Rear end swap done, is it done right?

[Signkutter]

Switched from a Dana 60 which had the shock mounts on the same side of the axle to a 14 bolt which had the shocks on front and back. Took it to a mechanic who instead of welding the differing shock mount to the other side so as to mimic the Dana 60 mounting pattern...just shifted the mount to line up with the frame mounts. Now one shock is extended a lot more than the other...is this safe? Should I have it redone?

[IMG]20170515_114743 by munkie spankur, on Flickr[/IMG]

[67 chevelle]

c10 c20 c30 what truck do you have ? ,, I think with one shock being vertical I would want the other vertical as well , vertical is best in terms of shocks , whenever I did coilovers chassis engineering told me that .

[Signkutter]

Originally Posted by 67 chevelle

c10 c20 c30 what truck do you have ? ,, I think with one shock being vertical I would want the other vertical as well , vertical is best in terms of shocks , whenever I did coilovers chassis engineering told me that .

I have a 72 Chevy 3/4 ton that came wit the Dana 60. This 2wd truck will never pushed to its capacity as far as loading goes..my main concern is safety ...and longevity

[demian5]

That shock in the right side of the picture needs to be pointing away from the rear end (towards rear of truck,) not going over it. The shock is not effective at all like that.

[Overdriven]

Some vehicles have the shocks staggered like the 14bolt. It's supposed to help plant the rear and help against axle wrap. Having the bottom of the shock mounted to the rear of the housing and the top of the shock mounted forward isn't doing you any favors. The angles are inconsistent which is going to result in inconsistent handling, possibly binding.

Over extending a shock or over compressing it is a sure fire way to blow out the shock. Maybe even break it in two. This won't necessarily cause a crash but inconsistent handling doesn't exactly help you control your vehicle. Get either the upper or lower shock mount moved to avoid any problems.

[B. W.]

That's hinky, if you want them staggered the passenger side top mount should run to the rear. If it were me I'd weld the mount on the axle tube & leave the shocks in the stock location.

[Signkutter]

Damn....thanks for all the input. I dont know why these guys have to half-ass jobs like this....same effort would mount the shocks on the same side like the dana 60 mounts

[BILT4ME]

Yeah, that's a problem.
The original setup dampened the wrap-up of the axle when accelerating only.
The newer versions with the shock fore/aft helped to reduce the wrap-up under both acceleration and deceleration.

The hinky way this was done will defeat the purpose of the right side shock. Also, when under load or heavy bounce, the right shock will bind and possibly bend or break because of where it is mounted. Yes, you WILL have problems with that setup.

Another shop fail......