Thanks Ken, thanks Pasquale, 450 Dude
Here is more detail and specifics on how we did it by Rick
Bilstein shock install on the 80
Mike, James and I teamed up and designed, manufactured and installed
shock brackets with shocks for our respective 80's. In addition,
James and I installed Slee's 4" lift with 1" spacers on both of our
trucks. What can I say, 4" was not enough and 6" was, well... too big.
James and Mike did quit a lot of research on shocks and mounting
hardware. With Ali's help, plus the given compression/extension
parameters we decided on Bilstein 7100s with 400/100 valving (MDL#
AK7112SB99-400/100).
Shock Size
Requirements for Mike's truck differed a bit, so some descriptions
aren't applicable.
With the sway bars off and the truck flexed, the rear shock dimensions
were 18-1/2" compressed and 30" extended. The top rear shock eye-to-pin
converter bracket reduces the distance by 1-1/4" and the bottom rear
eye-to-eye converter bracket reduces distance by 1-1/2". Added together
there is a 2-3/4" reduction of space between the shock mounting points.
Therefore, the shock requirements were 18-1/2" - 2-3/4" = 15-3/4"
compression space and 30" - 2-3/4" = 27-1/4" extension space. After
looking at manufactures spec's James and I decided on the 12" short
body shocks. Mike used 14" shocks.
I bought them here and at the time they had them in stock with the
desired valving:
http://www.eshocks.com/bil_ORvh.asp?Series_Index=Q3&Length_Index=4Q1&Man\
f=All&SubChar=Q
<
http://www.eshocks.com/bil_ORvh.asp?Series_Index=Q3&Length_Index=4Q1&Ma\
nf=All&SubChar=Q>
Converter Brackets
Both the pin-to-eye and the eye-to-eye converter brackets are made from
2" x 2" x 3/16" tube steel x 1-1/2" long and eight are needed. One face
of the tube steel has a welded seam. This side of the tube will be cut
off to create a "U" bracket, it's important to keep this in
mind when laying out the holes.
Pin to Eye bracket:
1) In all the brackets drill two 1/2" holes for the shock eyebolt. In
four of the brackets drill a 1/2" mounting bolthole (this is at the base
of the U).
2) Cut two chamfers to allow for shock rotation.
3) Cut off the welded seam face to create a U shape.
4) In the mounting hole, a 1/2" x 1-1/2" bolt was welded in.
5) A washer was welded at the base of the four of the bolts to insure
that the new front brackets remain centered in the trucks mounting
holes.
6) The stock top rear mount was replaced altogether with a 5/16" x
1-1/2 x 6" long steel flat bar.
Holes were drilled to match the stock bracket including the slotted
hole. A "U" bracket was welded, as close to the slotted hole as
possible to allow for the mounting bolt, in addition, the bracket was
rotated 20 deg to allow for hose clearance.
Mike created one of a kind custom rear upper mounts that bolt above the
chassis.
Eye-to-Eye bracket:
A thick wall pipe was reamed out so that the I.D. was 3/4" (Later we
found the rear panhard tube, a cut-off from the Slee adjuster, is the
correct size). The tube was cut to 1.5" long. It was welded to the
above-described U bracket, so that the holes axis are at 90 deg to each
other.
Shock Bushings
Bilstein provides heim joints on their shocks. We decided to use
urethane bushing on the bottom shock mounts and keep the heim at the
top. Some of the reasoning was that the heim joints can be noisy and
with water, dirt and mud so prevalent at the bottom of the shock it
seems sensible to use the urethane. Time will tell. The urethane
bushing has a 12mm ID steel sleeve, which needs to be reamed to 1/2".
The urethane joints fit perfectly in the new brackets, the heim joints
are 5/8" wide and the space in the new shock brackets is 1-5/8",
so, two 1/2" spacer bushings were cut to fill up the space. Bronze
bushings used as spacers would do just fine.
Urethane bushings:
http://www.offroadwarehouse.com/Store_ViewProdDetail.asp!ProdID!15917
<http://www.offroadwarehouse.com/Store_ViewProdDetail.asp!ProdID!15917>
(This link is for a Fox shock, call for the Bilstein version.)
Shock Installation
1) Both the front inner fenders were cut out with a 3" hole saw to
allow for the reservoir hose clearance. A plywood template was used to
locate and drill the hole.
2) The shocks were compressed and wired in the closed position.
3) Brackets were installed on the shocks, along with the urethane
bushings and spacer bushings.
4) Install a shock and locate and install the reservoir on the shock.
Check for hose and reservoir for clearances. With the reservoir on
shock, the hose can be adjusted by twisting the reservoir.
Conclusion
There is none. With the truck flexed, the rear shocks were at the
extension and compression limits. Lowered bump stops and limit straps
will be required, if wheeling without the rear sway bars. In the next
few weeks bump stops designs will be looked at. The first real test will
be this coming up weekend to the East Mojave, but I think it will take
quite a few trips and various trail conditions to reach a conclusion. I
would like thank to Dale for lending a helping hand.
Installation photos will be here and added to in the next few days:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80_on_inverness/sets/72157600184098497/
Daddy!
