jon-d

I started thinking about this from my slip yoke thread. The prev. Owner said what he had is a 6" lift but does anyone know how to confirm? I pulled a rough country shock off and put it next to a bilsten that fits my jeep that is confirmed for a 5-6" lift. The rough country is 2" shorter? The RC number is 012 083. And below those numbers is 660585.

dave1123

Just looking at them, it seems the Bilstein has a longer barrel. See if the compressed length matches on both. As long as the Bilstein doesn't bottom out before the suspension does, go with it. This is why some guys use extended bump stops.

jon-d

i contacted RC and they stated the number i gave them matches my jeep with a 6" lift. although that may not be a solid answer to the question, it certainly is a data point that does not indicate i have a different lift. one of my main concerns is that the shock will extend further than the spring and that could make for a bad day. i will check out the compressed length before installing. thanks dave.

dave1123

The extended length doesn't matter as long as it's MORE than the suspension travel. The kicker is the COMPRESSED length. If the shock bottoms out before the suspension, it can ruin the shock. The one you have off, hang the suspension at full travel, swap bar links disconnected, and see if the Bilstein shock is longer than the mounting hole in the fender. If the RC shocks were working, the Bilstein should hit the top hole before it goes onto the bottom mount by at least 2". BUT, the compressed length cannot be more than the RC was.