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Bilstein 5125's Bottom Out - What to do?

MontanaXJ

MontanaXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Montana
Here's the story, i'm running an 11" travel front shock on my D44. I run ACOS and have 5" of bumpstop on the bottom. My tire stuffs up just the way I want it, but my shocks bottom out just after the bumpstops start compressing.

How bad is it to bottom out my shock during slow rock crawling? Can I damage the shock?

I don't want to further limit my uptravel by adding more bumptstop to the bottom, but will do so if I will damage my shocks.

Thanks!

Greg M.
 
You shouldn't damage shocks off road if you go slowly. Shocks generally get killed going too fast over speedbumps and potholes. I'd say your ok if your drive with your brain connected to your right foot.
 
MontanaXJ said:
I don't want to further limit my uptravel by adding more bumptstop to the bottom, but will do so if I will damage my shocks.
Click to expand...

You just answered your own question. YES, even with slow rock crawling you WILL damage your shocks if they compress with ANY weight on them. Adjust your bumpstops or get shorter shocks.

People argue when you try to tell them how to measure for shocks...but do they listen? ;) Nooooo, they 'gotta have droop.' Poppycock, it's cute on the ramps but isn't realistic. :D
 
I agree with ECKSJAY. Losing 1" of uptravel is not that big of a deal to save the $$ you spent on those shocks. Add a hockey puck to each side and forget about it.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I will add more bumpstop to the bottom, I just wish I could fine tune it with something thinner than hockey pucks.

How about a hole saw and a kitchen cutting board to make some bumpstop spacers?

Maybe in the future the budget will allow me to get some AK7112SB's. The 12" travel Bilstein 7100 short body reservoir is the same extended length as my 11" 5125, but is 1" shorter when collapsed. This would be the best way of solving my issue, but costs alot more than a coule of hockey pucks.

Greg M.
 
MontanaXJ said:
Thanks for the info guys. I will add more bumpstop to the bottom, I just wish I could fine tune it with something thinner than hockey pucks.

How about a hole saw and a kitchen cutting board to make some bumpstop spacers?
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me. :)
 
I like that idea. Just get a 3" holesaw and cut out a bunch of tuning spacers from 1/4" or 3/8" cutting board from WalMart or whatever. Not as cheap as hockey pucks, but you definately can fine tune with a couple of those to make up for the compression of the bumpstops you currently have. And the UHMW that the cutting boards are made of is very durable, but cuts like butter with wood and metal cutting tools, especially on the drill.
 
This may be a stupid question, but is there anything you can use to wrap around the piston of the shock itself and secure to use as a bumpstop? Maybe an inch tall hard rubber grommet or something? Like i said, may be dumb, but im looking for a way to bumpstop my rear axle (my 5125s also bottom, but only under full flex.)
 
mjd99xj said:
This may be a stupid question, but is there anything you can use to wrap around the piston of the shock itself and secure to use as a bumpstop? Maybe an inch tall hard rubber grommet or something? Like i said, may be dumb, but im looking for a way to bumpstop my rear axle (my 5125s also bottom, but only under full flex.)
Click to expand...

I supposed you could, but it would be more effective to bumpstop the whole axle, because that is a lot of weight for a little piece of rubber on the shock to be expected to stop. Stop on the shock or stop on the axle, both are going to need to stop at the same place, so might as well do it right and the strongest way possible.
 
I cooked up some bumpstop extensions to put on the ACOS instead of adding a hockey puck to the bottom. Recipe is as follows:

1 Cutting Board from Wal-Mart
740330_277_full.jpg


1 Hole Saw from ACE
740330_278_full.jpg


2 10mm 1.50 pitch allen head bolts from ACE. These were the longest they had, and allowed to add .75". I wanted to be able to add 2" or so, I will keep my eyes open for some longer bolts.
740330_279_full.jpg


The results
740330_280_full.jpg


Hopefully this will keep the shocks happy and improve the contact between the upper and lower bumpstop.

Greg M.
 
A few things....How much lift is on your jeep? How much shaft is showing one that shock? (it looks like alot!) and your shocks are upsidedown...If I am not mistaken Nitrogen (gas) charged shocks should only be mounted body up correct?
 
I'm running about 7" of lift. The photo shows the jeep jacked up with the wheel off the ground, you can see the coil is actually un-seated. The shocks can be mounted either way.

Greg M.
 
you can run a bumpstop on the shock but you would need to take it apart to get the bumstop on the shaft. I would think anything with a seam would just pop off.
 
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