2 questions, shock and bump stop length.

benatc1 said:

Been searching around and haven't quite found the answer I was looking for as well as confusing myself in the process. I have 2 questions I thought you guys might be able to help me answer.

First, here is my current set up. 2 door jk 35s/stock fenders- started with 3in teraflex -8 adjustable short arm kit, changed the coil springs out to 4" plus ride coils cause the ride was waaaayyy to stiff. I have a heavy rear bumper/tire carrier and gobi roof rack so I'm sitting nose high, have 5.5in of lift in front, plan is to swap in some 3in plush coils in the front to help level it out/a little rake is ok. Currently running Fox ifp 2.0- no res shocks measured for 1.5-3.5 lift as well as the bump stop extensions than came with teraflex 2.5 budget boost (installed a couple years ago). Im hoping the 3in front coils end up around 4in of lift based on what the 4" did..Here are my questions..

First should I be running a longer shock? I like the fox shocks but not tied to the brand, if I were to upgrade to a 4-6" to better fit my spring length, I'm not sure if it would be to long??

Also I want to try and get my bump stops correct as I'm not sure if they are. I want to still flex as much as possible but not over compress or extend springs or shocks. Basically I'm not sure where to get the proper measurement from to ensure I have optimal length- also should I look at a different type of bump stop?

Feel free to direct me somewhere if this answer is out there

Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks in advance

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jeeeep said:

you'll want to cycle your suspension to get the measurement for your bump stops and shock length/travel, you'll want enough droop but not too that'll allow your coils to fall out. why have extra long shocks if you have to put in limit straps to keep your coils in.

this is from Dynatrac, my comments in-between ***:

In order to cycle your suspension you will install the axle as normal, except for the springs. The springs are not installed during the cycling phase. They are installed as a finishing step when you are preparing to put the weight of the vehicle on the ground. The front axle will be moved to different test positions using a combination of jacks. You should have everything connected and installed except for the front springs. This includes items like brake lines, shocks, suspension links and even the driveshaft. When you cycle your suspension there are four primary test positions where you can examine the clearances. These are,

1. Full bump is the position where the front axle bump stop pad makes contact with both of the bump stop posts on the left and right side of the frame. You will need to remove the rubber bump stops which are designed to compress when the axle is coming up towards the frame. When the front end takes a very hard hit the rubber bumps are designed to collapse and absorb some of the energy before the bump stop pad on the axle makes hard metal to metal contact with the bump stop post on the frame. This is the maximum up travel position, the point where metal to metal contact is established. Suspension manufacturing companies will supply bump stop extensions with your lift kit. You will need to make sure the proper
bump stop extensions are installed when you cycle the suspension. Some companies extend the axle side bump stop pad and others extend the frame side post.
****my tip - if you have a raised track bar bracket, also watch for this to hit, it may hit before the bump stop does so set your bump stop to avoid this.*****

2. Full flex to the driver side. This is the maximum up travel position on the driver side and the maximum down travel position on the passenger side. The maximum down travel position is the point where the shock is fully extended. The maximum up travel position is the same as above and it will generally correspond to the point where the front shock is completely collapsed and there is very little chrome shaft visible. However, the absolute point of max up travel is the bump
stop.

3. Full flex to the passenger side. This is the same as the above step but flexed to the opposite side.

4. Full droop with both of the shocks completely extended *** keep an eye on your brake lines and ABS sensor lines, you don't want to let those stretch beyond their limits.**


***** when at full droop the shocks will probably be fully extended but the coils should be just about to fall out.

at full bump there should still be a little bit of travel left in the shock, you don't want it to get fully compressed.

have fun with this :thumb: ***

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zimm said:

Nice write up. I'm in the same boat- I have both the Fox 1.5-3.5 shocks (just installed) and the 4-6" shocks which I just removed. 3" bump stops. RK 2.5 springs. I plan to cycle and see what it looks like. With my 2.75" of height gain- I only had about 1.5" of uptravel on the 4-6" shocks before they were collapsed. I might even re-install the teraflex 1" spacers I had with my stock springs before the lift to get me up to 3.5" of lift.

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jeeeep said:

Cycle the rear the same way, watch those brake and ABS lines as you let it droop, you don't want to extend either too far if you don't already have longer lines or extensions.

you can extend the brake lines a little by undoing the brake line mount and adding an extension bracket if you don't already have longer lines.

you can extend the ABS line by undoing them at the clips and re-routing them.

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