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Rear Shock Towers

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Old 08-19-2013, 09:12 PM
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Originally Posted by 93XJLI
i have my rear shocks through the floor, back seat works just fine.


NICE!! How much up travel & droop do they have & are they welded to the spring perch??

Thanks!!
Old 08-19-2013, 10:34 PM
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Great set up man!!! Love it!
Old 08-20-2013, 08:13 PM
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Hey 87xj2, the lights are wired down the door jamb, into the right front fender then into the engine compartment. They are controlled through a 40 amp solenoid and switch which is mounted inside the center console ashtray.

SeniorXJ, your plan sounds fine but lining up the towers and the axles may be tricky. I really like what 93XJLI did, looks good man.
Attached Thumbnails Rear Shock Towers-0817131440a.jpg   Rear Shock Towers-0817131441.jpg  
Old 08-20-2013, 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by SeniorXJ
NICE!! How much up travel & droop do they have & are they welded to the spring perch??

Thanks!!
Last I measured 6 up and a little over 6 down. They're like 12.5" travel shocks. I've since added shackle relocation brackets for a bit more lift out back. The bottom mounts are welded to my u bolt plates.
Old 08-21-2013, 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted by 93XJLI
Last I measured 6 up and a little over 6 down. They're like 12.5" travel shocks. I've since added shackle relocation brackets for a bit more lift out back. The bottom mounts are welded to my u bolt plates.
HD Engineering brackets? They rock as I have a set myself & have had em for years!

Got any more pics of that shock install??
Old 08-27-2013, 03:50 PM
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Nice work!!!
Old 12-15-2013, 10:42 AM
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Hey all, thought that I would post an update. The rear shock towers have been installed now for five months. I've put hundreds of miles on the Cherokee over that time with about thirty of those miles being rough off road. I am happy to report that the shock towers are still (as expected) Rock Solid. The only bolts that have needed tightening were the leaf spring plate u-bolts; the bottom of the shocks are mounted to the plates. If someone following this thread has gone for it, let us see what you've done.
Happy Holidays.
Attached Thumbnails Rear Shock Towers-0629131759.jpg   Rear Shock Towers-0621131746.jpg  
Old 08-16-2016, 05:51 PM
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Hey to anybody that might be interested in this thread. This is just an update. It's been three years since the install and I thought it a good time for a check up. All of the mounting hardware is in good shape and the surrounding sheet metal (frame) is in good shape. The shifter boots that I used to seal around the shocks dry rotted. I've replaced the boots with roofing vent pipe seals (boots); I believe that I should get a few more years out of those than I did the shifter boots. The Cherokee has been outfitted with larger tires (35 x 12.5 x 15) but I don't think that should add any significant stress to the shock towers.
Old 08-16-2016, 08:08 PM
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RockHead-
Do you have longer than stock rear leaf springs?
Old 08-17-2016, 08:59 AM
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Hey CobraMarty, I'm running Rusty's ROPXJ35-0 leaf springs. http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-su...rear-pair.html
They supply 3.5 inches of lift so they must be a little longer than stock.
Also you can see in the pic that I have the Rough Country shackle relocation bracket. http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-xj-...-kit-1117.html
This bracket allowed me to dial in the perfect shackle angle and brought the total lift in the rear to 5 inches.


Old 08-17-2016, 02:33 PM
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Thanks, that picture shows the length better. They are stock length. I thought that they were on the 2nd to last hole of the RC relocation brackets, but now I see that you cut the brackets. The other picture looked like the lower shackle bolt was actually below the rear bumper. I'm trying to put 56" springs on instead of the stock 52" springs.
Old 08-26-2016, 10:10 AM
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Always wanted to do this and it sucks because i just bought a daily XJ and now my ZJ is broken until i find either a front dana 44 or dana 60
Old 08-26-2016, 02:42 PM
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That would be so sick!
Old 08-27-2016, 07:34 PM
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Latest update. The first generation rubber boots (cj shifter boots) dry rotted and were glued down. For the second generation boots I decided to just hold them in place with rubber rings and clamps. Here are a couple of pictures to show the final product.


Old 12-01-2016, 02:44 AM
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Default Interested in your shock mounts.

Originally Posted by Rockhead
Update.
I'm back from a two day off road event (testing period for me). This setup worked great. I was a little concerned with the possibility of the shock body making contact with the sides of the hole that I drilled in the floor that the shock goes through. The hole is three and a half inches and there was no contact. I got into many off camber situations with no problems. I'm very pleased with the outcome of the whole project. The only constructive criticism from senior staff of the club (Off Camber Crawlers) was to eliminate the washers that I used to adjust droop with solid stock spacers, no problem. Here are some post trial trip pics. One of the pics is to show the shift boot that I used to seal around the shock body.
What soze shocks are you using and with what size lift? Also how are they mounted to the axle? Still running leaf springs?


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