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shocks

jeremyc653

Well-Known Member
Joined
November 18, 2008
Messages
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City, State
st pete fl
Year, Model & Trim Level
2001 ford sport trac
i noticed after the tt and shackles and 3' bl i sit at f150 stock hight and my rear shocks are stretched out bad i added some 2" steel pipe at the top of the bolts to push the shock back down but now i get a knocking noise every time the suspension changes like acc, braking turning ect. i was wondering if i could use f150 shocks in replace of my current ones
 



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Assuming you used the Warrior shackles, they lift 1.25" which is not enough to need longer shocks. I had them on my old '05 Trac with stock replacement Sensa Trac shocks and had no problems.
 






well when i measured from the center of the wheel to the top of wheel well it was 3in higher for me.... and when i took off the bolt on the bottom they didnt expand any at all we took them out completely and pushed them down they had real good compression
 






I went to ranchos web site and found some longer shocks. If you go into the catalog and get the stock part number. Then go to the back of the catalog find the stock part number, it will give lengths and the type of mounting. Then I compared lenghts of the ones that had the same mounting type. I found a pair that did good for me. I do not remember the part number. I could not find any for the front that were longer so I made some extensions for the fronts.
 






well i put extensions on my rear shocks but before i did i had this noise like something was getting ripped aprt when i turned and got on the gas but now that i have the extensions there is a knocking noise every time i push the gas or brake or turn a corner and i cant think of what else it could be
pic of extensions
100_0571.jpg

100_0572.jpg
 






Asside from stength, as I don't know if those studs/bolts are going to hold up to the torsional stress of that setup, I do see that the shocks will move.

As I understand the pic, when you hit the gas the rear suspension will squat.. and the shock will slide up those bolts and hit the across member and then start to compress which will make one heck of a racket.

~Mark
 






I think finding some kind of shim or sleeve to put over the bolts to keep the shocks from moving would help. I have seen in the aftermarket an "H" looking bracket that mounts one side to the frame and the other side to the shock.
 






you cant see the bolts in that pic i know they might look like that bolt but its actually a peace of piping around the bolt to space out the distance between the shock and the across member bracket
 












i dont see how a nut on a piece of pipe would stop the moving because the pipe is bigger then the bolt and the hole in the shock were the bolt goes threw is smaller then the pipe
 






I "think" I get what you did.. you have a long bolt going from the ears of the shock to the mount on the cross member and around the bolt is a larger pipe (looks like it might be galvanized) that is used as a spacer to keep the shock from moving upwards..

that will work to keep it from going up but I don't know if the bolt that is going through the pipe is going to move around or not. If it does, it will make one heck of a racket as there are quite a bit or forces at play there..

The only way I see to verify that is the problem is to put the shock back in the cross member (no extension). If the noise goes away then you know its moving around.. Ideally, a longer shock should be used instead of that spacer since not only may the shock move around but the stress put on the cross member is going to be increased by the leveraged of the spacer.

To figure what shocks you need, measure the compressed and extended length of what you currently have. Then go to gorancho.com and look at their catalog of shocks and find a shock that has the same mounts as yours with the extended/compressed lengths you like/want. You will want to look at the back of the master catalog as that is where the shocks are listed by # instead of by application.


~Mark
 






I "think" I get what you did.. you have a long bolt going from the ears of the shock to the mount on the cross member and around the bolt is a larger pipe (looks like it might be galvanized) that is used as a spacer to keep the shock from moving upwards..

that will work to keep it from going up but I don't know if the bolt that is going through the pipe is going to move around or not. If it does, it will make one heck of a racket as there are quite a bit or forces at play there..

The only way I see to verify that is the problem is to put the shock back in the cross member (no extension). If the noise goes away then you know its moving around.. Ideally, a longer shock should be used instead of that spacer since not only may the shock move around but the stress put on the cross member is going to be increased by the leveraged of the spacer.

To figure what shocks you need, measure the compressed and extended length of what you currently have. Then go to gorancho.com and look at their catalog of shocks and find a shock that has the same mounts as yours with the extended/compressed lengths you like/want. You will want to look at the back of the master catalog as that is where the shocks are listed by # instead of by application.


~Mark

yea ur right about the bolt and spacer thing and everything thanks
 






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