natty

My truck is lifted a little bit with add-a-leafs in back and a cranked torsion bar in front. I know, not the best way to do it but the price was right and it's served me well for many years. It's been so long that I can't remember if I put stock replacement shocks or longer shocks on the thing.

Going to replace them soon but not sure what length to get.

Front:
Since I did nothing besides crank the torsion bars, there is no change to the upper/lower limits, or the travel. I just raised a little bit where the suspension normally sits within that travel.

This leads me to think that I should get a stock length shock for the front.

In my research, I read that some suspensions rely on the shock to limit down-travel otherwise there could be damage. Does this apply to my truck?

The reason I ask is because at full droop, the current shock does indeed hold the suspension from dropping that last little bit. Is this the way it should be or should the suspension itself stop out, still leaving some shock travel?



Rear:
Since I just added a leaf to a stock spring, the length of spring hasn't changed, and similar to the front, the overall travel should be the same as stock---I've just raised where the axle sits within that travel. Should the shock be limiting the travel in back or should the leaf be stopping the travel?

Seems that in the rear I could go with a longer shock if I wanted to gain a little more travel and if that extra travel won't damage any components.


Is my thinking right on this?
Should I go with stock length in front and 0-2" lift length in back?
Or should I go with the 0-2" lift length front and back?

I know that shocks should never limit upward/compression travel so I want to make sure the shock isn't too long either.


Thanks!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Flex. Measure. Get a shock that falls within those boundaries.
If its lifted a stock shock won't perform as it should.

:wabbit2:

natty

Since I didn't change any suspension components or geometry, I didn't really lift my truck in the true sense of the term, I just raised where it sits within the existing factory travel. In front, the bump-stop and the a-arm droop haven't changed. In back, I have no lift blocks and the bump-stop hasn't changed which determines up-travel and the leaf spring length, which limits droop, hasn't changed. In other words, it's still really factory.

That's why I'm questioning whether I should get lifted length shocks.

I guess what I'm asking is: does the factory shock length allow for full flex on a stock truck? Because that's what mine technically still is. Or can I squeak some more out by getting lift length shocks---without them being too long and bottoming out the pistons?

I guess the right answer is to go measure and find a shock that fits. Gotta go find one of those ramps.

MudHippy

Unless you've lifted the front via a bracket lift and/or added ball joint spacers, you don't need longer than stock length shocks(because the size of the suspension travel window hasn't changed). Cranking the torsion bars does not affect the overall distance of suspension travel(size of the travel window).

Lifting the rear via longer/lift springs and/or longer shackles increases the overall distance of suspension travel(size of the travel window). That's why you need longer(than stock) shocks. Because the stock length shocks will now bottom out, acting as limit straps, before the suspension is fully extended. Which is not optimal(and potentially damaging to the shocks). The same premise applies to using lift blocks or AALs, except you don't necessarily get any additional suspension travel. However, you've still moved the lower shock mounts away from the upper shock mounts(same as using longer/lift springs or longer shackles would).

natty

Thanks, that's what I thought, and since I just used add-a-leafs on the stock springs in the rear, that travel hasn't changed either.

Sounds like stock length all the way around.

On a side note, I did see in the FAQ section of one shock web site, that some shocks are designed to limit suspension down travel and that it's by design because that particular suspension can be damaged if allowed to limit itself. Don't know if that applies to my truck though.

Found it. From Monroe:

MudHippy

Correct. Discounting the ~½" difference in the rear(due to the thickness of the AALs).

natty

Update:

A little frustrated. Just tried putting on the rear shocks and discovered a problem.
The left upper shock mount sits 1 1/2" higher on the frame rail than the right side.

The shocks that Rancho selected are both the same size. Therefore, the right side fits pretty good (could be a tiny bit longer) but the left side is really too short. The fully extended shock only is an inch or so longer than the mount when the truck sits level. That's not a lot of down travel.

The Rancho site spec's these shocks for 0-1" lift so the AAL shouldn't really be an issue.
So if I could get a little advice, I'd appreciate it.
I went ahead and jacked up the back to get a full droop dimension. Then I got the spec's on all the RS9000's which have the correct mounting.

I found some that fit the dimensions better but I'm not sure if they are valved completely different for heavier/different applications. Can I just use one that matches the dimensions better or do I have to stick with the one they spec'ed?

Here are the ones that match my mount (Rancho called for 999180 on both sides):



I assume that you want the shock a little shorter so that it doesn't bottom out the piston and you want it at, or a little longer than, the extended length.

With that in mind, and assuming I can just use any of those which fit the mount, and assuming that I can use a different model for each side, it looks like:
For the right, 999353 fits and for the left, 999202.
If I have to use the same model for both sides, nothing really fits.

Keep in mind too that the compressed length is kind of an estimate since I measured the space between bump-stop and axle then subtracted it from shock length with truck sitting level. I did a rough adjustment to allow for the shocks being at about a 15-20 degree angle but bump-stop travel being straight up and down.

natty

I guess my previous question was too wordy. Here's the short version:

Can I use ANY RS9000 shock that happens to match my mounts and the length that matches my suspension travel or are they all valved completely different to match specific vehicles?

I have found a better match for my spring travel but not sure if I can deviate from the Rancho specified shock.


Another question:
Am I supposed to leave a path for water/contaminants to get out and air to get in and out at the bottom of the boot? I see there are slots at the bottom. I figure if I pull it down to form an airtight seal, at the very least, when the shock compresses enough, it will blow the boot off the top of the shock. (Because that's what happened when I formed a tight seal and pushed the shock in by hand.)

natty

I think I'm just posting to myself but that's OK. In case anyone else is searching for this question (or if I need to reference my own material later), I've found more answers.

I emailed Rancho and haven't heard back, but in the meantime I did some more research.

I referenced the Rancho catalog to see which vehicles the shocks that I want to use are assigned to. There are three:

For the left shock---Nissan Patrol---a mid/small SUV with a curb weight within 700 lbs of my truck (couldn't find specific front/rear curb weight)

For the right shock---Toyota Hilux and VW Taro---both Pickup clones

SO...the answer to my own question is: YES, I can, and will, use these other shocks which will allow me to get full articulation out of my suspension.