Rear Shock Relocation Brackets

[Matt]

I think im going to make this one of my winter projects....

Any of you guys that have been in the rocks know that our rear shock mounts hang too low and LOVE to get hung up on stuff (not to mention take a beating). It looks like there's plenty of supporting weldment to make a bolt-on relocation kit, that could also be welded if desired.

Another benefit would be to decrease the outboard angle of the shocks to reduce stress at the mounting points. The limiting factor here looks like the track bar mount on the driver side... but hell 1/2" will help.

Going to upload a few pics with ideas. Feel free to share other thoughts/ideas.

NOTE: these brackets will likely decrease the "necessary" full extension length by ~3". So for instance i'm running 28.5" fully extended shocks now, i would only need 25.5" with the brackets I have in mind. Not a big deal for budget boosted & OME guys since they could use some longer shocks. For Superlifted guys you're good to go too since the shocks provided are 28-28.5" but other members have found that you can go up to 31-32 with a few minor modifications. (CLIFF NOTES: These would be useful for everyone)

[Matt]

OK sorry to let you guys down... i'm playing daddy-daycare today (in-laws are on vacation and our youngest isn't in daycare yet..), so no 3D modeling [yet]

But these should at least get my idea across and out there for your input. The circles represent bolt locations. The main bolt directly in front of where the shock would mount would be a sturdy 3/8", if not larger since I like to over-kill things. Yellow arrows show the estimated location.... red lines are obviously a crude rendition of the bracket

[Matt]

And as an example of how it may get modified when i really start playing around with the design, the yellow addition below is something I would add if I felt the need to add a brace to counter-act the moment force; the further the shock is from the axle the more this becomes required. Ideally i'd like the minimum number of bends/welds to keep manufacturing costs down, and delete as much material as possible... but function comes first!

[06JeepXKHEMI]

Thats not a bad idea, but someone like me who was running no track bar would that help in creating a different design? Lets say on my XK with those shocks would I ultimately get more flex? Cause curious to what this would do besides help clearance on rocks

[Matt]

Everyone has a track bar. I think you're talking about the sway bar.... which is on the other side of the axle (and i dont have one either).

The main benefit is definitely to help clearance. I've got hung up on that damn shock mount almost every time i've been to Rausch!

Flattening the outboard angle would help a bit with flex, especially as the tire is shoved into the wheel well and that angle increases which puts a lot of stress on the ends of the shocks; i think thats also one of the causes for the Bilstein shock failures that some guys had a few years ago (the ends literally broke off).

Depending on how the design works out, i bet a few mounting locations could be drilled for the shocks to help fine tune for different shock lengths. There's probably enough room for at least 2 mounting points 1" apart...

[Matt]

And as mentioned in the first post... this mounting location would allow for more down travel. Most people are running 25-26" long shocks with their 2" lifts and the Superlift shocks are 28" long. Both of these cases are needlessly limiting down travel of the axle. Throw a quick brake line extension on and these brackets will allow you to maximize down travel without having to buy new shocks.

Remember a lot of us limit our compression travel with extended bump stops so the tires dont hit our fenders; this is a way to get that travel back by adding it to the down stroke.

[06JeepXKHEMI]

Got it makes a lot of sense now. And yes I was referring to sway bar, been a long week and month with insurance haha

[Core XK]

Love the idea considering how much I hit the shock mounts. Id like to see this developed.

I didnt realize your sl springs are red. They look good. I think we should paint the rear OME silver lol and struts/ucas silver

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[thance]

This is a great idea! I can't wait to see a prototype.....

[Matt]

Thanks man. I have a few mods planned for "matts shop" in the two months. Once they're done i'll be much better suited for fabricating/prototyping these things.

Hey if you happen to see a nice plasma cutter for sale on CL, send the ad my way