Need to flex jeep to measure shocks??

[jun11]

I put in my 8.8 rear, but welded the new shock mounts up even with the axle so they do not hang down to catch rocks, etc. But this now limits my "stuffing" ability on the suspension. Now my shocks hit before the tire stuffs into the wheel well. I also do not have any bump stops now. What is the easiest best way to compress the rear wheels to measure how long my bump stops and shocks need to be? It's not even easy to flex the jeep to measure total wheel travel. How do you do this easily?

[HighHooder]

forklift

[CJ5-Man]

easiest way I can think of is an RTI ramp, or a loading dock, or anything you can drive up on to flex it out

[The Rockslut]

I drive to the nearest grociery store and go around back to the loading docks. Start driving down and stop when you lift a tire or you get <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> Then get out and measure. Works great for me.

[Mudpuppy]

another way that I heard of but have not tried is to compress one side with a ratchet strap up as high as it will go (without your shocks on) and then lift the other side up until the tire is off of the ground. Then you can get both measurements at the same time

[Qbert]

Put the shocks in an up side down V.

[brimy311]

Qbert, do you have your shocks in the upside down "v"? if so, is it an extreme "v" like the shocks almost touch at the top mount? <IMG SRC="smilies/bender.gif" border="0">

[DUG]

You can "V" them to get more travel of the dif for the same length shock. However, the more you tilt them the less dampening effect the shocks will have.

[punkskalar]

I made a bracket to bolt my shocks in a 45 degree angle to the axle and raised the mounts so that nothing grabs onto rocks... With 45 degree mounts, you will need probably a shorter shock, at least i did, but thats not a problem because for every inch of wheel travel the shocks will only travel 1/2 of an inch or so... Fully flexed i am only using about 7" of shock travel and no where near bottoming or topping them out... Hugh

[DE Jeeper]

Just take a tape measure an get the distance from the axle to the frame bump stop and the distance from the top and bottom shock mounting points at ride height. Minus the first from the second and that is the compressed shock length you need.

[CJ-Jeeper]

Two very easy ways to deal with this.
1. How much did you raise the mount? Get a shock that much shorter.
2. Set your bump stop so it bottoms before the shock. Don't forget it will compress quite a bit, depending on what type you use.

These are not necessarily the best ways. Just more ideas. Before you go to a shorter shock, make sure it won't limit down travel. Also look at raising the top mount, especially if you have a body lift.

[Rifraf]

The "V" and 45* thing are kind of hard in a TJ, not a lot of room to work with there.

I just did the EXACT same thing, mounted my shock brackets level instead of hanging down. I then put in some shorter shocks that my buddy had laying around, ended up being just about right, could use just a little more droop, though. I have about 4-5" of lift now, I think I'm now using shocks from a 2" lift.

No doubt the best solution is to flex without any shocks and measure.

[punkskalar]

For 45 degree mounts in my cherokee, it was no easy task still... Had to relocate my fuel pump and some hoses and wiring and such, but hey, its worth it to not have shocks as the limiting factor as i always had before...

[IndyCJ]

Here, check this out. It's what I did for mine and it works great!


Alternative Shock Mounting