Which Shock Should I Remove on Rear Doubles

[Ol'Blue]

I have 3.5" WH leafs with double James Duff 70/30 shocks in the rear. Stiff, so thought I would try removing one and see how it rides.

Which shock do I remove, the one in front of the axle or behind?

Thanks,

 

[DirtDonk]

It actually doesn't usually matter. Depending on the design of the mounts, they may be equally angled, equally spaced, and identical part number shocks. If that's the case, remove either one.

If this is the typical mount orientation (got pics?) then the rear one is the factory one. So if you remove the front and leave the rear, it would be just like Ford designed it (after mid-'66 that is) so that's a good place to start.

Are your mounts kind of like mirror images of each other?

Paul

 

[toddz69]

I have 3.5" WH leafs with double James Duff 70/30 shocks in the rear. Stiff, so thought I would try removing one and see how it rides.

Which shock do I remove, the one in front of the axle or behind?

Thanks,

I'd remove the front one if they're a mirror image of each other as Paul describes. The rear mount is actually more advantageous as the shock is angled for a rising rate design (increased damping) as the spring compresses.

Todd Z.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Cant attach a picture from this PC, but both shocks are set at close to the same angle. I would guess about 30*-40* and both measure the same distance eye to eye sitting static 21".

The rear also has a larger upper mounting bolt so I saved that one, removed the front and took her for a spin over some speed bumps, much better ride! Thought is might lean in turns but feels pretty good. Thanks for the advice!

 

[DirtDonk]

Sounds good. Now at least you can drive it for awhile over the same roads and obstacles that you've been on before to get a better long-term comparison.
I would expect it to lean a bit more with a softer suspension, but hopefully it'll just feel more like a normal, tall, short wheelbase 4wd vehicle with decent handling. If it doesn't, and you feel it leans too much, then you could go with an anti-sway bar.
Or perhaps different shocks altogether. Since it is possible that your older shocks aren't quite up-to-snuff any longer, it might not handle as well as it would with a different/newer/better shock.

Have fun testing.

Paul

 

[mlake01]

When I first built my 75 about 10 years ago, I used a 3.5" Duff kit and twin-shocked all four corners with their 70/30 shocks. Since then, I have pulled 1 shock off each corner for a vastly improved ride. In the rear, I left one in front and one in back of the axle like is common on modern trucks. I think this is done for axle wrap control via compression vs. rebound damping? Not sure, but it works!

 

[Ol'Blue]

Did several miles and WAY better ride with one shock on each corner. I little more lean in the corners but not a big deal.

My plans were to go with Bilsteins, but to buy 8 was going to be pricey. Now only having to buy 4, now we're talking.

Will hopefully be calling Paul in the next few months to make the purchase. Gotta get this caster issue resolved first.

May try the switch to one in front of the rear axle as well.

Thanks for the advice.