shocks upside down ?

[Bloomcounty]

Hey you guys I just finished my SAS and I was reading where marlin said to run to shocks with the can up and the shaft down ? Has anybody done this and why would you do this ?

[Rocksurfer]

I run mine in what you'd call upside down only because I have Rancho 9000's and it makes it easier to get to the knob. It does not hurt the shock so I would do what the man says, he knows best.  

[Skinny_Pedal]

im guessing with the body up(that is what were saying right?) with each bump your shock is being used and compressing the goods inside. did that make sense? in my mind it did

[Ferg]

Body up = less damage.  Also reduces unsprung weight.

[gturismo]

I have heard that the Ranchos should be wounted with the body/can down.   The reasoning was to prevent air bubbles from forming over time.  But I don't know if its true or not.    Just something I had heard.

[Rocksurfer]

im guessing with the body up(that is what were saying right?) with each bump your shock is being used and compressing the goods inside. did that make sense? in my mind it did

Please tell what you been smoking, what ever it is, works good. 

Regardless of the position up or down on the can compression and rebound remain the same.

Body up = less damage.  Also reduces unsprung weight.

Well I don't know about damage but the shock is sprung weight and even more so when the can is up.

I have heard that the Ranchos should be wounted with the body/can down.   The reasoning was to prevent air bubbles from forming over time.  But I don't know if its true or not.    Just something I had heard.

Silly wives tales, Rancho's can be run in any position. If your shock sucks air at any time it's time for a new shock, it would mean they are leaking through the seals. Fluid leaks out, air gets in. Think about it how could the position of the shock make it suck air. It's just like the boot myth, my shocks collected dirt inside the boot instead of keeping it out, of course my boots are toys and never get put on my truck.

[IronClad]

they do act differently when upside down. they controll the decompression alot better   and slows the tire from droping to fast ( can be bad)  they also can suck air !  when that happens to fix it just turn the shock back over for a while and it will fix its self.. they create air pockets  in the top of the shock insted of breatheing out from the  seal when the shaft goes out.  we have thought we killed 8 rs9000's  but after being off the truck for about a month now we went to warrenty them and they are back to normal !  the air pocket just needed to work its way out.

[hornett22]

i put my bilstiens body up.i figured the made the sticker right side up for a reason.never had a problem

[SLOYOTA808]

I prefer the shaft down so mud and water don't settle/ rest on top of the 'body'.  Other than that, I can't see the difference.  After all, with the 26 chrome shocks I have connected to the rear axle alone, who gives a hoot if one or two go bad

[mr4x42u]

with the shocks upsde down you will get a small area of freeplay,,undapened movement..not noticable on the rig,,,but if you have the shack upside down,,and wait over night and check it in the morning you will see what I mean..the shaft will move up and down real easy..it goes away after the shock has been cycled but not a big deal from what I've seen..But i could see the valve getting worked over in time..some shocks it does not matter..so do,,some don't..most of the newer name brand off road type shocks I don't think it matters much anymore..

[ntsqd]

Silly wives tales, Rancho's can be run in any position.

If they are twin tube shocks, like Raunchos, then they really need to be mounted body down. Rauncho used to say that you could mount their 9k's either way. They don't say that any more, and THAT is where the confusion came from. Mounted body up puts some of the body mounted valving in the gas and not in the fluid. they don't work so well that way.

With mono-tube shocks, like Bils, SAW's, Fox's, etc. you CAN mount them either body up or body down. In these shocks all of the valving is on the piston.

[Rocksurfer]

If they are twin tube shocks, like Raunchos, then they really need to be mounted body down. Rauncho used to say that you could mount their 9k's either way. They don't say that any more, and THAT is where the confusion came from. Mounted body up puts some of the body mounted valving in the gas and not in the fluid. they don't work so well that way.

With mono-tube shocks, like Bils, SAW's, Fox's, etc. you CAN mount them either body up or body down. In these shocks all of the valving is on the piston.

I have always run my Rancho's body up and have never expericenced any of these issues. From out of the 6 rigs I have had them on I broke only one at the welds other than that one I've taken them on and off the trucks, in fact the pair on the rear of my current truck came off of my Willys and before that they were on my Sammi, they are just as good as the day I bought them. The pair on the front came off a full-size Ramcharger that I owned  and never had any problems running them body up or down. I run my rear body down and my fronts body up only because I lazy and don't want to climb under the front to adjust them.

[mr4x42u]

I have always run my Rancho's body up and have never expericenced any of these issues. From out of the 6 rigs I have had them on I broke only one at the welds other than that one I've taken them on and off the trucks, in fact the pair on the rear of my current truck came off of my Willys and before that they were on my Sammi, they are just as good as the day I bought them. The pair on the front came off a full-size Ramcharger that I owned  and never had any problems running them body up or down. I run my rear body down and my fronts body up only because I lazy and don't want to climb under the front to adjust them.

this is prolly true,,and I never noticed any differance either,,however when I turned them around thats when I felt the few inches of free travel untill the shock was cycled several times..no problems ever became of it howver..just somthing I noticed..

[brainlessfool]

Well I don't know about damage but the shock is sprung weight and even more so when the can is up.

Well I think it is less "sprung weight" with the body up as it will then be mounted on the body and not the axle, butt being as noone here is running a fomual 1 car it would not matter eather way .

butt I do thijnk that if I were going to run some shocks "up-side down" I cut the dust cover off so it would trap drit. 

[SLOYOTA808]

Well I think it is less "sprung weight" with the body up as it will then be mounted on the body and not the axle, butt being as noone here is running a fomual 1 car it would not matter eather way .

butt I do thijnk that if I were going to run some shocks "up-side down" I cut the dust cover off so it would trap drit.

That's the reason I run the shocks the 'wrong' way.  But then again, the right way is my way...

[brainlessfool]

That's the reason I run the shocks the 'wrong' way.  But then again, the right way is my way...

Right you are!  BLF>       < SLOYOTA

[WideOpen]

I ran my 9000's can up for a few months, but it just didn't seem ride or handle right. Flipped them around and it made a big difference. Had massive nose dive when braking with the can up on highest setting, now run setting 3 with good ride and almost no nose dive. With the can up it creates a dead spot in the shock before it starts to dampen causing a number of issues. This worked out great on my truck, just do what works best for you.   My buddy and i just installed bilstiens can up on his runner and they ride sweet!

[SLOYOTA808]

I do have a bone to pick regarding the rear axle weldable lower shock mount....can't have shocks working 100% when your shock binds a widdle bit.... fighting the bushings and all....

Plus, I can't miss what I never had....the shocks current position was their first position...

[RunnerRick]

Procomp 9000 shocks barley work body up you can feel the difference pushing them on the ground.

[All_Set]

Procomps (at least the ES3000)  are not designed to be ran can up.  @ first I could not tell the difference, but after some time, it was as if someone removed the shocks all together. 

[superstarai]

I believe that shocks should be mounted with the silver rod up to the top and the huge body part down, basically i dont belive in mounting it upside down shock but iam not that experienced either. See what works for you or call the manufacuter who makes the shock.

[Rocksurfer]

Since I run my shocks inverted and there has been some saying it was a no no it's been driving me nuts wondering. Not that I've been having an issue, but you know how it goes the seed was planted and I was thinking about trying them the other way. I always used to think that the shocks on my IFS 4Runner had the cans in the up position and would have been the only way to mount them since the top would have been a shaft mount. Well I'm sitting here looking at one of the few actual pictures I have since I was into video back when I had it and guess what, I'm staring at the front of my old truck with inverted shocks Rancho 9000's from the FACTORY!! If that doesn't settle this question I don't know what does. Here's the pic.......

[ntsqd]

And like I said previously, Older 9k's (~5+ y.o.) can be run can up, but the new ones can not. Age of the damper makes a difference.

[Rocksurfer]

Since some are saying that they cannot be run can up I decided to check with the pros:

Ron,

Yes, you can still mount the RS9000 line in the inverted position.  They
will still function properly, but might seem slightly softer if this is
done.  Both our 5000 series and 9000/9000X series shocks are cellular gas
charged shocks. This means that the gas and the oil are in two different
chambers rather than being mixed together like in free-flowing gas charged.
Since the gas is not in direct contact with the piston, it does not extend
the piston. The cellular gas charged shocks have advantages of both free
flowing gas charged shocks and hydraulic shocks. This is due to the
cellular gas still preventing aeration with the gas charge while also being
able to be mounted in more versatile positions. These shocks are designed
to not extend on its own.

For further questions please feel free to contact the technical assistance
line at 734-384-7804.

Rancho Team-Justin

[jimbo74]

www.4crawler.com has a good writeup on the shocks being mounted upside down.... not sure exactly where it is on that site though... there is a plethora of info there

[Rocksurfer]

www.4crawler.com has a good writeup on the shocks being mounted upside down.... not sure exactly where it is on that site though... there is a plethora of info there

Yeah but that would just be more banter back and forth like here, not direct information like from the manufacturer of the product.

[blackdiamond]

Here is my  with the disclaimer that I am no expert...

I have Rancho 9000 (old 5 position version) installed on my truck.  I have noticed that the valving only changes the compression of the shocks and not the rebound.

   

Now that I am typing my thoughts out, mounting can up or can down doesn't change compression vs. extension.

Don't you hate it when you prove yourself to be a moron?   

I guess it is back to the air bubble question...

[Rocksurfer]

Here is my  with the disclaimer that I am no expert...

I have Rancho 9000 (old 5 position version) installed on my truck.  I have noticed that the valving only changes the compression of the shocks and not the rebound.

   

Now that I am typing my thoughts out, mounting can up or can down doesn't change compression vs. extension.

Don't you hate it when you prove yourself to be a moron?   

I guess it is back to the air bubble question...

Next time just don't push Post and everything will be OK!!