so im wanting to find some shocks that are near oem spec but have a good 3 to 4 inches of downward travel over oem. i plan on running the ZUK coil mod in the front(yes there will be fabbing) and the rear. im hoping i can find the right shocks to match up with the coils. as it sits right now my stock shocks are limiting my downward flex like CRAZY. maybe only 3" of travel. looking for some that will bolt up to the factory shock mounts. not trying to weld some new ones one for any 5100's. so if you have any ideas please shout them out!

 

For more downward travel you need a longer shock period.

:wabbit2:

 

duh. but im not wanting to have to weld new shock mounts. im wondering on some good shocks that give you that much travel while maintaining stock mounting position

 

You have to change the geometry by default somehow. If you want longer shocks you gotta add lift or move mounts. No way around it. Otherwise they are just going to bottom out and jar your teeth out.

:wabbit2:

 

Measure and see what will fit:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...ml#SpringSpecs

Rancho lists compressed/extended lengths and has a decent selection to choose from (see sorted list on the above page). That is what I did on my '85, process documented above.

 

i will be running. prob 8 or 10" coil springs (zuk mod) up front and in order to get to where i could fit a 8 or 10" spring in there my shocks need to be longer. as it sits now there is only about 5 inches between my bumpstop and frame. my leaf and shackle have plenty more travel but they are being held up by my shocks. make sense?

EDIT: just saw the link. thanks. guess i need to remove the shock and measure now. will everyone know what i find

 

You're going to run coils, tbars, and shocks..?
That's counter intuitive.
Ditch the tbars and go coilovers, but you won't gain anything unless you ditch the 4wd system.
Or get long travel.

 

i have a solid front axle. (leaf sprung!)

 

You could look at Old Man Emu, though they don't list their lengths as far as I know. I think of them because they are s'posed to go with their springs(2" lift) and part of their advertising is that they lift the vehicle only as much as possible without having to change steering geometry, bumpstops, etc. Ranchos will be cheaper, though.

 

Other than welding new mounts on, there is no alternative to the front shock/t-bar for us IFS guys to convert to coilover.

 

Idk. This is 84 85 lol.
Oops.
Anyways, with the stock 84/5 steering, I doubt a coilover would fit.
Spend the extra money and actually get new springs. The zuk mod is only a bandaid fix.

Anyways, its not hard to go coilovers on ifs front suspension.
You have to weld on a shock hoop. BlazeN8 did it on a few rigs.

 

im not trying to do a whole new suspension. im just wanting this so i can tow a little bit more and get a little lift with stock springs.

 

Well.. you don't need coils in the front to tow lol.
And if you want to tow, your best bet is in add a leaf, or to add a few more main leaves.
I put an AAL in mine and could haul significantly more.

 

I plan on running 12" springs in the rear, 10" in the front. my truck sits pretty level as is. ive just been looking into getting more out of my stock suspension. testing the waters with this mod. who knows i could be on to something

 

You know what's also a really good mod?
The F150 SHock tower mod..
Or putting REAL shock towers on your frame, so that you can keep stock uptravel with longer shocks for increased down travel.
But tbh, the best way to get more down travel is longer shackles, and longer springs.
You cant really have everything though.
If you want flexy suspension, you cant have the zuk mod or heavy load carrying abilities. Flexy springs are pretty soft. And to be able to carry alot, you need stout springs that dont flex well.