So I have a couple weeks left in my build, and shocks are the last major purchase for me to get it on the road.

I know I should take it out somewhere to flex it and measure. However with the ground slippery from snow and my town not really having anywhere for me to do it, I was hoping for a way I could do it in my garage with a floor jack and some stands.

I will be getting Bilstein 5100's front and rear measured to my rig. I will not have BPE as I have read multiple threads of the pain it is to get them out of these shocks.

So any input on how to measure while the jeep is sitting in a garage?

I saw a video on the youtubes that said for collapsed I could measure the contact points of the lower and upper bump stops and subtract that amount from the distance of the mount points for the shock. Don't know if that's really the number in looking for.

Also read a thread that said collapsed is really the only number I need. After finding my collapsed length find the longest shock with that collapsed length.

Help haha.

 

BPE are a good idea to consider. Most people ***** about removing the bar pins because they bought the wrong shocks and now have to remove it. If you go with 5125 with similar valving you shouldn't have a problem and just measure for length with the BPE.

 

I just went through this on the rears;
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/ba...r-pins-219834/


I would also recommend just going with a 5125, but its not that hard to use a 5100 either (just press the old bushing + Pin out, and press new bushings in). New bushings were $5 for two, which is pretty cheap.

To flex it out in the garage, you are probably going to need to do some unsafe maneuvers. How else are you going to get the axle to drop all the way? Safest bet is to hit up some parking lots late at night or early early in the morning and act like a hooligan for a bit (loading ramp, embankment, or other parking structure). I understand that it can be embarrassing, but unless you have a forklift its gonna be hard to do in the privacy of your own garage.

Don't forget to bring a tape measure.

 

I've had the thing in some pretty sketchy maneuvers already trying to get the rear and front axles under haha.

I guess I'll just scope out a place to do it, I don't care how embarrassing it is, that doesn't bother me, it's finding a place to do it.

I also had JKS BPE, front and rear, on my last jeep, and then on this one before I stripped it down for a rebuild. They were ok, they got rid of the clunk in the back. That's about it.

When I took those shocks off to sell I destroyed the BPE to get it off the shock. The BPE was completely seized. If I had just been replacing a shock, as in not to sell, I would have been more mad than I was.

From what I've read the vulcanized bar pin on the 5100 is better than the ones on most shocks. I know the upsides of BPE, but prob won't be using them again.

 

To measure for shocks:

At ride height:
M1: Measure shock eye to eye length (or base of stud to eye in your case)
M2: Measure distance from axle to metal under the bump stop
Maximum collapsed length = M1-M2
Choose the shock with the longest collapsed length available

In your case extended length is also important to prevent the spring from falling out.
At full droop:
M3: Measure shock eye to eye length
Make sure shock extended length is shorter than this measurement

M1 also gives you ride height measurement so you can figure out how much compression and droop travel you will have.

 

You should never be using the shock to hold the spring in place. That is what limiting straps are for.

 

For the collapsed length in the front you can remove a coil and jack the axle up to the bump stop.

 

Can do the same in the rear its just a little more difficult sometimes.

 

For long travel off-road shocks I agree, but it's very common for OEM shocks and bolt-in aftermarket shocks to limit the travel. Tensile strength is actually part of the design criteria for shocks that limit travel.

 

IMO, the JKS bar pins are way over engineered, and as a result they kind of suck. Getting them off the shock after 30K miles is impossible without mangling them.

I went with one of these designs;
http://www.rocky-road.com/barpin.html

Upper shock bolts only need to be touched once, and they get rid of the clunk still. Plus they are cheap and don't rotate the shock mounting position.
The vulcanized bar pin should be OK though.

 

So in forgot that my friend actually made an RTI ramp this past fall. I'll prob just use that in the driveway to flex it out and get the measurements.

 

Yeah I was all for them when I got them, but after trying to take all 4 off the shocks, never again haha. I'll try the bar pin that comes in the 5100 for the winter probably, then maybe look for other options. Thanks for the link, I'll have to check them out more.

 

No problem! Let us know how the vulcanized bushing+pin combo works out! I am curious to see if the pin will start to work it's way free after a while, causing the annoying clunking the stock design was known for, or if they are durable enough to last the life of the shock...

 

That's exactly what I want to find out haha. If/when they do, I can either warranty the shock or just put a BPE on.

 

So I'm going to be taking the jeep out of the garage either today or tomorrow to measure for the shocks, when I get a collapsed length, say like 16.25" (what I came up with by doing the above mentioned technique), I know I need to get a shock as close to that as possible. However if not able to do so, is it better to have it longer or shorter than my measured length? I'm guessing shorter so the bumps catch before the shock bottoms out right? So a shock who's collapsed length is 15.91 or whatever.

Once I get this measurement I'm just going to get the longest shock possible, and if need be get limiting straps.