Hey - just looking out for you Bro!

Hey, I know...I appreciate it in fact...I welcome all critiques and criticisms...

OK...heres my first set of parts..got them in last night...now just have to get some welding done and determine the upper mount locations...

Any updates?

At the moment....no...still in the process of removing all the spare tire support bracketry in order to get the correct room for the upper shock mounts...will take pics of the underside when that is complete...looks alot cleaner under there without all that extra metal...

Additionally...this type of modification has been done before--though perhaps not in the manner I am thinking about...Got this pic from SLR today showing a show truck that they did in which they moved the shock mounts to the very top of the axle...wish it was a cleaner pic so you could see where the upper mounts now are and how the lower mounts are attached to the axle...but its an interesting pic nontheless--and its an Xterra I've never seen or heard of before as well....

OK...so the process continues...purchased these today: weld in shock studs...

and will be used for the upper mounts...now I have to pick out the exact shocks that I will be using and smooth out the metal around the brace that that the spare was mounted too...have removed all the excess steel that was there to provide the spare bracing via grinder and sawzall...It is coming along....slowly but steadily....

Sweet find on the upper mount. I'm gathering parts now so I'll be heading down this road soon myself.

Yup....a REAL inexpensive way to put in the upper mounts...just drill and weld...looking at the Bilstein 7100 remote's for the shocks....not sure if I can afford the Racerunners or Fox's...and also have to purchase new spring packs as well...Deaver, Alcan, or the Calmini SAS pack...hmmmm.....

Yeah those shocks can be pricey. As far as springs go, you know what I run.

Spalind,
I just talked to those guys about their upper mounts. You are going to be limited on your shock selection now as the mount side of the bolt is 5/8". The high end shocks like RaceRunners and Fox have 1/2" heims on the ends to the won't fit. Check your shocks before you buy so you don't end up screwing yourself.

Hmmm...they were so cheap I didn't even check that...2 questions though...couldn't you just use a spacer to make up the difference between the 5/8 and 1/2?? and secondly...any idea on what size the Bilstein 7100's run?? That would make the decision easy for me...right size and lesser cost....though if the spacer possibility is available...then I'm back at square one in trying to decide between brands of shocks.....

Ahhh....7100's have 1/2" ends as well....Hmmmm...so is like a teflon spacer possible here?

Being that 5/8 is larger than 1/2, I don't think that a spacer will work.

Yeah...correct me if I'm wrong...the 7100's and the Fox/Racerunner shocks have 1/2" ends...thus take up less space than the space these weld in mounts provide (5/8") therefore a 1/8" spacer will account for this extra space...

You might want to spend some time and look at the BugPack catalog and see if any of their bushings might work.

Myself, after taking all possible measurements have decided that this is not a good idea for me. Having shocks on different planes does help prevent axlewrap and the 4 or so inches that you are having to bring up the shocks to put them on the axle would nulify any gains made by moving the shock mount to the axle and mounting them higher at the top mounting point as well.

The reality is that due to the body and gas tank location, you are always going to hae your bump travel limited unless you are willing to cut off the rear of the body and use a fuel cell.

It's not the space around the shock eye you need to worry about. It's the dia. of the hole the bolt passes through that is the issue.

Parts are on the way. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

What did you order!?!?!? Do tell...do tell!!! Oh...and btw...I was looking at the Fox shocks website and it states that one of the options on their shocks is that they come standard to fit 1/2" bolts but are also available to come shipped with bushings in the eyes to fit 5/8" bolts...so it seems if I went with Fox shocks I could use those weld in shock mounts as long as I asked for the correct bushings to be placed in the upper eye...

I got the lower shock mounts and ubolt plates, same as you. I think that I found a way to do the upper shock mount too...detail to follow later.

You are right about the 5/8 bolt on the FOX shock. KING and RaceRunners are the same. I want the heims on the ends though so I have to keep the 1/2 inch mounting hole.

Can ya PM me with the details on what you are thinking for the upper mounts?

I didn't read the entire thread, but what is the point of moving the shock mount further up? Is it just to get it out of the way of the rocks? I know I've nailed mine several times, and perhaps I'll look at moving the shock mount up this fall, with the addition of the SAS as well.

Yeah...that--at least for me--is the big reason...I didn't like the idea of just replacing the ubolt plate with something like the darlington skidderz as I felt this was a limited solution--still leaving the lowest point in roughly the same spot(though admittedly more protected) also will be moving both shocks to the rear of the axle instead of the current offset situation, further protecting the drivers side shock mount and leaving much less for things to get hung up on...

Nice. I kinda wish I would've done something similar when I did my SOA. But I have another chance at 'er when I finally do the SAS this fall.

Like hearing good ideas. Folks always thinkin', that's how it gets done.