Off road shock Guru’s

[Cdog]

Over the weekend I put a 2008 disk brake 14 bolt in my 71K5 Blazer.

Since I had to shave off all the leaf brackets & shock mounts & the 14 bolt is a couple of inches wider I decided to move the shocks outboard of the frame rails and stagger them like a modern truck leaf spring suspension.

I used ORD upper mounts & ballistic off-road for spring perches & axle shock mounts.

Now I need shocks. Some reservoir fox’s would be more than enough. Mount to mount is 23”. I figured 6” of extension & rebound puts me at a 29-30” fully extended shock. Collapsed at 16-17”. Is 12” of stroke common?

Is there a production shock that anyone knows of that fits this with eyelet mounts on both ends?

Any pointers? Do I have this thought out correctly?

 

[DLC]

Get your dimensions organized - normally would cycle the suspension establish bump stop & measure the short length and ride height.
The shock body can’t be to long Or to short ….

I’m sure @RVRKID could help out !

I don’t know him but he is always willing to lend a hand on lifts and trucks.

He is a straight shooter

 

[Xring01]

That appears to be one very nice K5…

 

[Cdog]

That appears to be one very nice K5…

Thx it’s getting there. I just got my dash pad back yesterday. Had it wrapped in alcantara

Now I’m waiting on the steering wheel

 

[Bowtiepower00]

I would reach out to a suspension shop like accutune:

Fox Smoothie Shocks – AccuTune Off-Road

accutuneoffroad.com

If you look under eyelet shocks, in the specification section it will show extended/ compressed/ body lengths. Or just call them.

 

[poncho]

Very nice K-5, appears to have the correct amount of pedals.

 

[Deckin Around]

As said above, you absolutely need to put it on a lift and cycle the suspension completely. Make sure the tires will not rub on the Shock bodies when it’s articulated with one wheel tucked up in the fender.

 

[Cdog]

Very nice K-5, appears to have the correct amount of pedals.

I always wanted the manual till I bought one. 1st is useless so you really have a 3 speed that drives like a John deer tractor.

I have a LT4 waiting for a cam kit & a 10 waiting

 

[Bajastu]

You need to remove your wheels and cycle the suspension to calculate the full cycle. You didn’t mention if you had to adjust or build bump stops for the wider axle. This will be the key factor on a shock body based upon your bump stop mounts. When you cycle the suspension, check for wheel clearance side to side since you are mounting the shocks outboard. For full droop, make sure to check for driveshaft bind or if the slip yoke is pulling out of the tail shaft. You may need to install limit straps to prevent this. Once you have the final numbers, finding a shock should be easy.

FYI, I’d just fab up some simple double shear mounts on the frame, the predetermined upper mount that you have may need to be adjusted vertically for your custom application. The same goes for your lower shock mounts. They can be moved a bit to clear shock bodies at full bump and or rod extension but keep them high for clearance.

 

[poncho]

I always wanted the manual till I bought one. 1st is useless so you really have a 3 speed that drives like a John deer tractor.

I have a LT4 waiting for a cam kit & a 10 waiting

I sold my last one without finishing it, dreamt of a Doug Nash 5-speed and a center column with captains chairs and a short throw shifter.

 

[Cdog]

So I just did a rudimentary tests with floor jacks in my garage and I have approximately 4 inches to travel up and down. The 4 inch lift is all in the springs with no blocks. This makes sense because off-road design offers a thinner leaf design that flexes more and provides approximately 6 inches of travel.

The upper mounts are static now but the lowers can articulate a bit since I have not welded them up yet. I copied the 65-70 degree angle from my F350 when figuring the staggered portion of this.

Lower shock mounts.

Lower Shock Parallel Bolt Bracket Axle (Pair)

ballisticfabrication.com

I did find a set of shocks that will work with this set up and the total throw puts me right in the middle of my window to avoid bottoming out or over extending.

Fox 2.0 Factory Series Smooth Body Reservoir Shock| Extended 29.093 in.| Collapsed 17.403 in.| Stroke 11.69 in.

FOX Offroad Shocks Fox 2.0 Factory Series 885-24-185 | Jeep Wrangler Front Suspension Shock Absorber Kit (Vehicle Custom Fit)

Fox 2.0 Factory Series Smooth Body Reservoir Shock| Extended 29.093 in.| Collapsed 17.403 in.| Stroke 11.69 in.. Fits: 18-24 Jeep Wrangler

partshawk.com

 

[Bajastu]

Without ripping apart the spring packs, your full bump measurement will be hard to calculate. The spring up travel should be measured when the spring is flat and the shackles and bump stop will be the limiting factor. But if it looks good, your full bump measurement will be determined by the bump stop with the allowable squish on the bump pad. Droop can be fixed with limit straps. I'd worry about the length of the shock body at full bump more than the down travel.

 

[rivermobster]

Over the weekend I put a 2008 disk brake 14 bolt in my 71K5 Blazer.

Since I had to shave off all the leaf brackets & shock mounts & the 14 bolt is a couple of inches wider I decided to move the shocks outboard of the frame rails and stagger them like a modern truck leaf spring suspension.

I used ORD upper mounts & ballistic off-road for spring perches & axle shock mounts.

Now I need shocks. Some reservoir fox’s would be more than enough. Mount to mount is 23”. I figured 6” of extension & rebound puts me at a 29-30” fully extended shock. Collapsed at 16-17”. Is 12” of stroke common?

Is there a production shock that anyone knows of that fits this with eyelet mounts on both ends?

Any pointers? Do I have this thought out correctly?
View attachment 1425260
View attachment 1425261

When I needed shocks for my Stupid set up on my lifted truck, I called the tech support guys at Bilstein. The had me do all kinna measurements, and the supplied me with the correct part numbers to order.

Truck rides better than it ever did in the past. Totally worth all my time on the phone.

 

[Cdog]

When I needed shocks for my Stupid set up on my lifted truck, I called the tech support guys at Bilstein. The had me do all kinna measurements, and the supplied me with the correct part numbers to order.

Truck rides better than it ever did in the past. Totally worth all my time on the phone.

only issue with that is I’m doing something custom and even though it’s not a long travel set up it will have the shock travel.

For instance, the first GEN k5’s didn’t have staggered shocks, which makes for gnarly wheel hop.

 

[rivermobster]

only issue with that is I’m doing something custom and even though it’s not a long travel set up it will have the shock travel.

For instance, the first GEN k5’s didn’t have staggered shocks, which makes for gnarly wheel hop.

The set on my truck is 100 percent custom built. The had no issues with it.

 

[Cdog]

The set on my truck is 100 percent custom built. The had no issues with it.

a little more guess work on my set up because nothing is stock & I don’t have the actual leaf spring data

 

[rivermobster]

a little more guess work on my set up because nothing is stock & I don’t have the actual leaf spring data

Yeah. It needs to be all assembled first.

 

[outboard_256]

So I just did a rudimentary tests with floor jacks in my garage and I have approximately 4 inches to travel up and down. The 4 inch lift is all in the springs with no blocks. This makes sense because off-road design offers a thinner leaf design that flexes more and provides approximately 6 inches of travel.

The upper mounts are static now but the lowers can articulate a bit since I have not welded them up yet. I copied the 65-70 degree angle from my F350 when figuring the staggered portion of this.

Lower shock mounts.
View attachment 1425400

Lower Shock Parallel Bolt Bracket Axle (Pair)

ballisticfabrication.com

I did find a set of shocks that will work with this set up and the total throw puts me right in the middle of my window to avoid bottoming out or over extending.

Fox 2.0 Factory Series Smooth Body Reservoir Shock| Extended 29.093 in.| Collapsed 17.403 in.| Stroke 11.69 in.

FOX Offroad Shocks Fox 2.0 Factory Series 885-24-185 | Jeep Wrangler Front Suspension Shock Absorber Kit (Vehicle Custom Fit)

Fox 2.0 Factory Series Smooth Body Reservoir Shock| Extended 29.093 in.| Collapsed 17.403 in.| Stroke 11.69 in.. Fits: 18-24 Jeep Wrangler

partshawk.com

You might want to remove some of your leaf's and try the test again to see if it gains more up travel. Unless you are putting bump stops to limit the up travel. My fear is you bottom out the travel in the shocks and blow them out on a hard landing.

 

[04-24Stealth]

You might want to remove some of your leaf's and try the test again to see if it gains more up travel. Unless you are putting bump stops to limit the up travel. My fear is you bottom out the travel in the shocks and blow them out on a hard landing.

X2 on this. It’s a lot of work but you need to pull the leafs apart to get full bump or build your bump stops at your current tested up travel if that makes sense. Going the second route you’re robbing yourself of up travel.

 

[Backlash]

Leaf springs need to be separated, and the main leaf reinstalled onto the truck. Cycle the axle with the single leaf and figure out compression and droop. Lots of patience and measurements. Once you have those numbers, start working on shocks. Find what works best for you with the information you've learned, and order your shocks. After they arrive, install them and again cycle the axle to make sure everything is bumped and strapped where it needs to be. Only after you're satisfied and everything looks good, put the leaf packs back together and enjoy the ride.

 

[Cdog]

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View attachment 1425593

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Also when cycling the suspension, check tire clearance to the body. The 35" tires dont fit too well into those wheel arches. Would be REALLY shitty if you're out wheeling after getting that nice K5 all done and half way rip off your bedside cause your tire didnt clear on a hard or off camber hit.

 

[HST4ME]

The later Malibu platform has been exceptionally good to my girls. Parts are cheap and they are well enough sorted