Shock predicament...

[Elevate]

On my last desert trip I ended up coming into a set of whoops WAY too fast. Short of the long is... I broke a shock rod in the front :explosion(pics to come). I hit the brakes hard through the whoops which is a big no-no.

My front end is currently running RE 3.5's, RE adj. track bar, RE adj. lower and upper arms.

I want to get some RE 4.5 coils

I'm trying to buy the set up that I eventually want and not waste any money buying something in between.

So I need a set of shocks that can work with my current set up as well as the 4.5 coils.

I have my mind pretty well set on Bilstein 7100's but I am open to FOA's and Foxs. I don't think I need reservoirs as won't be heating them up too much on whoops. I THINK that I could do it and just change bumpstops/limit straps when I go up.

Which shock, what size, and will it work with both the RE3.5's and the RE4.5's?

Or should I stack my cash and get the 4.5's and the shocks at the same time?

Thanks in advance,
-Mike

 

[dgrigorenko]

i think you will find that a lot of xj guys are running the 7100 12" short bodies. thats what i have on my rig at around 5.5" of lift, and they are probably just a tad bit short, so at 4.5 they would probably be just around perfect. it should be said that i am trying to maintain a balance between crawling and high speed dunes.

 

[lyleorszulak807]

Yup Im running the 7100 short bodies 12" travel. With 5.5" deaver springs, Shocks are just about right, currently have 6" up and 6" down. Depends on how you mount the lower shock mount if you say their too short...

If youre in a money pinch buy the 1" spacer and run that with the 3.5" springs so your at the right height, they can be had cheaper than springs.

 

[NorCalChris]

7100's is what I run. very good shock, cheap if you search, look on RDC and Craigslist down in so-cal.

 

[Elevate]

12" 7100 short body it is!

Please excuse this if its a dumb question but, should I measure my extended and collapsed length or is there a standard length you guys run that will work?

Do I need to run a spacer or can I wait till I get the 4.5s?

Thanks for all the replys so far

 

[lyleorszulak807]

well you need to figure out how your going to mount them....stock shocks use upper stem these are eyelet so you need an adapter and the bottom wont fit so you need BPE's or fab some kind of mount on the axle. A few of us just cut out the stock axle location and weld some tabs on the side of LCA. But you should definitely get some measurement's for compression and full droop so you can see if the 12" short bodies will fit not to mention some bumps and limit straps.

 

[Elevate]

I'm not afraid of fabbing up my own lower mounts if i find some pictures and dimensions.

I know I need to do some searching, but can someone post some pics of the lowers mounts? I can't really picture putting the mount on the LCA.

I imagine I'll just buy the uppers. Doesn't the upper hole need to be reinforced pretty well tho? (since it's only sheet metal)

 

[Cache96]

with the 12's up front you will probably only have like 2-3" of up travel with the amount of lift you have now. i would probably go with the 10" travel, if you are going to use BPE remember that they take away shaft lenght.

I have 12" bypasses up front with 5.5" lift and lowered shock mounts and a reinforced upper mount i have about 51/2" of up travel.

 

[Elevate]

Thanks for all the responses

I think there is more to think about than I initially thought.
For the time being I should get some cheepy shocks for the front so I can get some wheeling in while I wait for a deal to pop up on some shocks. That way I can be in the process of getting some BPE's and deciding what I want my lower mount to look like as well as where to put it.

I am very curious about the LCA shock mount idea.

 

[xcm]

DIRECTLY, on the lca, is ghetto redneck fab... dont do it.
tabs off the lca MOUNT is better, but still not great. with abuse, they'll break

this was my last d30 we did.


heres a pic of an earlier version, notice the weaksauce. also, you gotta pull the shocks to access the lca bolts, not fun with a 2.5"


http://imageshack.us

 

[Cache96]

Here is another one from "grand runners" build thread.

]

 

[lyleorszulak807]

DIRECTLY, on the lca, is ghetto redneck fab... dont do it.
tabs off the lca MOUNT is better, but still not great. with abuse, they'll break

Sorry I meant to say off the LCA MOUNT, eventually I would like to mount it to the axle but this was more of a trial run. Ive seen those pics of the axle before XCM and damn I envy you! Very nice fab skills.

 

[Elevate]

Whatever I end up doing it will be double shear to keep that sucker from breaking off. Probably something like grandrunner did. Maybe boxed out on the bottom.

Should I use 1/4" plate?

 

[xcm]

Very nice fab skills.

thanks, but really its the tools fault! i cant wait for more tools!

Whatever I end up doing it will be double shear to keep that sucker from breaking off. Probably something like grandrunner did. Maybe boxed out on the bottom.

Should I use 1/4" plate?

thats'll work. 1/4 is a lil bit heavy, but nice and strong. 3/16's would be a nice compromise. boxing the bottom will definately help stiffen up the mount.