Tunable Shock Options for Factory Mounts?

[deadbeat son]

I should also clarify, I'm looking at the 8.5" shocks as a solution for my 2.5" lift; there's no way I can fit a 10" travel Fox with its 26.15" extended length even without considering the room for adapters. I can't fit any 10" shock in my application.

 

[mrblaine]

I really dug into this idea late last summer with a plan to do it over the winter, but I got lazy and never did anything with it.

I never looked into the option of replacing the top cap, sometimes the obvious eludes me. I don't think the stem mount from an alloy body would be compatible with the steel body shocks, but perhaps there are some stem mount top caps available as service parts for the old stem mounts they used to make. The new alloy shocks are built differently.

Alloy stem mount, which appears to require a specific shock body:
View attachment 550229

Steel body with separate replaceable top cap:
View attachment 550230

Here you can see that the alloy body eyelet mount doesn't have a replaceable cap, it's machined into the body:
View attachment 550231

Somewhere on this forum is a picture of a TJ with an old steel body stem mount shock, but I can't recall what thread I saw it in.

Finally, from what I understand, shock lengths are measured to the top of the body / bottom of the stem, so the bushing and retainer already subtract from the available space between the mounts. At least Fox measures them that way, per their catalog:
View attachment 550238

So realistically, you take up roughly 1/2" of available space with the bushing and retainer. The stem to eyelet adapter takes up 1.5" from where the adapter touches the OEM mount to the center of the eyelet:

View attachment 550239

This leaves you with a net loss of 1" of space due to the adapter. I had to run 1" of spacers on my OME shock mounts to split the bias at 50/50. If my 9" travel OME shock plus spacer comes to 23.24" when extended (not counting the bushing and retainer), then I should be able to run a Fox 8.5" travel shock with its 22.85" eyelet to eyelet length, plus the 1.5" adapter, and use a 1/2" coil spacer to adjust my bias to roughly 50/50.

At this point, it's just estimates, calculations, and research. I won't know for sure if everything works until I take the time to cycle suspension with the adapters in place and take real measurements. That's the part I've been too lazy to do for the past year.

And this is just the front!

We installed a bunch of those bolt in stem top Fox steel body shocks. As you can see in the pic, they use a very robust pair of shock bushings. I routinely removed them and swapped them out with more common versions from other brands of shocks that did the same job but at half the stack height. I also dealt with several who stuck in longer versions of the shock by sticking a cup on top of the stock shock mount over a larger hole they created. Most of those wound up breaking the pin out of the body due to insufficient clearnance under articulation.

 

[deadbeat son]

We installed a bunch of those bolt in stem top Fox steel body shocks. As you can see in the pic, they use a very robust pair of shock bushings. I routinely removed them and swapped them out with more common versions from other brands of shocks that did the same job but at half the stack height. I also dealt with several who stuck in longer versions of the shock by sticking a cup on top of the stock shock mount over a larger hole they created. Most of those wound up breaking the pin out of the body due to insufficient clearnance under articulation.

Great insight, thank you. When you say “most of these wound up breaking the pin out of the body”, are you referring to all of the stem top steel body Foxes, or specifically those with a cup on top of the stock mount to accommodate longer versions?

 

[mrblaine]

Great insight, thank you. When you say “most of these wound up breaking the pin out of the body”, are you referring to all of the stem top steel body Foxes, or specifically those with a cup on top of the stock mount to accommodate longer versions?

Just the ones where they did not cycle correctly and check for binding.

 

[deadbeat son]

Just the ones where they did not cycle correctly and check for binding.

Thank you, I appreciate the insight and your experience with this.

 

[nathanotis]

I am sure prices are a lot higher now, but I would guess if you were paying a reputable shop you'd be looking at around $7000-$8500 for parts and labor.

I came across this post when I began looking for options to soften my TJ's ride on road. I read this and closed the site for 2 days. I'm back now, still looking and wishing I'd ever learned fab skills.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I came across this post when I began looking for options to soften my TJ's ride on road. I read this and closed the site for 2 days. I'm back now, still looking and wishing I'd ever learned fab skills.

Same sentiment here. When I see a pricetag that's over half of what I originally paid for the jeep (a rust free, straight LJ no less), I move on and put it in the "never gonna happen" column.

I have enough skills that it's at least a possibility to do myself, but there are some things that need to happen first so it's unlikely I would pull this off before 2026.

 

[jjvw]

... and wishing I'd ever learned fab skills.

Today is a good day to start learning.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Today is a good day to start learning.

…and never stop.