Need help with shock absorbers-please

[ntneustadt]

Alright well my xj is sitting on 33"s with a skyjacker 6" coils and leafs with the skyjacker nitro 8000 6'' shock absorbers. Its the time to get new shocks and i am stuck on the Bilstein 5150s. I'ev been trying for a good 3 weeks now :shiver: trying to fiqure out what shocks i need. I know i need the 255/70 and i would like the most travel as i can get. Any help is appreciated.

 

[tbburg]

Does your current shock work and fit OK?
Does it bottom out in compression before the bump stop hits?
Does it limit suspension travel?

If the current shock length is OK, just pull one and measure the full extended and compressed length. Go the the Bilstein catalog and pick the shock with the same collapsed/extended length, or just call Bilstein, give them the numbers and they'll tell you what to get(Don't call them without the shock length numbers, they won't be able to do much without that).

By the way, what kind of control arms are you running? if you have a short-arm setup, consider drop brackets if you don't already have them.

 

[CumminsJeep]

I would go with a 12 inch shock for your jeep. and 255/70 is going to be the valving you want for all around wheeling/driving

 

[4.3LXJ]

I have a set of those coils I took off, too stiff. Even though they are supposed to be 6" coils, they were over 7" on mine and they just did not deflect very well. I replaced them with RE 7.5" which work much better. I used 28" shocks and those were about 2" of droop past the length of the spring.

 

[Darky]

Like tbburg said, measure your flex. I'd consider taking a shock off at each end and then flexing that corner to see precisely what your droop and stuff numbers are. Find the shock with those lengths.

On valving, I'm running 360/80 up front and 255/70 rear, and wish the rear end was stiffer. Love the front valving though.

 

[ECKSJAY]

Set vehicle at 'static' (no flex) height on level ground, measure center to center on the shock mounts, and find a shock that splits between compression and extension. Err on the side that gives you slightly more compression, if possible. Maximum droop is cute on the ramps but doesn't serve any real practical purpose. There's no need to flex the hell out of your suspension and measure those lengths because your shocks aren't limiting straps or bumpstops. Your suspension is going to travel more than your shocks will, so why put your shocks in danger of damage? If they're too long, you can smash the valves inside when the shocks fully compress.

Post your numbers here and I'll help you figure out the length you need.

 

[ntneustadt]

I forgot to mention that I have a Clayton long arm.
ECKSJAY-FL-23". FR-23". RL-22 1/4". RR-20" thanks for all the help!

 

[4.3LXJ]

I am with Ecksjay. You don't need the excessive droop. All your travel should be under the control of the spring, in other words controlled travel. In my case there was 2" too much, but that was what shocks I could get. A little too much is better than not enough. You can rip the piston off a shock with too little travel.