My Rear Shock Hoop Install

Putting this information out for anyone looking to do something similar. When planning this a lot of the threads were old and I had questions & information I was curious about. Anyone who has questions feel free to ask away, hopefully someone will be able to benefit from something I put here or input left by you guys.

I wanted to do this to be able to maximize rear wheel travel, improve ride quality & to have no more shock mounts to catch on rocks off the axle.

This is what parts I used:
Synergy MFG universal hoop kit #5012-01
Artec tube shock tabs #TB1021
Artec tube flanges #TB1201
Ruffstuff shock mounts SBRKT-FLT
Locally sourced tube for cross brace
Rubber roof flange to seal shocks around floor (Home Depot)
14" travel Bilstein 5125

First thing I did was plate the rear unibody with 1/8x4" flat stock so I had solid mounting point



Cutting the holes for dropping your hoops/shocks through the floor is pretty simple, i based the hole for the shock off the center of the u bolt plate, then lining up the hoops was pretty self explanatory.

Next step was to weld on the mounts to the unibody + weld the hoops to the mounts, limited amount of space to work with sucks, but doable with patience





Then I measured for shocks, I was previously running 10 inch travel 5125s with raised axle side mounts on my 8.8. I was able to now use a 14" travel 5125 instead plus the benefits from mounting the shock vertical for full efficiency



While waiting for shocks to arrive I built a cross brace from 1.5 od .120 wall that was removable, had a buddy who was able to notch the ends to attach to the hoops to make the install alittle easier





And once the shocks arrived I was able to weld on the lower tabs & I was pretty much finished



I sealed the floors around the shock bodies with a rubber roof flange from home depot (found in an older thread) & then cut factory carpet to fit around everything. Only finishing this a few days ago I havent had a chance to do anything other than drive to work, but there seems to be a noticeable improvement when hitting bumps etc. The rear takes them much smoother than before. Now I just need to measure and fab up a bumpstop setup for the rear and I should be done. Hopefully going to be heading to Rausch Creek soon for the real test. Any questions or additional information is appreciated!

Nice work! Thanks for the info.

I have bought tube to do this same exact procedure.

How much lift over stock do you think you are (estimation)?
How much uptravel and down travel do you have now?
Do you notice any left to right movement on the shocks in their new position? How big is the hole you drilled for the shock tube?

I plan on reusing my 5100 bilsteins and figure that their valving is soft enough to not have to run a brace between hoops as long as the hoops are oriented such that I can minimize any bending at the welds. Maybe when I start some sort of interior cage I will connect the hoops but was hoping to get by without the brace. Any take on that?

themauler said:

I have bought tube to do this same exact procedure.

How much lift over stock do you think you are (estimation)?
How much uptravel and down travel do you have now?
Do you notice any left to right movement on the shocks in their new position? How big is the hole you drilled for the shock tube?

I plan on reusing my 5100 bilsteins and figure that their valving is soft enough to not have to run a brace between hoops as long as the hoops are oriented such that I can minimize any bending at the welds. Maybe when I start some sort of interior cage I will connect the hoops but was hoping to get by without the brace. Any take on that?

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Around 5.5 inches. 3.5 RE Leafs, boostwerks Shackles, & HD relocation brackets. It's set for about 4 inches up travel 10 inches down travel. I used a 2.5 inch saw an had to open the holes up on the passenger side because of my miscalculation. But looking at a friend who has ORIs on his JK there is maybe .5 inch movement throughout suspension travel.

If tied into a cage you probably could get away but otherwise they need bracing. Upon compression you're putting alot of stress on the mounting points and last thing you want to find out is your weak point. You can find alot of people with frames (tj yotas etc) with no bracing who ripped the whole hoop off the frame.

NJXJ666 said:

Around 5.5 inches. 3.5 RE Leafs, boostwerks Shackles, & HD relocation brackets. It's set for about 4 inches up travel 10 inches down travel. I used a 2.5 inch saw an had to open the holes up on the passenger side because of my miscalculation. But looking at a friend who has ORIs on his JK there is maybe .5 inch movement throughout suspension travel.

If tied into a cage you probably could get away but otherwise they need bracing. Upon compression you're putting alot of stress on the mounting points and last thing you want to find out is your weak point. You can find alot of people with frames (tj yotas etc) with no bracing who ripped the whole hoop off the frame.

Click to expand...

I agree that a tie in is better than no bracing at all. How come you did not keep the tube centered overtop of the shock? That would eliminate any sort of bending on your welds and keep a majority of the force in the weld, theoretically, in pure shear.

I would ask this user if he was still active but it looks like he ragged pretty hard on this setup with no tie ins.

Rear Shocks Through Floor

themauler said:

I agree that a tie in is better than no bracing at all. How come you did not keep the tube centered overtop of the shock? That would eliminate any sort of bending on your welds and keep a majority of the force in the weld, theoretically, in pure shear.

I would ask this user if he was still active but it looks like he ragged pretty hard on this setup with no tie ins.

Rear Shocks Through Floor

Click to expand...

I personally know him and have wheeled many times at rausch creek with him. I actually didnt even think to ask him. Chris hasn't had the XJ for maybe almost 2 years now.

I didn't have access to a bender and the 1.5 od tube had to be bent to clear between the shock tabs. But many engine cage/shock tower tie ins in the front of rock bouncer are mounted offset. My brace is also only mounted maybe an inch behind the back of the rear shock tab, I have just enough room for the nnutand a wrench between. For a DD/weekend wheeler it is more than enough IMO.

NJXJ666 said:

For a DD/weekend wheeler it is more than enough IMO.

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Mine will remain a DD/weekend wheel as well. I hope to keep that cargo area free but we will see if the welds hold up with excessive bracing where the tube meets the "frame" I have been practicing bending some tube for this so this is my extra motivation.

Last thing. Is the rubber boot/roof flashing you used look something like this?

Yes very similar, the ones I got didn't have the aluminum around the outside, they were about 5 bucks each IIRC

themauler said:

Mine will remain a DD/weekend wheel as well. I hope to keep that cargo area free but we will see if the welds hold up with excessive bracing where the tube meets the "frame" I have been practicing bending some tube for this so this is my extra motivation.

Last thing. Is the rubber boot/roof flashing you used look something like this?

Click to expand...

Here is how stregthened my hoops without connecting them.

RoyalXJ said:

Here is how stregthened my hoops without connecting them.

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Nice. That would be my approach as well. Is the wheel well metal paper thin (not possible to weld to)?


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themauler said:

Nice. That would be my approach as well. Is the wheel well metal paper thin (not possible to weld to)?


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Click to expand...

Its not that thin. Its possible to weld it if you wanted

So on average how long of a shock are you then using with the relocation and at what lift height.

Im trying to balance goin through the floor with not taking up to much interior space. But need more shock to control the weight. I have a drawer system that is more overland style and every inch counts when packing for 5 people and a dog.

GordoSmasho said:

So on average how long of a shock are you then using with the relocation and at what lift height.

Im trying to balance goin through the floor with not taking up to much interior space. But need more shock to control the weight. I have a drawer system that is more overland style and every inch counts when packing for 5 people and a dog.

Click to expand...

I'm at around 5-5.5 inches. I used a 14 Inch travel 5125. With shorter or taller hoops it would give you different options. To save space I would do something like RoyalXJ did to avoid taking up cargo space with a cross brace.

I run a 12" shock at 3" (1.5" leaf, 1.5" shackle and no lift relocations)

For those of us that no longer have a back seat, what's everyone's thoughts on tying the hoops into the location of where the back rest of the rear seat attached?

akendal4 said:

For those of us that no longer have a back seat, what's everyone's thoughts on tying the hoops into the location of where the back rest of the rear seat attached?

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I would think it would be a good spot. Would you be angling the shocks forward and in?

akendal4 said:

For those of us that no longer have a back seat, what's everyone's thoughts on tying the hoops into the location of where the back rest of the rear seat attached?

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The hardware that attaches that bracket to the body is small diameter stuff. I'm sure you could use that area as a mounting point but I'd use different hardware approach.

akendal4 said:

For those of us that no longer have a back seat, what's everyone's thoughts on tying the hoops into the location of where the back rest of the rear seat attached?

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Adam,

That looks like that will work. This guy bolted his to the floor and to the back seat latch on the wall and it looks like he is running some pretty hefty shocks too.

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/rear-shock-towers-174456/index4/

Pretty much the final product, gives a good idea of the amount of cargo space you would have.