Shocking discovery

Well I finally swapped the D44 from my MJ into the XJ, and used one of my old spring pads as shock mounts. I had the welder mount them on the tubes 'upwards' where nothing is below the axle C/L and the pivot is approx 1.5" above the c/l. I figured this would be great for clearance (less to snag on)

My discovery was that there is only approx 1" of up-travel before the shox bottom out :bawl:

I have 10" travel shox, 15.5" compressed and 25.5" extended...I measured OEM replacement shox at the parts house today at 12.75"C - 21.75 E...9" travel. These would still be not enough stuff and likely top out before the leafs & shackles fully droop.

FWIW I have approx 6" leafpacks, revolver shackles (could swap on XJ or MJ shackles if I need to) and MJ bumpstops. Tons of room in there for 33"s now but I need new back tires anyway so may go taller. I'd need to retune BS height then, cause I surely don't want to rub the new meats on sheetmetal.

I am really tempted to sawzall a couple holes in the floor, and make a raised upper mount that allows the compression with the longer shox....I have no back seat, so it isn't a 'major' intrusion...but it may be cheaper/easier in the short run just to buy the shorter shox and adjust the bumpstops to fit the tires.

Until I get the front axle with matching gears in there, I can't really twist it up with the shox off to really measure anything. ( I tried today...the spooled 44 in 2WD just pushes the arse end around and wont climb...

Arrrgh. Always something! But OTOH glad i noticed it now and not on the trail when someone says "How come no stuffage?" :dunno:

Suggestions? Ideas?

How 'structural' does an upper shock mount have to be if the bumpstops are tuned to not let the shox bottom out? I don't have a wire feed welder, but have the blue wrench and plenty of rod, a drill, and a hungry sawzall LOL

Got the perfect answer for you. Rob Patterson a member of naxja had an MJ, I owned it for a little while, we cut the floor of the bed and ran the shocks up to a bar going across the wheelwells. The shocks were Rancho 9012's the longest shock available at the time. It worked great, he only had a spring over in back. I am sure if I asked him, he might have some pics of it. Hope this helps.

The easiest thing to do is build an upper shock hoop and bring the upper shock mounts close together in the center. My shocks are sitting at almost a 45* angle. It really decreases the effective dampening of the shocks but I am running super stiff 10" travel Pro Comp ES 3000s. Works fine for me. VERY easy to build. Doesn't look near as cool as long travel Bilsteins poking through the floor attaching to an 8 point cage though.....might have to wait till next year.

When in doubt, Phone the Guru

Thanks guys, and Jeff...you and the Guru are trackin' pretty parallel. (that's a big compliment BTW)

I spent an hour or so on the phone with Ron Stevick. He built (not bought) his 94 XJ for 36" tires back when most of us were fretting over vibes with our 2" spacer kits and dealing with "my 31"s rub" :bawl: The stuff he's learned has been from trial and error...and like many of us, he is willing to share details of successes and failures. Getting him online is a different deal.

I still haven't mounted the bumpstops, so there are those 4 holes under the rails. He suggested 'L' brackets bolted to where the bumpstops go (.188 or .250"th angle iron?) with a piece of square or rect tube running transversely, with the shox canted inward as far as I dare (even maybe crossing in the middle) Currently have really strong gas-charged shox on there, so some cant will tame them a bit. The crossmember tube could be drilled/sleved to allow various mounting angles, or share the center one with a long stud.

Sometimes I'm glad I am not hasty (and out of blue-wrench ammo) and the lesson learned (again) is to consult with the experts before getting too far involved with destructive implements.

Thanks

Woody

I mounted some 2"x2" angle using the holes from the rear sway bar and bent up a tube to run between. My shocks are probably at a bit more than a 45 degree angle with 4" I think between their top mounting points. My shocks came with my 3.5' lift (sorry, I don't know the length). But I drew it all up and figured it beforehand. It rides just fine and my shocks never bottom out. In fact they would allow much more droop than my suspension can dish out.

Same problem with mine..... Here is my solve....