I've actually been trying to get in touch with him for months to get an 8274 bumper for my 60, but so far that hasn't worked out. I know he's a busy guy. I'll send you a PM so we can chat.
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- Thread starter
- #82
Suspension notes: I hit the (extended) rear bump stops a *lot*, commonly around town and especially off road. I have rear shocks that came in the kit from one of the "currently popular" 60 series suspension companies, and it's much too long for my needs. Bummer cuz it's a really nice shock and rides nice when I'm not hitting the bumpstops. These would really suit a lifted truck that isn't heavily weighed down in the back and isn't usually off road... but that's not my truck.
One factor not accounted for with the Dobinsons kit is the 4+ Ubolt flip, which moves the lower shock pin upward by about 1" from stock (decreasing the pin to pin distance). But even still, the Dobinsons IMS shocks are at least 2" too long for my application.
Installed IMS shock spec is:
16.10" compressed
22.57" extended
From static, I have about 2.5" of up travel as limited by the compressed shock length. So I set my bump stop at about 2" of up travel to hit and compress before the shocks hit. My pin to pin distance at full droop is 20.5.
By my measurements, I need a shock that compresses to about 11.8" and extends to about 21.5"
I"m about ready to pull the trigger one of these Bilstien sizes to try out. Leaning toward the first one.
33-233970 (this would get me a total of about 5" of up travel, but limit down travel to about the same as the springs already do on their own)
Collapsed (in): 13.04
Extended (in): 20.41
33-185606 (would get about 4" of up travel and would likely not be any downtravel limitation by the shock)
Collapsed (in): 14.13
Extended (in): 22.57
One factor not accounted for with the Dobinsons kit is the 4+ Ubolt flip, which moves the lower shock pin upward by about 1" from stock (decreasing the pin to pin distance). But even still, the Dobinsons IMS shocks are at least 2" too long for my application.
Installed IMS shock spec is:
16.10" compressed
22.57" extended
From static, I have about 2.5" of up travel as limited by the compressed shock length. So I set my bump stop at about 2" of up travel to hit and compress before the shocks hit. My pin to pin distance at full droop is 20.5.
By my measurements, I need a shock that compresses to about 11.8" and extends to about 21.5"
I"m about ready to pull the trigger one of these Bilstien sizes to try out. Leaning toward the first one.
33-233970 (this would get me a total of about 5" of up travel, but limit down travel to about the same as the springs already do on their own)
Collapsed (in): 13.04
Extended (in): 20.41
33-185606 (would get about 4" of up travel and would likely not be any downtravel limitation by the shock)
Collapsed (in): 14.13
Extended (in): 22.57
I just went through all this math on the front of my truck this week. I also ran into the compressed length being a limiting factor. The u-bolt flip kit makes that number 1” smaller, but even with the shock post on the regular lower leaf plate the compressed length seems small once you look at the shock options out there.
You can get a shock with a lot of extension, but then the compressed length will be fairly long and you’ll need to extend the bump stops to the point where you have almost no up-travel.
You can get a shock that matches the compressed distance of the shock mounts (so you safely hit 3.5” bump stops before the shock bottoms out), but then the extended length isn’t very long.
I was really trying to find a shock with a compressed length of about 14-15” and 12-13” of travel. The Bilstein 5165s are close but there were only three eye-to-stem options. I didn’t want to do an adapter because I’d lose 2” and introduce more points of failure.
I can see why people do the taller shock towers - you accommodate the bigger compressed length of a shock that can give you a much longer extension. I also think that most of the off the shelf suspension parts for these trucks are “just ok” at best - both fitment and performance-wise.
Also … “‘currently popular’ suspension kits” has me dying.
I noticed the same when installing my kit, but was tired at that point in my build.
What did you guys use for extended bump stops?
What did you guys use for extended bump stops?
- Thread starter
- #85
I haven’t really got into the front dimensions yet - it hasn’t been problematic for me so far. I’ll need to make some bump extensions for it though.
For the rear I made these extensions with some scrap steel and just bolted the OG bump stops on which are still pliable enough for service. This pic is at full rear droop.
For the rear I made these extensions with some scrap steel and just bolted the OG bump stops on which are still pliable enough for service. This pic is at full rear droop.
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Thanks for the picture, I need to fab up something similar
- Thread starter
- #87
I’m hoping to chop about 2” off that extension with the next shock replacement… so really just a 1” extension at the end of the day.
I went with Bilstein 5125s (33-230351) that are 16.1" fully compressed, which means I don't need to extend the bump stops. I got the 4.5 Daystar "progressive" bump stops, which I think will compress to about 3" - still safe for the 16" compressed shocks. Fully extended the shocks get to about 26.5", so I'm accommodating all of the compression I can with some decent extension too. All this stuff should be arriving today and tomorrow. I'm on a shackle reversal so some of the math below might be different than a "normal" truck.
These guys:
With the old shocks I sit at about 21.5" between the lower mount and the top of the tower at rest. The top of the u-bolt flip plate sits 6.5" below the stock 3.5" bump stop. A couple nights ago I removed both front shocks and one sway bar end and full droop was 25.5". I've since found that my front driveshaft splines are twisted and the two parts seized, so that might have been limiting droop. My bushings are also old and dry.
If the Ford (or other) shock towers get you the ability to run a shock that measures 17-18" at full compression without having to extend the bump stop, you get the full amount of compression and open up the shock options to ones that have much more extension and overall travel. Working around the stock shock tower I can really only find 10-10.5" travel shocks at best. You really have to choose between running extended bumps and limiting up-travel to gain extension, or preserve all your up travel with stock bumps and limit extension. With the taller shock towers you might be able to get a shock that accommodates 14-18" of travel though. It's more work but you buy an additional 4-8" of travel. That's if your leaf springs can handle it, which I think they could without getting crazy and going to orbit eyes or johnny joints. As long as the bushings are in good shape, everything's well lubed up, the leaf packs have good friction pads, sway bar is disconnected, etc. So ... under ideal conditions. It depends on a lot of factors, but I really think the system can be made to work much better without going to a linked coil setup.
These guys:
With the old shocks I sit at about 21.5" between the lower mount and the top of the tower at rest. The top of the u-bolt flip plate sits 6.5" below the stock 3.5" bump stop. A couple nights ago I removed both front shocks and one sway bar end and full droop was 25.5". I've since found that my front driveshaft splines are twisted and the two parts seized, so that might have been limiting droop. My bushings are also old and dry.
If the Ford (or other) shock towers get you the ability to run a shock that measures 17-18" at full compression without having to extend the bump stop, you get the full amount of compression and open up the shock options to ones that have much more extension and overall travel. Working around the stock shock tower I can really only find 10-10.5" travel shocks at best. You really have to choose between running extended bumps and limiting up-travel to gain extension, or preserve all your up travel with stock bumps and limit extension. With the taller shock towers you might be able to get a shock that accommodates 14-18" of travel though. It's more work but you buy an additional 4-8" of travel. That's if your leaf springs can handle it, which I think they could without getting crazy and going to orbit eyes or johnny joints. As long as the bushings are in good shape, everything's well lubed up, the leaf packs have good friction pads, sway bar is disconnected, etc. So ... under ideal conditions. It depends on a lot of factors, but I really think the system can be made to work much better without going to a linked coil setup.
- Thread starter
- #89
@CruiserTrash to be clear you’re talking front and I’m talking rear (I think!?). I’m surprised you’re getting that much droop (awesome!) but I think I have one additional leaf up front than you, which is gonna limit droop some. And of course the difference in shackle position probably has an influence.
10” of travel seems crazy (to me) on these old tractors but I’ll def be interested to see what your final results will be! Hopefully I can put some of your research to work as well.
10” of travel seems crazy (to me) on these old tractors but I’ll def be interested to see what your final results will be! Hopefully I can put some of your research to work as well.
Yep, fronts. I was just going through my process since the math is the same for front or rear. Droop was measured jacking up under my slider as close to the front right wheel as I could get and is right at 4” despite my bound up driveshaft. Things are probably different under real world conditions though - not sure if it would be more or less travel. FWIW I have the HZJ75 springs with 5 leaves on each side. (2 leaves removed on each side). The shackle is about 4.5” long. I think there’s more than 10” of travel there with some new bushings and the proper shock/tower combo. I’ll live with these new shocks I ordered and see how they do.
- Thread starter
- #91
Where did you order those? I looked for them a few months ago with no luck, then I heard they essentially went out of business. Their site shows the 4.5" on backorder (still).
They were hard to find but Summit still has a few. Leave me one pair for the rear of my truck though!
Want to buy these bump stops? They aren’t going to work for me. The bolt spacing is wider that the holes in the frame - I knew that and had a plan for how to deal with it, but they aren’t constructed how I thought they would be. They would work great with an extension.
I plan on getting the 2.5” version and making an extension/adapter out of 1” square tube fwiw.
I plan on getting the 2.5” version and making an extension/adapter out of 1” square tube fwiw.
- Thread starter
- #95
Haven't updated in awhile, been working on the shop so I can get some AC in there before summer.
Hosted the 6X Shindig over the weekend. Rad rides, good folks and a gorgeous view.
Got a notification from Cruiser Outfitters that all my locker and axle rebuild parts are on the way, so I'll be pulling the rear axle off for a complete rebuild soon. Going to install an old ARB w stock R&P. All new bearings, brakes and planning to strip and paint the entire axle. It'll be a first time setting up gears too.
