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I don't know what happened to the attachments in the original post yesterday. Anyone have any recommendations for rear shocks? I'm being told I should run a softer shock being straight up now. Was recommended Bilstein 5125s, looking at 170/60 valving. I ran out of floor jack travel before the tire even started getting tucked to do any measurements.
I love my bulstein 5100s. I don't know what the valving or anything is, but they ride good. I've gotten compliments on the ride quality by quite a few people in my club.
For the Money (Best Vaule) I liked my SkyJacker M95
If I had the extra coin I'd spring for a Fox 2.0's
Then lastly if I were going to do it once an be done run Fox 2.0 Reservoirs or Bilstein 7100s
Now tell me about these shock towers and where you got them, because I like.
They're Ford F250 Shock towers, can get them for around $40 off ebay/amazon. 1/4" stamped steel, very beefy. I will say that I believe I'll have to cut and bend them inward more toward the cargo area to get them out of the wheel wells more. I can clear just fine with my current setup (33x10.50s on 3.75bs and 1.25" spacers = 2.50"bs.) but I need to take the spacers off and check for 12.50s. Looking like around a 12" travel shock though will work nicely. I think it'll be a simple fix to straighten them, at worse I'll cut the one fully welded and the tacked on and take it to the vice to bend them. Going to make a brace I'm sure between the two as well. Already clean cut the stock brackets off the bottom of the axle, no more low ballers lol.
Picked up some new (to me) meat today. (5) 35x12.50r15 KM2s on ugly wheels. Sold the 33s to my buddy Oldblue#2 for the cost of the 35s. They have about as much tread (75%) as my 33s. I'm going to mount them on my soft8s when I get new tires for my pickup next week. I have to say "wow", the weight difference between aluminum wheels to steel, the 33x10.50s actually weight more than the 35s between steel vs aluminum, gets me thinking... Well I cut and pulled the towers more inward so the tower is flush with the wheel well and the shock barely sticks out, won't be in the way with the tires at full stuff. We did drop it on it's weight in the back, tires are aligned with the pinstripe at the body line of the rear quarter panel fold, more clearance than I was expecting to be honest. I'll get a better shot tomorrow.
Here it is. Put all 3 of the 35s that are mounted on wheels on and raised the 33 to match the height. The bumpstop makes contact about 2.5" before the tire hits the fender up front so should be plenty of clearance when I extend the fender trim to the bumper. Picked up a sheet of 1/8" steel and welded it to the factory gas tank skid to reinforce it for the bigger rocks, i'm very confident in it. Further more went and added the custom made trans mount with lift block from XJWonders (Meanlemons), raising the trans 2 inches allows the np242 to now be flush with the uniframe and just make contact with the tunnel. Issues I'm seeing is that my driveline angles are as if I'm on a 5-6" lift now so my shafts are at their max extension at ride height and the rear being a slip needs the SYE I have installed finally. Going to be a costly/time consuming upgrade between shafts and getting the gears installed. Still Mild
After days searching, I finally found a good deal on some tires. 5 31/10.50/15 BF T/As for just $200 with 80% tread. I bought 1.25" spacers at the time as well so no rubbing would occur. At the time, I had relocated my track bar just as a band-aid.
why the trans lift instead of clocking your t case ? thats what i did it was very simple and kept the rear drive angle the same
Thought about it, but figured this would correct any strain the built in crossmember drop has on the mounts and shift linkage. It does seem to shift easier lifted compared to dropped. I have a friend with the clocking jig from IRO that I can use if I want to go that route. The lift is a solid piece of steel, super beefy with no play so i'm not worried about it.
True to this too. you can see the jack placement the trans pan is above the uniframe rails now out of the way. Can easily make a full belly skid if I wanted.
08-10-2018, 12:50 PM
Liking the build so far