Rear shock mounting

[NUb]

Trying to figure out how i want to mount my rear shocks and have a few questions.

whats better for control of azle wrap and stability?
lower mount ontop of axle or on side(front or back).
Angled forward or Backward.

[MidgetMike]

Shocks aren't going to effect axle wrap, but what you don't want to do is angle them in to close to each other at the top or far apart on the axle, the closer to a 45 degree angle your shocks are at the less effective they will be, there will be to to much leverage and you won't have for droop. I like mine about 5" in from the perch on the axle and about 9" in from the frame on the cross member. I mounted mine on the top back side of the crossmember and the top front side of axle. You can weld the shock studs that come with shocks to the axle tube with fillet welds, I used 4" bolts all the way through the cross member because I've seen so many tear out when only welded to the back side. Hope this helps someone else will throw down their   

[NUb]

Yeah I know about the whole  / \ thing. I was just wondering about the other stuff. Like chevy and toy mount 1 shock forward and 1 shock backward. there has to be a reason for this. On lost of prerunners I see the lower mounts low on the reare of the axle vs just on top.

[mr4x42u]

it depends on your truck and what shocks you have..I would rather have the mount on top of the axle myself,,however I had to mount mine on the front side of the axle to get an extra couple inches of upward shock travel..I don;t think there is a better way,,in front,in rear or on top of the axle other then having the shock on top of the axle its tucked out of the way of rocks..I have herd having the shock in front of the axle helps axle wrap but if it does i don't think it des by much..I don't know why toyota or other manufactures put the shocks one facing forward and one facing back maybe space,,but I don;t think there is any advantage to it..I would mount them the other way for sure/\

[GRM]

Here is what I found from my research, it isnt necessarally true, and I hope someone can prove me wrong, but it makes sence to me.

OEM's put the pass side shock in front, and the drivers side in the rear.

Have you ever taken a rear end out and tried to move it by turning the pinion? You may notice it wants to turn in a counter clockwide rotation.
Also, you have a centrifigal force from the driveshaft turning.

By placing the shocks in that fashon done by the OEM's you are effectivally reducing the 2 forces I just described.

BUT I think that setup doesnt help all that much when you have a spool or a locker that wants to push both tires forward at an equal force.

[NUb]

Thanks guys.
so I guess I will just mount on top of axle and angled clost to verticaly (front and back) and then like / \.
and they are Bilstein's just in case any one was wondering.

Jeff

[Hyena]

I have mine mounted like /\.  Then on the axle they are mounted on the front fo the tube.  I don't like that becasue i hit a rock and it put a fat dent in the shock.  I wouldn't plan on doing that again.  I only did that because the shock mounts were already on the axle when i bought it.

[Jase]

I mounted mine on top of the axle also /\ with no body lift and trying to keep lift to a minimum I made a hoop through the bed.  You can kind of see the hoop behind the pile of tools.

[TacoRunner]

    Someone told me once that mounting the shocks on the front of the axle and pointing back would help with axle wrap if your shocks were nitrotgen gas charged.   I your pinion wants to rotate back the shocks would help prevent this because they are harder to compress than rebound.

[79coyotefrg]

why dont you just get some kickershocks from downey,  reduce wrap and still flex

[Fireimp141]

Cause that would be taking the easy way out!

[79coyotefrg]

but i like easy,  hmmm     maybe i should rethink this

[Ferg]

For shocks to dampen correctly they should be mounted at equal angles in opposite directions ala factory setup.  One side  from axle forward and the opposite from axle aft.  Notice the changes from 1st gen to 2nd gen trucks.  Better ride quality on 2nd gen and later.  1st gen style /\ are less efficient.  No amount of verticle shock angularity will prevent axle wrap.  Ladder bars, traction bars, kicker shocks, and spring under setups help.