Utilizing Shock Mounts

BigYellaJeep · 10-23-2005, 08:34 PM

Hey just curious...

I have an '86 CJ-7. You know the place where the shocks attach to the chassis? Well...could you take off that bracket, and flip it upside down and weld it to the bottom of the chassis instead of the top? I asked some of my mechanic buddies at a 4x4 shop and they said yeah, and that they do it every-now-and-then. It would be an "easy" and cheap 3 or 4" lift.

See the area where the shock would attach to? (There is no shock pictured) (this is not my Jeep) On mine, it would be real easy to flip it to underneath.

**92 Green YJ** · 10-23-2005, 09:35 PM

ok, i gotta ask,

WHY???

you would not get any additional lift from doing that. you would also be limited to EXTREMELY short shocks. hell i doubt they even make them that short. so what would be the point?

BigYellaJeep · 10-23-2005, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92 Green YJ

ok, i gotta ask,

WHY???

you would not get any additional lift from doing that. you would also be limited to EXTREMELY short shocks. hell i doubt they even make them that short. so what would be the point?

Well, my bad. I thought it would lift it up some more. Didn't think of it actually shortening the length of the shock.

Ok...I get it now. *picturing how those shocks work in my head* I had the wrong idea...however, those guys who do 4x4 stuff (big time) said they do it...so why would they I wonder.

**sentinal02** · 10-23-2005, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigYellaJeep

Well, my bad. I thought it would lift it up some more. Didn't think of it actually shortening the length of the shock.

Ok...I get it now. *picturing how those shocks work in my head* I had the wrong idea...however, those guys who do 4x4 stuff (big time) said they do it...so why would they I wonder.

lift comes from the springs and their mounting positions, not the shocks. shocks should not be load bearing at all, they're there to slow down the spring as it moves up and down.

as far as why they might move the mount to the bottom of the frame, only reason i could think of is if you had a very tall lift and wanted to relocate the mount to allow for a wider variety of shock length. the taller you get the longer the shocks so if you went too tall it might limit the selection. most of the time though you want to move the mount up, not down, to increase the travel on the compression side of the axle when flexing. more upwards travel means you can stuff the tire more.