Outboarding rear shocks AND upper spring bucket relocation

Humboldt · 12-19-2009, 12:41 PM

This will be a long thread. With lots of pictures.

I have wanted to outboard my rear shocks for quite some time. So I did what most people I know that wheel do; go visit Blaine. I picked his brain and asked him a ton of questions, read Stu's write up and searched for a solid week on various boards. Eventually, I had a plan and the parts collected including a Currie bump stop kit. (Thanks to Gerald from Savvy, Smokin deal

)

Just as in Stu's write up, I started by placing jack stands under the frame to keep the frame at ride height.

Here's what lead to the whole project:

3 1/2" of up travel in the rear frankly doesn't cut it in the desert. I lived on my bump stops in the whoops. I'm aiming for 5" of up travel.

I pulled the springs and installed the Currie bump stops. All I can say about the kit is "quality". They're sweet.

A tip Blaine gave me is to fill the upper bump with washers so you are not compressing the upper edge of the cup and have something to tighten against.

3 washers and I was good to go.

Once the bump stop kit was installed (yes I know they are not centered, I left them loose for mock-up), I jacked up the rear end to start taking measurements for my outboard shocks....

maybe not

We have a problem Houston.

Here's the problem, I run RE super flex 2 fixed length lowers. They're long. They caused some headaches in the front but it was easily fixed by bending the Currie drag link out a bit more and using wider lower bump stops. Not the case out back since the offset is compounded by the pinion adjustment required by my Double Cardan drive shaft. I love the length of the arms, so even when I go custom arms, I want the axle to be in the same place. Gotta do SOMETHING.

So I start scratching my head, grab a cold coke, and do what most people I know do; Call Blaine

At this point, I have to throw this out there. If you have never talked to Blaine you're missing out. He talks about jeep mods like you would tell someone how to butter toast

He's just so good at what he does, the average skilled guy (or below average like me :P) is left saying "No way I can do that." Luckily for me, he allows time for me to get my crayons out so I can follow along.

After a great chat with Blaine I'm left with two choices; Get adjustable lowers OR cut off the upper spring buckets and move them a bit back and level them.

Did I mention I like the length of my lowers?

Getting to the back welds was quite fun even with the tank removed. I ended up using a dremel with a cutoff wheel. The outside was easy with a grinder.

Still gotta do some trimming around the track bar mount and flip the track bar bolt around, but you get the idea.

From the looks of it, I will be able to get the coil mount raised up 1 1/2" while its rotated back. Hope so, otherwise I'll be in the market for some shorter springs. This is a prime example of the Jeep Cascade Effect. Set out to change 2 things, and you end up changing 100 little things. Good thing I like my garage

TJdualsport · 12-19-2009, 12:50 PM

did you have to get longer shocks to do the outboarding

Humboldt · 12-19-2009, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJdualsport

did you have to get longer shocks to do the outboarding

I did get longer shocks. I guess you wouldn't have to, but why not? Youre moving the mounts anyway.

rondak46 · 12-19-2009, 12:59 PM

I will be outboarding and triangulating my rear soon. I was told that 13" Long travel shocks is what I'll need. does that sound right?

Humboldt · 12-19-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rondak46

I will be outboarding and triangulating my rear soon. I was told that 13" Long travel shocks is what I'll need. does that sound right?

Really depends. Much over a 12" shock on short arms isnt advisable though. I'm cheap, so I went with the longest Skyjacker hydros they make. 11 1/2".

Im really just doing this as a temp fix before going to a custom suspension with coil overs. Just dont have time for all that before my next deployment, and really want to get some more trails in before I go.

I made this thread because these are pretty common mods people do and they kinda go hand in hand. Figured Id throw some pictures and notes since I didnt find a whole lot searching.

alvinl · 12-19-2009, 01:15 PM

Subscribed. I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

rondak46 · 12-19-2009, 01:20 PM

Thanks Humboldt, I will be tuned into this project closely. If my garage was warmer, I would be wrenching in real time with you..

**RubiconRazorbac** · 12-19-2009, 01:26 PM

Great write-up so far! Subscribed & Crawled

**mrblaine** · 12-19-2009, 02:13 PM

Great job Joe! I'm liking it so far and I thoroughly enjoy your reluctance to dive into something I well know you're capable of until a little kick in the butt sends you on the way.

Make sure that you mock up the perches and make sure the bumps work before you weld them up. Like I said on the phone, trimming the back of the one around the trackbar mount won't be an issue.

The only other thing I would caution others on is to be careful and watch the depth of your cut on the welds. The frame is pretty thin comparatively and you don't want deep gouges in it from the cut-off discs.

**Jerry Bransford** · 12-19-2009, 02:39 PM

This is going to be one our better threads, nice!

rondak46 · 12-19-2009, 03:05 PM

Why did you go with the ford mounts? I think remember that Blaine recommended another source previously; I think it was the TNT customs kit which I have ready to install. I also have the Ford mounts which I bought before changing my mind.

http://www.tntcustoms.com/page.asp?pageid=152

Cheers, Mike

**mrblaine** · 12-19-2009, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rondak46

Why did you go with the ford mounts? I think remember that Blaine recommended another source previously; I think it was the TNT customs kit which I have ready to install. I also have the Ford mounts which I bought before changing my mind.

Treks Offroad Products - TREKs Rear Outboard Shock kit

Cheers, Mike

He's not going to be running anything but the normal style shock bushings. If you run the Fox or similar style, then it's not worth the effort that it takes to modify the top of the Ford tower to get them to fit. With his normal shocks, he just has to drill out the holes to 1/2" and he's good to go.

Alexia · 12-19-2009, 03:18 PM

Cutting the frame to weld in the new towers, how does that affect the structural integrity? I doubt it would cause issues for the main suspension since it is behind that area. Would it cause issues for towing? What about getting hit from the rear?

**Benderff** · 12-19-2009, 03:22 PM

Thanks for starting this thread. I wish I would have done this when I did the axle swap. I'll be watching to see how it goes, and then doing this in the very near future.

rondak46 · 12-19-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexia

Cutting the frame to weld in the new towers, how does that affect the structural integrity? I doubt it would cause issues for the main suspension since it is behind that area. Would it cause issues for towing? What about getting hit from the rear?

I can say that two local custom 4X4 shops would not do the job for me. So there are some knowledgable people who have their doubts. That said, I have not heard of anyone having problems on the forums. I wonder how Stu's set-up is holding up...