Need help with coilover mounts

[Ctimrun]

We have a TCI four link/coilover setup installed on our 3100. I do not believe the coilovers have the proper mounting hardware. The top and bottom of the shocks are sliding on the mounts causing the shocks to bind.

I was thinking about a washer on the inside (of the shock mount) to hold it in place but I’m not sure that’s the solution. If I am going to have to modify what’s there I want to do it the right way.

I have left a message and email with TCI, but in the meantime I am hoping someone can give me some suggestions on the proper way these should be mounted, and where to buy the parts if necessary.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ctimrun]

Sorry for the sideways photos!

[Rickysnickers]

Flipped

[Ctimrun]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Flipped

Thanks for the flip Rickysnickers!

[PGSigns]

So here is what I see from the pictures. The mounts are all wrong. The the type of mounts look like they are for shocks with rod ends and not rubber bushings. The spacers are not correct. Pull it all apart and look at what the rubber bushings look like and how they are set up in the end of the shock. See if the shocks will take a spherical bushing. If they will take a set i would put them in, Then put them back on with no spacers and see if you can get them to stand up straight up and down. If you can then cut new bushings to get them centered. The way the mounts are in the truck you really need the spherical bushings. If it was my truck I would be butting new shock mounts in at the top.
Jimmy

[Ctimrun]

Thank you for the suggestion. I put the truck up on the lift this morning to take a better look. I believe the above pictures are a little deceiving due to distortion from the camera as the shock mount angles are not as bad as it appears in the photos. I adjusted the pinion angle a bit to improve it which also improved the angle of the lower shock mounts. I removed the shocks and put the mounting hardware back together with the right amount of washers and everything looks great. Happy with the way it turned out!

[Ctimrun]

Right side up……

[HAULIN' IT]

There are some basic things that need to be "in place" to have a good working & proper shock set-up. The last picture, Is that with weight on the suspension? "Up on the lift" could be either depending on what type of lift you have. The top & bottom "pins" need to be parallel as viewed in your last photo with the weight on the tires...clearly they are not. This is part of what is making them walk, however there should be a "stop" of some sort to keep them in place. A slice of tube bigger than the one the shock is slid on, a washer welded on, something.
My thoughts are that some things weren't welded in the correct places (the upper shock mount tube so the stud would be vertical/90* to the shock for sure) & maybe the lower brackets on the rear end housing (that depends on where the rest of the parts are falling & pinion angle).
Im suspecting that the frame/suspension work was installed with little forethought as to ride height & weight being added as the project progressed. People see all of the adjustments (holes, spanner threads, ect) & figure they'll work it out later, it doesnt really go that way.
In your first photos, the lower pin is angled upward & in the last picture its aiming downward (due to your pinion angle adjustment)...somewhere in the middle will be the closest you can get without a cutting tool & welder. That may not be the happy spot for the rest of the suspension/driveshaft, but that would be better for the shocks.
My opinion, The 4 link rod ends (or leaf spring for that matter) pivot around the bolts parallel to the rear end housing...so the shock mounts should be also. Look at a motorcycle, a '56 chevy truck, a '66, '76, '86, '96...you get the idea.
My take, turn the shock a quarter turn & weld 4 tabs on the upper shock tube to locate them with a through-bolt going the "correct" way. A bracket made to go in some of the lower holes doing the same thing. This way, you are not altering the ideal pinion angle to make up for some other out of place item. I made a set just like I described for a friends car with the same set-up. It was off-set top to bottom compared to the holes so it could go the the top two holes or the bottom, or flipped over & be even lower. Lorne

[Overdriven]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

My opinion, The 4 link rod ends (or leaf spring for that matter) pivot around the bolts parallel to the rear end housing...so the shock mounts should be also. Look at a motorcycle, a '56 chevy truck, a '66, '76, '86, '96...you get the idea.
My take, turn the shock a quarter turn & weld 4 tabs on the upper shock tube to locate them with a through-bolt going the "correct" way. A bracket made to go in some of the lower holes doing the same thing. This way, you are not altering the ideal pinion angle to make up for some other out of place item. I made a set just like I described for a friends car with the same set-up. It was off-set top to bottom compared to the holes so it could go the the top two holes or the bottom, or flipped over & be even lower. Lorne

Totally agree. As the suspension cycles the current shock mounting bolts will change their angle relative to the shock. This will put strain on the shock bushings and wear them out faster.