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Where to mount shock tabs?

Chevy350Ben

Chevy350Ben

Part time mall crawler
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So, I now have my D60 front and 14BFF rear axle mocked up under the truck. Everything is looking pretty good.

The next thing I have to tackle is shocks. I already have some Bilstein 5100's from ORD. The guy I bought the axles from cut off all the shock brackets and spring perches, so I'm starting from scratch. Can anyone point me to a tech article or how to directions?

Thanks in advance.

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just a heads up if you didnt know . the dana 60 front uses a special height driver side spring perch pad .

rear is easy mount the shocks to the frame in stock spot and swing down to axle and there is your tabs .

front someone has removed the stock frame brackets . so you need a good used set or some other style . then the lower is almost next to the knuckle . if stock there is this guy with beefy repop units . https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-Weld-On...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

if going different frame mounts then reg tabs will work better than the stock axle tabs style will .
 
Yeah, I have the driver side D60 spring perch in now. that was an "in progress" picture. I couldnt wait to get the ORD springs put in, so I put a scrap of wood in there as a place holder. LOL!!

I removed the frame mount brackets. I got the extended mounts from ORD, but Im a little confused as to where those go too. Because they dont fit in the same spot where the old ones came out. I have some long shock tabs, and some short shock tabs comming from ORD. But should I place them on top of the axle tube? middle? Closer to the bottom?

same for rear. Staggered one in front/one behind the axle tube? Both rear? both front? Ive seen pretty much everything on different rigs. My old 1/2 ton shocks were staggered, so if I need to put them both rear, or both front, then Ill need a new upper mount too. I just dont know if theres some kind of recipe, or formula to follow for this stuff? Im kinda lost here.
 
Thanks man, yeah thats exactly what I was looking for. And yes, those are the upper mounts I got from ORD.

So, it looks like you moved the mounts back quite a bit. so, you just found a spot you liked and drilled new holes for the upper bracket? Seems like if I put them about where the old ones were, I would get quite a bit of interference from the steering shaft.

Also, Im assuming this is going to take a little trimming of the inner fender, correct?

thanks for all your help.
 
tweeked the inner fender just a tad .

used 1 or 2 stock holes and added a 3rd if i recall . and used aftermarket tabs for the axle on the front with the ford towers .
 
That’s a Good resource. Just wondering if you have the brackets on backwards? I did mine few weeks ago,... they can be used for 52 or 56” springs, but will have to swap brackets from side to side depending which spring you have.

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Does it matter? I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I'm genuinely curious. I'm fairly new to all this, and kind of learning as I go. But you might be right. under full bump, I might have interference with the backbone of the shackle, and the spring. Ill have to get my jack out, and flex the spring to see.

I just pretty much mirrored the way it was pictured in the resource article listed above.

Since you posted the picture, I have another question. It looks like your rear axle pinion angle is about 10 degrees or so over parallel. This is another thing I have to get set up. Why the positive angle?

thanks.
 
some shackles if you flex a spring there is no pocket room for it to go in to and some there is . so if you flex the spring out flat it can bind up on the shackle face and bend a main leaf up .

yours now could bend a main leaf .

the other guys pics show it with the open face being able to take the spring in before bending .
 
“Since you posted the picture, I have another question. It looks like your rear axle pinion angle is about 10 degrees or so over parallel. This is another thing I have to get set up. Why the positive angle?
thanks.”

I’m not close to setting driveshaft angles yet. I’m still in the middle of installing the D60 under the front, then gotta pull the trans to replace the clutch, then I’ll check angles. Hoping I don’t have to do much. I just wanna drive it!!! It’s been down for a year now.

I think if you swapped brackets it would be good. Can you post a pic of the outside of truck looking at the rear brackets? Maybe we could tell for sure that angle. To me it seems like you have them set up for 56” springs and you only have 52s. Just tryin to help out and save a big headache later down the road.
 
Just FYI, the truck is not fully supported under it's own weight in these pics. The frame is supported and front axle removed.
 
Chevy350Ben said:
This pic is a little hazy, but it shows the flip frame bracket has the offset forward.

View attachment 334013
Click to expand...

i would definitely flip the rear shackles around, but as far as the angle of the shackle, I’m not certain why your not getting the angle it needs to be at. From all the shackle flips I’ve seen, they are angled similar to my setup. Maybe someone will chime in that has more knowledge on it. I know if not angled properly it can affect ride quality and the shackles can bind.
 
Chevy350Ben said:
Just FYI, the truck is not fully supported under it's own weight in these pics. The frame is supported and front axle removed.
Click to expand...

That's throwing off the assessment with the shackle angle. Since the rear suspension is somewhere close to fully extended the shackles do angle forward a little bit.

As for the shock mount locations, the more vertical the shock the better it works with the springs but it's difficult to make them fit that way.
 
Ill be home tomorrow. the truck is supported by its own weight right now. Ill upload more pics tomorrow. I welcome advice to anything you guys see that needs attention. I don't pretend to be a seasoned pro.
 
I agree that you need to flip the rear shackles around, then wait until you get the truck on both axles to check the shackle angle. Mine aren't pointed backwards much at ride height, but it works, and I plan on new springs someday.

I trimmed some off the bottom of the shock towers when I installed them. I had to test for fit under the steering shaft and A/C box. I was trying to get the shock close to centered in its travel. Getting the shock more vertical is better, but difficult to do easily in my experience, without lots of fabrication.
 
Chevy350Ben said:
Here are a couple pics I had on my phone. I'm at work in the gulf of mexico, so I cant take new pics right now.

View attachment 334011

View attachment 334012
Click to expand...
Looks like you could move the bracket forward on the frame up to the next frame holes. I think that might be the issue in the first place.

And as far as the pinion angle is concerned, it depends on the drive shaft your running... a cv head or a traditional U joint style. U joints need to cancel each other out (tcase angle same as pinion at ride height). Cv style means the ujoint at the pinion is at +or- one degree of the driveshaft it’s self. Either of those settings also depend on how much spring wrap you are having as well.

the shocks should be as parallel to the suspension cycle as possible. Usually straight up and down. Also, to take advantage of the valving of your shock, the further out (closer to your tires) you go the better. (In theory)
 
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