manche SOA shock

[midnightrunxj]

Well i did the SOA on my truck today. I just flipped the shock mounts from side to side (l+r) and are now installed on top of axle. Now my shocks are bottoming out. Id like to hear some ideas and see some pics of your SOA MJ shock setup. Thanks

[Eagle]

Comanche stock shocks are quite a bit longer than XJ rear shocks. Get a pair of XJ shocks, remove the bar pins on top, and try them.

For reference, a set of Gabriel Gas Ryder LTs out of a stock XJ, when held in place under a stock MJ, were 1/2" shy of reaching the upper mounting stud when fully extended with the lower eye mounted.

[Starboard M]

So they are bottoming out from drop? Or compresion? Wouldnt, by rasing the sock mounts on the axle, make the shock length the same? Or the amount that it has to travel stay the same? Im confused, but its not the first time that has happened. :laugh3:

[Eagle]

Bottoming out would be compression. If they aren't long enough to let the axle droop, that's "topping out," not bottoming out.

On the MJ, the lower shock mount is a stud on the spring retainer plate, not a bracket on the axle like the XJ. In stock trim the plate is below the leaf pack, so when you go to a SOA the axle goes under and the plates move up to the top. So the studs get raised by the thickness of the leaf pack, plus the offset of the stud -- probably 2" or so higher than the stock position, assuming no alterations to the spring pack.

[midnightrunxj]

exactly so what are my options to fix this topping out!!??

[thisfirstlove]

Shorter shock? lower the shock mounts...?

[midnightrunxj]

no wait i was right the first time. They are bottoming out. the shocks are fully compressed. Id like to see some pics.

[rockwerks]

first off on a manche the lower shock mount i sucks for flex anyway...it is 90* the wrong way...and by mounitng it over the spring you have made the problem worse.............here is mine, a bar across the frame rails and new shock mounts on top of the axle. simle great flex and easy

http://fototime.com/%7BD17F533F-BC80-435A-A0A3-4C18C2E327E4%7D/picture.JPG

[Eagle]

no wait i was right the first time. They are bottoming out. the shocks are fully compressed. Id like to see some pics.
Like I said -- get a pair of XJ rear shocks and remove the upper bar pins.

[midnightrunxj]

Tossed a set of old xj shocks on there and it only gave me about 2" of compression. kept botming out over dips and bumps. If i put my 4-wheeler back there it would sit bottomed.

[Gojeep]

Have you dropped you bumpstops the same amount you gained in doing the SOA? You need to otherwise you will kill your leaves in no time flat as will be over compressing them now. This will go a long way in solving your shock problem too.

[rockwerks]

Have you dropped you bumpstops the same amount you gained in doing the SOA? You need to otherwise you will kill your leaves in no time flat as will be over compressing them now. This will go a long way in solving your shock problem too.

you have no clue..........The only difference is about 3" and extended bumpstops have absolutely no bearing on his problem. The problem is he has done half the job of a SOA. he needs to put new shock mounts onto the axle housing its self. the old shock mounts where 2" under the axle now 2" over the axle plus the axle width so he is about 7" closer to the top shock mount.

[Pete M]

A quick fix is to just swap the shock mounts back to the side they came from and trim a bit to fit them between the leaf pack and axle. This puts them in the same location relative to the upper mount as they were when stock.
Jeep on!
--Pete

P.S. This isn't a perfect solution though, I'm still limiting my up travel by 1" (with 33s and stock flares so I lost that anyways after I modified the bumpstops) and down travel by 2". Works just fine until I can pop holes in the bed and weld upper mounts to my rollbar (and can afford the long travel shocks that I want :laugh3: ).

http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL91/512063/7858967/103750908.jpg

Up:
http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL91/512063/7745965/103748808.jpg

Down:
http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL91/512063/7858967/103750935.jpg

[woody]

When I did my SOA MJ, I tried flipping the spring plates and mounting shocks there... Oops.

Eagle mentions bar-pin uppers? my 89 had studs mounted inboard of the framerails, both forward of the axle.

I had a pair of 'univ' shock mounts welded to the front of the axle tube, 3" lift XJ shocks (25"/15"?IIRC) worked fine for me this way.

[Eagle]

My MJs have upper studs, too.

What I said (or what I thought I said) was that stock XJ rear shocks are several inches shorter than stock MJ rear shocks, so by removing the bar pins from XJ shocks you can mount them in an MJ.

But I guess they aren't enough shorter to be the 100% solution.

[midnightrunxj]

i just cut the lower shock mount off and welded it to the axle. it seems to work great. it has awsome flex. cant wait till i get the front done.