WH rear double shock mounts

[papy]

i am in the process of installing the rear double shock mounts. i have the the top mounts at 25 1/2" as per the instructions. No problem there...


i followed the instructions for the lower mounts and something is not adding up. the OAL on the factory shock installed is 23" and the one i tacked in is 21"

i butted the lower mount to the factory one and it all looks good but not even when you look at it from a broad side view.

am i missing something? is it suppose to be a 2" difference?

did i use the right correct lower shock mount for the passengers side? is it due to no weight being on the frame? just want to make sure i have everything correct before i weld everything into place.

please see pics.

thank you in advance
cheers

 

[DirtDonk]

The inconsistency between the two may not totally be due to the suspension being extended like that (no weight), but then again it might have everything to do with it. Because when it's extended fully, the springs would be causing the housing to tilt. Sometimes a lot.
Could be enough to explain the whole inconsistency in this case. Hopefully anyway!

If it was me I would go to the added trouble of compressing the suspension up towards the frame, to the expected height. Ratchet straps are the usual weapon-of-choice for this, but whatever you need to get it done.
For example, if it's a 3.5" spring you would measure to about 9.5" between the top of the axle tube and the bottom of the frame rail (6" stock, plus the lift). Then see if that changes the relationship.
Then there's the pinion angle...

I can't see in the pics, if you have installed the tapered shims to correct pinion angle. So when you compress the suspension, make sure that your pinion angle is correct (1-2 degrees down from the driveshaft centerline) as this being off would also skew the shock mounting scheme.
Anything that twists the axle tube from what it would be under normal (and correct) angles at ride-height will mess with your install.
I'm glad you checked!

The new brackets are slightly shorter than the originals in this case, and so won't always hang at the same angles and heights. But they can be perfect, or when not can also be relatively easily manipulated to get pretty close.
Of course, not hanging down as much can be a good thing (ground clearance), but does make it harder to create the same angle and length as the original.

If when all is said and done yours does not sit just the way you want it to, you might try to grind a little off of the new mount's inner edge (where it butts up against the old one) just to get a little more forward positioning and slightly different angle on it.

Obviously you don't want to go too far wrapping it around the bottom or you could run into clearance issues with the wide body of the shock contacting the axle tube. Although in your case it looks like you won't have that issue at all.
But compress things first and see what that gets you.

Paul

 

[jamesroney]

i am in the process of installing the rear double shock mounts. i have the the top mounts at 25 1/2" as per the instructions. No problem there...


i followed the instructions for the lower mounts and something is not adding up. the OAL on the factory shock installed is 23" and the one i tacked in is 21"

i butted the lower mount to the factory one and it all looks good but not even when you look at it from a broad side view.

am i missing something? is it suppose to be a 2" difference?

did i use the right correct lower shock mount for the passengers side? is it due to no weight being on the frame? just want to make sure i have everything correct before i weld everything into place.

please see pics.

thank you in advance
cheers

Hello, I have a different take, and hopefully you can follow along without pics. When I install the dual shock kit...I do not follow the instructions.

Take a look at your picture of the jack stand. (picture #5???) Anyway, what you will see is that your front shock mount is WAY higher than your rear shock mount. There are a couple of reasons for this, but mostly because the pinion is rotated and pointed at the transfer case. (as it should be...)

When I do the Wild H shock mounts, I either install them new in pairs, (total of 4) or I take a die grinder and relieve the OEM mount so that the two mounts are touching each other, and they are both the same height. Some might argue that the higher mount provides more ground clearance...but I always figured that the ground clearance was set by the lowest mount, and therefore I set them the same.

so take a big level, and cut off about 3/8 of an inch from the old mount, roll the new mount around to meet it, and put both bolts at the same elevation. When you do it, it will look right, and you will have plenty of material to make a nice weld across the bottom. It will make your front shock at least an inch "longer" and all will be right with the world. (basically "butt" them closer together.)

Its OK to have a little difference between front and back, but PLEASE...whatever you do on the right side, do the same on the left! It doesn't impact function, but it looks terrible!

I just noticed the big wedge in the spring pack in picture 2. That means that you have to make a choice. You can set the front shock clocked 6 degrees higher...in the event that you ever "lower" the Bronco, or you can set them level. I despise axle wedges, so I would install new anti-wrap spring pads and set the pinion angle without the shims...but that is a whole different project.

 

[papy]

after reading both responses i took a closer look at what i have going on.
3.5" 11 pack rear leafs and 6° shims
the difference is about 2" in OAL shock length with no weight on the frame and both lower shock mounts (OEM and provide one) are butted together and are mirror imaged. i compressed the frame to the rear axle with ratchet straps and brought it down to the 9.5" top of axle tube to bottom of frame as dirtdonk suggested. it changed the angle of the lower shock mounts a bit and now is only sitting at a 1" difference.

i guess the problem lies in the pinion. the pinion is correct which obviously changes the position of the two lower shock mounts to also point a bit more in the forward position.

i am considering grinding off the rear part of the OEM lower shock mount (kinda looks like a tab sticking out pic#4) as jamesroney suggested to bring down the provided one by 1/2" +/-

my question is if i decide to leave it as it is in the pics will the shocks and truck perform the way it should? is this a cosmetic thing or a functionality thing? once the body is on and the wheels are bolted up this will disappear and will not be noticed. i am more inclined to leaving it as is as long as i am not compromising anything to to with the functionality of this set up


your thoughts?

 

[Z Bronco]

I modified my WH mounts by drilling an extra hole as I went with Duff shocks. All my shocks are the same length. The upper holes I used are at the Duff mount set up and I used their instructions for the lower mounts which puts one shock at resting position about 1" shorter than the other if I remember correctly. Ride is great and the suspension cycles as it should. Picture is pre paint

 

[DirtDonk]

...my question is if i decide to leave it as it is in the pics will the shocks and truck perform the way it should?

Yes. You'll never feel a difference as far as I'm concerned.
The shocks themselves are not position sensitive in an extended/compressed kind of way. If one was laying over more than the other, that would change the way the dampening works because they would be moving at different speeds.
But keeping them at the same angle but changing how much one is compressed compared to the other makes no difference.

is this a cosmetic thing or a functionality thing?

Definitely can be cosmetic, but most will not notice an inch unless they're crawling around underneath and checking such things out.
However, the dust boots might be poofed out a different amount, making it more visible.
Again though, probably not enough for most people to notice.

once the body is on and the wheels are bolted up this will disappear and will not be noticed. i am more inclined to leaving it as is as long as i am not compromising anything to to with the functionality of this set up.

You'll be fine. Even if a functional difference (which it isn't) most people would never tax the abilities of dual-shocks in the first place. Unless this is a dune jumping, high-speed dirt trail blazing, desert racing kind of a Bronco, you're just going to have a firm ride now matter how you look at it and won't notice the difference of one shock set up at a slightly different length from the other.

Paul

 

[papy]

Phank you Paul! I appreciate the info. I took down the high point on the OEM lower shock mount to give me a bit more of an even OAL. everything seems to have lined up nicely

cheers guys

 

[DirtDonk]

Great to hear! James' method seems pretty well thought out. And he's built some pretty nice Broncos over the years (not sure how many he's up to at this point, but it's a fair bit of them!) and I've seen others do the lower mount in pairs too (they can be purchased separately) so that does make sense.
Personally I would probably not go to the extra trouble because I don't like cutting off the perfectly good one if I don't have to!

But it's still a good way.

Paul

 

[papy]

I take all advice into consideration and see what works best for my application. I didn't go to the extent of replacing the perfectly good stock lower mounts just grinded back the high point where the supplied one butts up to.

Thanks again
Till next time
Cheers