I am looking for suggestions on what shocks to use for my rebuild. It is the stock leaf springs. I removed a few from the original pack and then had the remaining re-arched. Any brand, size, or where purchased that someone has had good experience with would help. Thanks

 

Gabriel Ultra Part# G63405 Front and G63299 in the rear have been mentioned in past threads, but if you've modified the springs, you need to check their specs against your actual length and travel requirements.

 

Bilstein now has shocks for the front and rear. I don't have the model numbers handy, but I can get them for you if you are interested. They weren't cheap-again, I can't recall what I paid.

They are made in Germany.

 

I got the kyb ones from LMC and I think they are to stiff. I haven't driven it yet but jumping up on the rear end doesn't move much.

 

My original spring setup was 10 leafs in the back, and 8 leafs in the front. Now I have 7 leafs in the back, and 6 in the front. I do not have any wheels or tires on the frame yet as it has been a complete frame off. Can I still measure a distance with no weight? Do you think just a few springs will matter in shock length?

 

The max extension will be the same, loaded or not. Make sure that your brake hoses aren't what limits the drop at the front! Not likely an issue in the rear. For the compressed length, you can measure from the top of the axles to the bump stops, with it down as far as you want. It can't go higher than that. Then you have total travel and max eye-to-eye.

 

I agree on the suggestion of using Bilsteins. I won't be much help on part numbers for your suspension. On the front, I have a 1989 Dodge Dakota IFS so I purchased Bilsteins to fit that. On the rear I have a CPP parallel leaf kit and Posies had Bilsteins to fit that suspension kit.

Posies also has Bilstein shocks to fit stock applications. Here is a link to their website: POSIES Rods and Customs ? Super Slide Springs ? Street Rod Parts ? Hot Rod Parts ? Truck Parts ? Ford and Chevy Suspensions and Chassis Parts

That said, the choice of shock is critical to how well your truck will ride. Whatever you buy, don't be afraid to spend the $$$ on a quality shock. Cheap shocks will give you a cheap ride.

Ross' comments on measurement were spot on. He has good advice.

Philip

 

pezsox,
I looked in the Posies catalog and the Bilstein shocks to fit the stock applications are on page 39.

The link to the online catalog is here: http://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/...OOF-4-4-14.pdf

The Bilsteins I bought from them for the rear of my truck were not cheap, $89.95 each plus over $20.00 shipping from PA to AZ so total was right around $200.00.

Philip

 

as I was perusing the internet, I noticed quite a few people mentioning if you are using a standard leaf setup that they would use hydraulic shocks instead of gas/nitrogen shocks. They stated they have a smoother ride, but it comes at a loss of performance. From what I have read it is a softer rebound rather than a forcible "shoving" of the shock back to the pavement for performance. Since I am going to have a whopping 95 hp - flathead 226 in this thing, I can't imagine performance will be as needed as a gentler ride. Any opinions gents? If hydraulic does make sense, does anyone have any recommendations?

 

I never heard of that before. I think that you are correct in your analysis as regards the performance and ride with older engines. Posie's, who make their own springs, recommended the Bilstein's to me.

 

On the stock setup much of the damping comes from friction in the spring leaves. The use of nitrogen in shocks is to prevent foaming of the oil on washboard roads and other heavy duty use. The downforce provided by the gas is nowhere near the spring forces. I honestly didn't see a lot of difference between the cheap Red Ryder shocks and the gas-charged Gabriels with nearly 2X the piston area I'm running on the front. I have fairly heavy tires, which is a bigger factor I'd guess.

 

Philip, Do you have any specs for those shocks? Like fully retracted and extended measurements?

 

For the ones I bought for the rear of my truck, look on page 32 of the Posie's catalog. I bought the 1046BIL rear shocks. Follow the link in my earlier post to get to the catalog. My rear suspension is NOT stock because I used a CPP kit which mounts the shocks to a shock cross member so the shocks are shorter than the stock ones.

The dimensions for the ones I purchased are given in this link to the Posies website: POSIES Rods and Customs ? Super Slide Springs ? Street Rod Parts ? Hot Rod Parts ? Truck Parts ? Ford and Chevy Suspensions and Chassis Parts » BILSTEIN SHOCKS

Mine were about 14.5 in. extended and about 9.5 in. closed.

If you need recommendations for Bilstein shocks to fit stock applications, this link has Posies recommendations for which Bilstein shock part number will fit. Clicking on "Ford" in the list will take you to this list: http://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/...rd-mercury.pdf

Find your year and model and they give you the Bilstein part number. Then talk to a Bilstein dealer and they will be able to give you the dimensions for the shock model.

I hope this helps.

Philip

 

Thanks Philip, I bought some Bilsteins for my stock truck based on cross reference numbers from the stock shocks. Gabriel and Monroe numbers.

I Googled the part numbers for the stock shocks to find the best price and found a huge list of applications for those shocks. Same shocks are used on F1-F3 which I thought would require different damping?

They also fit many years of non lifted stock Jeep CJ's so I found the Bilstein part number for those models. You'd think there would be different damping requirements but, the stock shock is the same as my F3. The extended and compressed lengths were not exactly the same but, VERY close so I bought those Bilstein shocks.

They are the common yellow shocks with blue cover, 4600 series shocks. So far no issues. I Googled the Posies numbers and it is specific to them only. I was hoping it would cross to a more common number I could get from a local Bilstein dealer.

Thanks for the info!

 

After searching online, I am not finding anything for hydraulic shocks on the market. Does anyone know of a company that sells these?