Topic: BEST ALL AROUND POSITION TO MOUNT REAR SHOCKS

[mountainyoda]

Ok folks. I was just wondering what you all think is the best all around position to mount rear shocks. I have installed 4” marlin springs (front and back) and I have the 14” Bilstein gas shocks. Installed the front shocks with extended hoops. And am currently driving with no rear shocks .   According to info in the box you are supposto have 60% of the shock rod in the tube at ride height that’s 8.4”.  Which means 5.6” of rod showing when every thing said and done (about 26”eye to eye).  I don’t really want to cut a hole in the center of my truck bed and have about ¾” sticking out for the upper shock mounts.

Also I’ve been told that if your shocks are mounted like an upside down V (/\)  your rig kinda wonders around at higher speeds. 

Any pics, suggestions, and alternatives to the upside down V thing would be great….

O by the way Its an 83” pickup…

[AaronB]

you would be better of with 12" shocks. your best bet is like this / \ but with 14" shocks you will probably have to mount the lower part below your axle.


here is my setup with 12" shocks

[BLACKDOG]

Best for articulation is how AaronB has his.  Best for street, would be almost vertical. 

I also would go with a 12" shock, and if it sees a lot of DD duty, run them like this /  \  not as drastic an angle as Aarons, space out the top mounts mabye 6 inches or so.  That'll give you more use out of the shock, but still allow decent articulation off road.

[Burl]

If you want you can french a piece of square tube and incorporate the upper shock mounts into it and use it like another cross member and that will give you a little more room for taller shocks set up like this / \.

Ok folks. I was just wondering what you all think is the best all around position to mount rear shocks. I have installed 4” marlin springs (front and back) and I have the 14” Bilstein gas shocks. Installed the front shocks with extended hoops. And am currently driving with no rear shocks .   According to info in the box you are supposto have 60% of the shock rod in the tube at ride height that’s 8.4”.  Which means 5.6” of rod showing when every thing said and done (about 26”eye to eye).  I don’t really want to cut a hole in the center of my truck bed and have about ¾” sticking out for the upper shock mounts.

Also I’ve been told that if your shocks are mounted like an upside down V (/\)  your rig kinda wonders around at higher speeds. 

Any pics, suggestions, and alternatives to the upside down V thing would be great….

O by the way Its an 83” pickup…

[Rockcrawlintoy]

what valving would you use. like if you were goin to use bilstein 5150s. they have a 255/70 or the 160/60 valving

DRew

[mountainyoda [OP]]

thanks Aaronb. But I would like to stick with the 14" stroke I want to have as much flex as possible and don't want the shocks to be the limiting factor.   nice pix.  what are all those wires/string hanging from your shocks, it looks kinda cool though; like something from a MAD MAX flick...

 

[mountainyoda [OP]]

Best for articulation is how AaronB has his.  Best for street, would be almost vertical. 

I also would go with a 12" shock, and if it sees a lot of DD duty, run them like this /  \  not as drastic an angle as Aarons, space out the top mounts mabye 6 inches or so.  That'll give you more use out of the shock, but still allow decent articulation off road.

I think what I'll do is before I welt in the upper cross brace(upper shock mount) i will drill a serries of mounting holes. from dead center out 1" and every inch up to 4".. which will give me 5 different possitions to mount the upper portion of the shocks.. 

also BLACKDOG do you knowhow much up travel the the rear 4" marlin leafs are suppose to travel (w/ 6" shackles)??  I haven't set the bump stops in yet to the U bolt plate.  I want the bump stops to limit the up travel not the shocks

[mountainyoda [OP]]

If you want you can french a piece of square tube and incorporate the upper shock mounts into it and use it like another cross member and that will give you a little more room for taller shocks set up like this / \.

I think I know what you are saying about "french"... do you mean cut a hole in the tube and bend or flare the sides to fit the shocks??

[mountainyoda [OP]]

what valving would you use. like if you were goin to use bilstein 5150s. they have a 255/70 or the 160/60 valving

DRew

the exact shocks are (5125 Bilstein Gas Pressurized Shocks) with 14" stroke.  whats the advantage of this "255/70 valving" you know for potential upgrading in the future..

[toy4x4ota]

i always thought that the "best way" was to mount the shocks verticle , thats what i am going to eventually do, that is whenever i decide to put rear shocks on

[BLACKDOG]

I think what I'll do is before I welt in the upper cross brace(upper shock mount) i will drill a serries of mounting holes. from dead center out 1" and every inch up to 4".. which will give me 5 different possitions to mount the upper portion of the shocks.. 

also BLACKDOG do you knowhow much up travel the the rear 4" marlin leafs are suppose to travel (w/ 6" shackles)??  I haven't set the bump stops in yet to the U bolt plate.  I want the bump stops to limit the up travel not the shocks

Unfortunately I don't, but it is really going to be different for every vehicle anyway.    a standard would give you an idea, but it's going to depend on how broken in the springs are, shackle lenght like you already mentioned, even your bedload will make a difference.  When the bed is unloaded, it is fairly light, so the springs are more likely to not flex as much and cause the truck to flex more at the front, since it is heavier due to the engine.    Loaded, it'll flex better out back, due to the added resistance of the weight. 

Your best bet IMO for setting your bumpstops is to load the bed with an approximate wheeling weight (cooler, tent, tools, etc.  Just use your best estimate) and then flex it out to where your shocks are almost completely compressed. Then measure the distance, and mount your bumpstops accordingly. 

[Austin W]

This is how i have mine mounted, i used to have them mounted just like aronb"s truck, I found that it is more stable like this And i am not even close to maxing them out(all the way flexed).

[Burl]

Kind of but you will need to buy the short axle shock mounts, completely cut out the portion of tubing and weld in the mount into the tubing, or you could just cut out the bottom side of the tubing and drill some holes to bolt the shocks up.

I think I know what you are saying about "french"... do you mean cut a hole in the tube and bend or flare the sides to fit the shocks??

[MR_DIY]

I am re-doing my rear 14" shocks right now and here's what I did.

get some trailer shackles from agriculture store and cut em in half. (these are now the tabs to weld onto the top of your axle and bolt the shocks in)... bottoms are done now.

cut a hole in the flatbed expanded steel and stand shock up through it. Done now.

get trailer leaf springs hangers that are 1.25" wide and  bolt them to the top of the shock... weld that to your chassis however you want to.  I'm probably gonna use some small tubing and a 1/4" gusset 

[AaronB]

I am re-doing my rear 14" shocks right now and here's what I did.

get some trailer shackles from agriculture store and cut em in half. (these are now the tabs to weld onto the top of your axle and bolt the shocks in)... bottoms are done now.

cut a hole in the flatbed expanded steel and stand shock up through it. Done now.

get trailer leaf springs hangers that are 1.25" wide and  bolt them to the top of the shock... weld that to your chassis however you want to.  I'm probably gonna use some small tubing and a 1/4" gusset 

 

[Hyena]

you want them as straight up as possible for better handling/body roll.

[MR_DIY]

I finished them tonight.  they aren't beautiful but they are strong and they took 1 hour and $5 to do it.
pics tomorrow 

[mountainyoda [OP]]

i always thought that the "best way" was to mount the shocks verticle , thats what i am going to eventually do, that is whenever i decide to put rear shocks on

I don't have rear shocks either right now. and at high speeds over 50mph its kind shaky, especially when the roads are rough. wonders around a bit. how long have you been w/ out rear shocks?  do you think its worth it to put them in? I know besides a smoother ride it gives you more traction.     

[mountainyoda [OP]]

Unfortunately I don't, but it is really going to be different for every vehicle anyway.    a standard would give you an idea, but it's going to depend on how broken in the springs are, shackle lenght like you already mentioned, even your bedload will make a difference.  When the bed is unloaded, it is fairly light, so the springs are more likely to not flex as much and cause the truck to flex more at the front, since it is heavier due to the engine.    Loaded, it'll flex better out back, due to the added resistance of the weight. 

Your best bet IMO for setting your bumpstops is to load the bed with an approximate wheeling weight (cooler, tent, tools, etc.  Just use your best estimate) and then flex it out to where your shocks are almost completely compressed. Then measure the distance, and mount your bumpstops accordingly. 

that totally makes sense BD.  thanks for the info.. with that in mind I came up w/ a solution... I am going to fabricate an adjustable upper shock mount. that way once I figure out where to set the bump-stops I can easily move around the rear shocks dependind on what I'll be using my truck for. I will be posting picks and specs soon.  I've got two jobs and a wife, and on my free time I work on 83' Yoda so bear with me I think the idea will work good..     

[mountainyoda [OP]]

This is how i have mine mounted, i used to have them mounted just like aronb"s truck, I found that it is more stable like this And i am not even close to maxing them out(all the way flexed).

Are those 12" or 14"?  I see that your lower shock mounts are mounted on the out-sides of your axel.  I would like to keep them mounted on the top of the axel due to having a rock pull them off or something...  but I know that gives you an extra 3" or so to keep your shocks more vertical..  have you ever had them break off before?  If there welded on really good and a rock clips it; it might rip a hole in your Axel housing...  what do you think?   

[mountainyoda [OP]]

Kind of but you will need to buy the short axle shock mounts, completely cut out the portion of tubing and weld in the mount into the tubing, or you could just cut out the bottom side of the tubing and drill some holes to bolt the shocks up.

right on.   I found some rectangular tubing that I ll cut the bottom out of it.. and drill a series of holes across the top so I can adjust where to mount the shocks.  I'll show you picks later....    thanks for the info. 

[mountainyoda [OP]]

I am re-doing my rear 14" shocks right now and here's what I did.

get some trailer shackles from agriculture store and cut em in half. (these are now the tabs to weld onto the top of your axle and bolt the shocks in)... bottoms are done now.

cut a hole in the flatbed expanded steel and stand shock up through it. Done now.

get trailer leaf springs hangers that are 1.25" wide and  bolt them to the top of the shock... weld that to your chassis however you want to.  I'm probably gonna use some small tubing and a 1/4" gusset 

man that sounds rad.. got picks? on the inside of your truck bed is there anything sticking up?   

[mountainyoda [OP]]

you want them as straight up as possible for better handling/body roll.

handling where? on or off road?

[mountainyoda [OP]]

I finished them tonight.  they aren't beautiful but they are strong and they took 1 hour and $5 to do it.
pics tomorrow 

auight!! looking forward to the pick.  I,ll respond with in a couple days..  thank you, out... 

[MR_DIY]

I haven't done anything to make them pretty yet but here is the basic idea.  ps- I don't have a bed anymore.

*will be updated with pics shortly*