Rear shock cross-mounts

[chaser9478]

I have pics I need to get up. I think the cross mount is ok buy I have already decided to go thru the floor when I put my cage in.

 

[hot_rod_hooligans]

I think it will do me for what I need it to for now, I'll save the though the floor stuff for when I link the rear, but I'll probably do coil overs then.

 

[chaser9478]

I just don't like the angle my shocks are at. I would rather go thru the floor than try to revalve them to work at that angle.

 

[chaser9478]

Ok so what psi of nitrogen should I run in my air bumps? They are at 200 right now and can go to 500.
Has anyone got pics of an easy to make rear shock hoop?

 

[GrimmJeeper]

I don't have advice on the bumps, but I would call the company that made em, tell em what you're doing with em, and ask their advice. Most shock companies are really helpful when it comes to things like that.

I could send you pics of my hoop, it is a pretty simple design...but as I've said over and over I think putting the hoop in there and romping the hell out of my XJ without having anything else keeping the unibody stiff is what is causing the rear of my XJ's body to fall apart.

 

[chaser9478]

I want to plate the frame before the hoop goes in so I can tie it into that. Untill then I will run them at that awful angle. I could incorporate the cross shock hoop into the thru the floor hoop for support. It goes from frame rail to rail.

 

[kastein]

Putting a hoop in there welded to the floor just puts all that stress on the floor panel spotwelds... I would agree, having painstakingly ground them out on a rig there really isn't much holding it together.

Either through the floor and straight to the "frame rails", or preferably onto the frame rail stiffeners.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Putting a hoop in there welded to the floor just puts all that stress on the floor panel spotwelds... I would agree, having painstakingly ground them out on a rig there really isn't much holding it together.

Either through the floor and straight to the "frame rails", or preferably onto the frame rail stiffeners.

mine is attached to 1/4" steel plates that are welded to the tops of the frame rails, we cut the floor out to the size of the plate, welded the plate to the top of the rails from above and below, then stitch welded around the edges of the plates to the floor. from the looks of the floor it appears the stress from the hoop is pulling up on the rails as the shocks cycle and causing the rails to be pulled inwards and upwards, the entire floor in the back is buckling in at the center and up outboard of the rails. I think this is causing most of the stress cracks I am seeing around the hatch area and the separation of the sheet metal under the drip rails just rearward of the top of the rear door openings. I think some support from underneath tying the two rails together (like a cross member) would help quite a bit - others have had the stock shock mount crossmember pull completely off the underside (xcm comes to mind, his is almost completely separated).

The obvious real answer to this though is to plate the rails front to back, and put a full cage in the truck before beating on it. The unibody just has too much give to hold together on its own once something like a shock hoop goes in and changes the way it is designed to flex.

 

[kastein]

Ahh that is better I guess... Not helping much from the sound of it.

Though I doubt AMC had you guys in mind when they designed these station wagons

When I was working on ripping the cancer out of the back of my 96 I have to say the thought of just ripping out the unibody rails from the firewall back and replacing them with 3x6 box crossed my mind quite frequently. It'd be way stronger than even a reinforced unibody and easier to properly attach shock hoops, real leaf / control arm mounts, bumpers etc to.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

... replacing them with 3x6 box crossed my mind quite frequently. It'd be way stronger than even a reinforced unibody and easier to properly attach shock hoops, real leaf / control arm mounts, bumpers etc to.

Might as well go full tube chassis at that point, that's where I'm headed :gag:

 

[kastein]

Yeah I know... at that point I realized I was better off just tossing all the damn sheetmetal :dunno: whole hog or none at all. I don't have the cash for doing that so I bought a new unibody and I'm just gonna patch the old one up then use it till it folds like a taco.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Yeah I know... at that point I realized I was better off just tossing all the damn sheetmetal :dunno: whole hog or none at all. I don't have the cash for doing that so I bought a new unibody and I'm just gonna patch the old one up then use it till it folds like a taco.

also, what I did, lol. My Xj is going out for one last hurrah in the desert in a couple weeks, then im retiring the body and moving everything over to a clean straight shell. hopefully this time i can resist beating on it until it's properly supported