Shock mount orientation question??

[SCOTI]

When I made my rear upper shock mounts, I fabbed them to be aligned w/the OE style lower stud that PB uses on his truck arms. I'm working on the front shock mounting now & because I have dbl shear tabs coming off the lower a-arm tube, it sort of forces my hand to swivel the upper end 90° if I want to use a truck shock (trying to attach it to the side/top of the frame).

I could try & tweak PB's front upper shock mount to work (stud style), but I wanted a shock w/more travel (PB's spec's shock = 4.5" travel; OE style shock = 5.5" travel). I already have some Bilstein replacement 6x-72 truck shocks w/5" of travel, so I'm trying to set the shocks up to have 3" compression & 2" extension (from ride height). That should allow dumping the truck w/the bag & shock bottoming @ approx the same time while still allowing for up to 2" of extension w/o over-extending.

For those that have made (or do make) your own shock mounts, what are the 'rules' as far as aligning the shock 'eyes'? Must they be aligned top & bottom or could you set one end 90° vs the other?

[blime81]

Like this?


I have not done it on a lowered truck but it is fairly common in the 4x4 world with Jeeps. Not much room on them and if you are rockcrawling you'll want tons of articulation. A lot of guys "outboard" their shocks to keep better angles. Often they wind up twisting the shock 90* to make it fit or to keep the lower mounts from hanging up on stuff.

I know this isn't the exact answer you were looking for but if it works on a rig that flexes as much as a lifted TJ, I think it shouldn't be an issue on a bagged ride that doesn't see anything but pavement.

Stu's site has a ton of info on suspension setups including some thing like this.
http://www.stu-offroad.com/suspensio...earshock-1.htm

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by blime81

Like this?

Those look like they are aligned top & bottom (The orientation of the holes looks the same to me)?? To me, the upper mount looks like a dbl shear off the frame. The lower looks like a stud bolted to another bracket.

That being said, I'll check out the link because you're right.... if 4x4's get away w/it given their range of articulation, it should be ok for my application.

[blime81]

Oops wrong pic. Grabbed that one off a link I had saved.

Give me a bit I know I've seen it.

[blime81]

Called my buddy and he said yeah he's seen it on a juggy (Jeep buggy) followed shortly by broken shock shaft. Perhaps this not the best route after all....

Still trying to find the pic.

[SCOTI]

Anyone else?

[Heater63]

Scoti, I dont think rotation could make any difference as long as the mount makes the "eye" perpendicular (90 degree) to the shaft or tube to prevent any side loading...and this is through out the range of movement, (articulation) of the suspension component the shock mounts to.