• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Rear shock fix and options....

Senior_XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
NY
Ok so i have 4.5" of lift and an 8.8 out back. The dude that built it for the XJ just welded bolts to the axle tube and they have broken off, been re-welded and broken again. ALSO all the bolts broke off up top so the shocks were just welded in uptop. They have since been grinded out and re-welded uptop to replace the broken shocks. I have gone through 2 sets of skyjacker nitro 4" shocks and am now ready to fix this all the right way.

SO, i have new mounts to weld to the axle tube that are heavy duty and lower em about an inch or so and i plan on moving them as far out to the spring pearches as possible. Next is the issue to either clean up the area uptop and brace it and put em back in the stock location,, OR,, cut holes in the floor and build a brace inbetween the wheelwells,, OR,, get the JKS upper shock re-location brace that bolts between the frame rails,, http://store.jksmfg.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SHOCKMOUNT&Store_Code=JKS01&Category_Code=Shock ,,

SO, im highly confused here on how to set up the rear shocks so i can get good uptravel and droop at the same time. The 4" skyjackers looked crammed in there with the shock mounts raized up and had no uptravel causing em to bottom out, blow, and then break off the bolt welded on.

Advice and info needed and thanks for ur help!!!!
 
So i came across this http://www.crossenterprises.com/xj.html ,, instead of the jks model which just bolts into the stock upper shock location.

The cross ent model bolts to the frame rails and to the chassie by replacing ur lower rear seatbelt bolts with longer ones. It also includes the tabs to weld onto ur axle tube and is cheaper.

SO, if i get this and am running 4.5" of lift,, what length shocks should i get and is it worth the extra $$ to get shocks like blistens 5150's instead of the $40 buck skyjacker nitros???
 
I would say buck up for the bilsteins if you can afford it - I'm saving some $$$ for that upgrade myself. 5150s or even 5100s would be better than the nitros. If you search bilstein, I'm sure you will come up with all the info you need including valving and sizing.
I like that setup from crossenterprises - thanks for the info
 
So im gonna order up the crossenteprises shock hoop and now i just need help picking out my shocks.
Should i just match the front with skyjacker nitros or upgrade to bilsteins 5125 ????????
 
I ran my shocks through the floor into a brace that runs fender to fender using Procomp MX2 shocks. I like the way it worked out. I think it handles better too. You do loose some room in the back but I also use the brace to mount my highlift to.
 
Bilsteins.

And you will not really be able to tell what size/length you need until you have that shock mount bolted up. To do it right, IMO, you should bolt up the mounts, then measure how long your shock needs to be a full droop and full compression. That will determine which length bilsteins to get. There are plenty of threads on shock valving regarding 5125's and 5150's, search and those will help you decide on that. Once you've come to conclusions on those two factors it's just deciding between the levels of bilsteins. You can get 5150's for < $100 each, I think it's worth it.
 
xcm said:
'
good luck on that, i paid $107 6 months ago... buyin online doesnt count if you dont include shipping`

4wheelparts had them on sale for $99 a couple weeks ago, saw it in there add. Check your store if there is one near you.

I got mine from eshocks.com. $98 each with free shipping coupon code(bonus is also no tax if seller is out of state for you).
 
Im having issues with gettin ahold of cross ent to order there shock hoop. There price is a cool $150 for the hoop, weld on axle mounts and hardware. If i opt to get jks's design i gotta spend $160 and an additional $50 for the axle mounts. Not only that but the jks bolts to the stock shock location and that area on my jeep is fu*ked up,, the bolts are broken off and theres old welding around it all.
Should i try waiting it out for the cross ent hoop or pay the extra $$ for jks and then weld it up in there??
 
i would'nt waiste your time or money, shocks arent intended to be pitched like that, it promotes premature wear. valving is intended to be used as virtical as possible, ask any shock 'builder', your shocks wont live half their life span as intended, work on repairing the existing mounting area.
 
i would'nt waiste your time or money, shocks arent intended to be pitched like that, it promotes premature wear. valving is intended to be used as virtical as possible, ask any shock 'builder', your shocks wont live half their life span as intended, work on repairing the existing mounting area.

Agreed
 
I'm kind of in the same boat at Senior...with a jacked up mounting area on my upper rear passenger side due to PO welding, etc.

What are ya'll doing to "repair the existing mounting area"...anyone have pictures/ write-up?
 
you could allways weld in something like a bar pin eliminator, you could use the peice that comes off the rear sway bar mount to the rear axle... but this time, do it right! re-inforce it.

if your ripping it off its because of one of two things....
1- not welded proper
2- your shocks are bottoming out instead of bumps, or drooping out. fix that w/ bumpstops or limit straps, THEN redo your mount.
 
Back
Top