What's the deal with tiny shock mounts?
I've changed my shocks three times on my truck, and have always wondered why ALL of the aftermarket shocks have the tiny upper mounting shafts. The stock front shocks had huge threads on them, something like a 21mm nut on them? Even the Ranchos I checked out at the auto parts store just now had like 1/2" inch nuts on them. Is there a compromise in strength and stability with the size reduction? Seems to me that there would be a huge strength difference? Am I mistaken?,,,,98
The only ones that came close, were the Monroe Magnum truck shocks I used the second time.
The only ones that came close, were the Monroe Magnum truck shocks I used the second time.
Just a guess, but I would bet that the factory used the large nuts more for easy tool application / installation than strength.
I recently replaced my stock shocks with Edelbrock IAS shocks and the upper mounting shaft was almost identical to the original.
I think the original was 3/4" and the Edelbrock was 11/16" ?? Maybe not exact, but close enough to call it even.
Anyway, the outside size of the nut does not have as much to do with it's strength as the material it is made of, # of threads per inch and it's internal diameter do.
I recently replaced my stock shocks with Edelbrock IAS shocks and the upper mounting shaft was almost identical to the original.
I think the original was 3/4" and the Edelbrock was 11/16" ?? Maybe not exact, but close enough to call it even.
Anyway, the outside size of the nut does not have as much to do with it's strength as the material it is made of, # of threads per inch and it's internal diameter do.
Hmmm, sounds feasible I guess. But... even the bushings on the smaller shaft shocks seem to be made too small. The little collars on the bushings seem much smaller than the mounting hole. I'm going to see if there's an Energy Suspension application that fits at Pep Boys tommorrow, while I'm picking up the urethane end links. I put the urethane main bushings on a couple of years ago, and they're still in perfect shape. Of course all this hinges on whether the parts store ordered front shocks, and not another set of rears like the last attempt
,,,,98
,,,,98
Got them finally, and the urethane end links. The cornering stability is greatly improved, and the ride is nice. Seems more solid than the Reflex shocks, like the truck is one piece again. The Reflex shocks were nice, but they had the tendency to not know what they were supposed to do on some bumps. They would either rebound to much and exagerate movements, or not at all and seem really stiff. Like your tires were the only thing absorbing the bumps. And get this, 3/4 inch nuts on the upper front shock mounts. I'm satisfied. The rear Ranchos have the smaller threads still however.,,,,,98


