In prep for putting on 63" chevy springs on the rear of my truck (stock springs and AAL's suck), I decided to build a new rear shock mount setup to maximize the use my shocks. I used 2 muffler clamps, 4 u-bolts, a steel plate, assorted nuts and bolts, and some scrap metal we had lying around. The parts cost me about $25. I did have to hack off my exhaust pipe at the muffler because it was getting too close to the shock body. Its pretty ghetto, but its strong enough and it works

NOTE: this is just a prototype(sp?), I will probally make some adjustments after my new springs are on.

 

i am assuming you are using the tube crossmember... i have heard that you ought to weld in some size piping to make it mroe rigid, as it might crack after awhile......

 

 

how thick is that top plate? i would hope thats at least 3/16" thick.....

 

Yeah, its 3/16"....

 

Looks like im gonna have to redo alot of this stuff....


The passenger side shock hit on the brake soft-line bracket and dented the shock pretty good . Also the passenger bracket's weld cracked, and the bracket is starting to twist. The upper plate slightly bent around the cross member.

All this could have been prevented if i would have just though about this stuff first. Oh well, you live you learn.

 

First, I would weld the plate to prevent twisting. Also, I would use GUSSETTS.

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Ok, now, I would weld the dog snot out of the shock mounts on the axle. However be very careful so that you do not burn through the tin of the Toyota Axle. Ok not tin, but compared to a Dana 60 it is Tin. I would make a brake line, after you put your new springs on, because of the increased flex. I believe you do not want anything over 2' in flex hose.

 

Looks like Budbuilts design.


I am assuming this is where you got the idea.

 

I think I would stand them up striaghter if you can, you will get better results anything over 40 degrees and the shocks have a hard time doing thier job, something to think about when you rework them

 

Didn't FearToy do something like this to his 3rd gen? Anyone have any pictures?

 

Sorry for the hijack but... MellamoPOUND, what does your nick means? In Spanish "Me llamo" means "My name is" hehehe.

David

 

The more vertical the shocks are oriented the more effective they will be. Otherwise they will feel very unstead on offcamber situations. I believe this is also called "sidehilling".

 

haha everybody asks this. It means my name is pound. My initials are lb just like a 5lb bag of rice. My friend named me pound a long time ago and its kept with me. Back to the shocks

 

I beg to differ. For a fixed amount of axle travel a vertically mounted shock will travel the greatest and be most effective. As the shock is mounted closer to horizontal the shock will travel less and less, thereby giving decreasing amounts of dampening effect. While mounting a shock at an angle does allow a longer shock to fit, little of the available travel will be actually used.

 

Sidehilling is the reason many people are moving away from angled shocks. The shocks can't control the floppiness of a rig when sidehilling. The result is more likelihood of rolling.

And the angle yamaha has is pretty extreme.

 

Ahahaha so I was right...

Yo me llamo David

 

does anyone know of a kit like this for tacomas? i saw one once on a TTORA site. but forgot where it was and cant find it now. thx

 

In my case my shocks are angled because I had a set of shocks that I did not want to replace. In order for them fit, unfortunately they needed to be angled.

For optimal performance shocks should be mounted vertically and as close as possible to the tire. The shock itself should travel as much as possible because that will maximize dampening. Lots of people angle the shocks, but it's just not the best way to do it.

For more discussion:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160790
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121928

 

Camburg did FearToy's setup, they extended the lower mounts and welded tabs to the outer edge of the upper spring/shock plate. Unfortunately the way they welded the tabs caused additional loading and the whole assembly eventually cracked and nearly fell apart.

I'd weld a plate to the tubing and double shear the mount to prevent any twisting. I was about to say your set-up wasn't gonna hold up, it's way too weak, til I saw you follow up.

 

Yeah I tore all that stuff off. It rode like crap cause of the shock angle, Im just going to wait till I get my spring situtation figured out before I start dickin around with it anymore.