Shock mounts are DONE!!!! Just have to let the paint dry and bolt the shock in!

 

Ok, well today I dropped the bumper off to get the main bracketry burned on and hopefully will get it back tomorrow. Then, I'll gusset and paint and be done with it for now.

 

All right! Got the bumper back today and it looks great!! Now its time to start the gussets and get it painted!!!

 

I finally got out and started cutting gussets to reenforce the brackets. I had to bolt everything together though because the steel plates have a nice bend in them. So, I'll have to tack the gussets in place while it's attached to the truck. <sigh>

 

Ok, well today I got to weld on the brackets after I tacked them on while the bumper was fully mounted on the truck. This thing is getting heavier and heavier! LOL!! It was a real pain putting it up by myself. I know for a fact that the thermo protection circuit works great on my little 110v welder...twice. Next, I have to box in the gussets and then box in the frame brackets and I'll be able to paint it.

 

Today I finished cutting out all the rest of the pieces I need to box all the brackets in. I laid all the pieces in spot and then began to tack everything together. Wouldn't you know it, I ran out of wire!! LOL!!! So, I had the old wire that came with the pawn shop welder and man was that stuff crap. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Needless to say, I had to go get some more Lincoln wire. Hopefully I'll get some time this week to burn this stuff in and then paint it and I'll be DONE!!! Well...with THAT project anyways!!!!!

 

Today I finally got everything done!!! Finished welding in my gussets, filled in the holes and etched primered and painted everything!! Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to remount everything and be done. Still have to make some mud flap studs but I haven't even pick up the rubber matting I need for that.






So, what do ya'll think???

 

Ok well, I test fit the brackets and well, not so much...grrrrrrrrrr. Time for the grinder...again.

 

Lookin good! You gunna cut off those ubolt threads up top? Otherwise your bumpstop won't do much...you probably realize that, just throwin it out there!

 

Thanks!! Well, I almost hacked those down after I put them on but for some reason I just never got around to it. Then I though, eh, they might be ok like that... Now that I have to get the grinder out, I'll zip those down to a couple of threads above the nut. Good lookin out, I appreciate it!

 

Happy Halloween!!

Today I ground down the frame brackets and installed everything. It's all done now. The true test will be under compression/jacking/recovery but I'm confident that this new set up will work better that before.

 

Ok, well, here's the results of my project:

Here's a shot of the new bumper brackets. As you can see my shackles are NO WHERE near making any kind of contact with those brackets. Success!!! That is actually the farthest my shackles have moved in years! LOL!!!

Bad news: my shocks are now stopping my axle due to full compression of the shock itself because I raised the mount when I installed the flip kit.

So, the question is: should I install a bumpstop extension???? I think I would rather have a shock be at full compression rather than extension, but really what do I know??


It's probably a good thing though that my shocks are stopping the articulation. Due to the wheels I have and their shallow backspacing I am actually rubbing against those plastic trim pieces behind the rear tire(honestly who still has those things anyways...). I don't imagine they are going to last much longer. Also, my rear tires are ALMOST rubbing the frame rails now too. This is not a surprise to me, as I was aware of this when I went with these rims. I may also consider moving the axle forward a smidge to center it in the wheel wheel. I could also put some wheel spacers on too(atleast 1").



Ironically, the front end has about 1-2" of compression/extension to go before bumpstops are contacted and thats with a swaybar on!! LOL!!


So, whattya all think??

 

Move the shock mounts lower. You want more compression than what is showing. You could easly move them so the shock bolt is just under the axle tube. That is where I mount them on all of the rigs that leave the shop.

I would also consider a 5" long shackle. It will increase the flex quite a bit to be honest with you.

 

Man those things are gonna be a pain to get off...LOL!! So should I still put the bumpstop extension in? Either that or I'm gonna have to run wheel spacers to prevent the wheel from hitting the frame rails once I move the shock mount down. Oh, and a 5" shackle, won't that raise my butt up too?

 

Bump!

 

I would extend the bump stops and leave the mounts where they are. If you move your shocks, I would consider mounting them on the axle like everyone else does / \

 

I found with the stock rear shock mounts, there was no way to get a shock sized to fit, it was either too short under extension or too long under compression with any sort of suspension flex (fine for stock springs):
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...shtml#R-Shocks

 

Actually, I had set out to mount my shocks in the standard /\ configuration. I ran into some issues with that. Had stuff interfering. Looks like I'm getting the grinder out again! LOL!!

Now, am I going to damage my shocks?

 

Ok, well, its completed and here's the results...geez all this 'cause of stupid bumper brackets...sheesh. LOL!!!

So, recap then pics:

4Crawler rear bumper bracket kit
TG ubolt flip kit/bumpstops
TG 1.5" wheel spacers x4
TG 5" greaseable rear shackles
Locally sourced shock mount tabs/bolts






Now, I have to do something with the backside of the wheel well and I can get some more "squat" out of the rear axle. I'm contemplating some axle relocation plates to move the axle forward a little.

Any thoughts??


The front actually has another smidgen to go before bumpstops become compressed. Not too shabby and WAY better than what I had before!!!!

 

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