that are required to be mounted a certain side up, some it doesn't matter.

In any case, the shock shouldn't leak whether it's upside down or not. This just means the seal is shot. There is a lot more pressure on the fluid caused by the shock cycling than there is just from gravity, so if it leaks mounted upsdie down it would also leak right side up evertime you compressed the shock.
 
6.2Blazer said:
On a shock, compression is always compression and rebound is alway rebound no matter orientation the shock is mounted.

There are some shocks that are required to be mounted a certain side up, some it doesn't matter.

In any case, the shock shouldn't leak whether it's upside down or not. This just means the seal is shot. There is a lot more pressure on the fluid caused by the shock cycling than there is just from gravity, so if it leaks mounted upsdie down it would also leak right side up evertime you compressed the shock.
Click to expand...

Correct compression is compression and rebound is rebound. Now when we are talking shocks, the piston in a shock is not like a piston in your car, it is not a solid disc. There are small holes in the piston with valves in them. These valves operate differently depending on which way the fluid flows through them. Think of them as check valves if you will.

They are set up to provide different amounts of dampening for compression and rebound in 99% of the shocks out there. So if you turn the shock over now the compression valving will be doing rebound duties and vice versa for the rebound valving. This will have an effect on the operation of the shock.

As was said earlier flipping them over will not cause the fluid to leak out. If fluid is leaking out your seals are shot.

Dick
 
sandawgk5 said:
They are set up to provide different amounts of dampening for compression and rebound in 99% of the shocks out there. So if you turn the shock over now the compression valving will be doing rebound duties and vice versa for the rebound valving. This will have an effect on the operation of the shock.
Click to expand...

This was my point, in a backasswards way of saying it...:D

John
 
sandawgk5 said:
So if you turn the shock over now the compression valving will be doing rebound duties and vice versa for the rebound valving.
Dick
Click to expand...

You couldn't be more wrong. Orientation of the shock has NO effect on valving. With a twin tube shock, if it is run upside down you will get more cavitation as the shock oil will move to the gas chamber and visa versa. The cavitation will cause more heat resulting in premature failure of seals.

This is the best commentary on the subject in this post:
Q: Can shock absorbers be mounted upside down (rod end down) and still function properly?
A. Most modern shock absorbers utilize a twin (dual) tube construction; in order to work properly the inner of the two tubes (working chamber) should stay completely filled with oil. The outer (reserve) tube contains an oil reserve along with air or a pressurized gas. If the unit is mounted inverted (rod side down), the air or gas in the outer chamber can enter the inner working chamber, resulting in poor damping performance. Therefore, twin tube shock absorbers should not be mounted upside down (or on their side), with the exception of specially designed units that incorporate a gas cell, or cellular gas material, designed to keep the gas retained in the outer reserve tube.

The best shocks are Mono Tube shocks, that is why they cost more. You can run them in any orientation and they would fix your problem.

Take a look at my Avatar; you'll see I have some experience running shocks upside down.
 
Have I got the answer for you!

Good news Avery, there ARE some shocks that are designed to be mounted upside down.:D I just don't know if you can find them. :doah: Very nice ones, actually. Edelbrock makes some with an inertial valving system that stiffens your ride on smooth terrain and prevent body roll during cornering and such. During bumps however, they open up a little and soften the ride so you don't rattle your teeth out. I've got them on my stepside, and love them. 78Suburban used them too, I think he liked them. Another buddy of mine has them on his 89 SFA S10, they worked great on that thing. That blazer is so cushy, that it was completely uncontrollable without those shocks. Pretty nice ride with them though.

Mine were part #EDL-20160 and I got them from summit for $20 a piece, I think they were regularly $75 or so. It was a clearance sale that actually ran on for a while, but I doubt they have them anymore. They were a twin tube though, that was supposed to be mounted upside down. Kinda strange, kinda rare, but a killer deal at the time.
 
Avery4jc said:
Yeah...it is this again b/c there is no real answer out there other than what people "think" in regards to valving, so unless its something constructive, shush.
...
Click to expand...

There is a real answer, you just refuse to accept it.... Shush while people try to educate you..
 
Avery4jc said:
Yeah...it is this again b/c there is no real answer out there other than what people "think" in regards to valving, so unless its something constructive, shush.
Click to expand...

The answer is definitely "out there." You are also asking in a place where opinion is most often offered. Certainly so when you post in "The Garage."

The answer can be had at Bilstein, Rancho and several other shock manufacturers. I'm sure if you took the time to call one or more of them and speak to someone in the Tech department you could get the answer.

You asked here. Then you complain the opinions are not to your liking.:doah::doah::doah::doah::haha::rotfl::haha::rotfl::haha::rotfl:

Avery, I'll give you kudos. You are tenacious. You take a lot of crap for your posts and naiveté if you can keep it up you will learn something, we will kill you, or you will kill us.


"Good Luck, Mr. Phelps......."
 
k204dr said:
I dont think being upside down will affect the valving of in and out. its still going to be compression when its pushed together. I think the ranchos can be run upside down but not certain.
Click to expand...

I should have thought of that.... I guess that what happen whn i post at 5 in the mornin:doah::haha:
 
Chris, BKinzey and Ben you guys are more than welcome to take a hike...I posted to get some info and I never turned anything down because I didn't like the opinions I was being given...

I've posted on this before but never got this sort of response...

I e-mailed superlift, edelbrock and rancho and have never received a response from any of them which is why I posted up again. Thanks to everyone for the info.!
 
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