Hey'all, been a looong time since I have posted on here. Hopefully just a quick questions for ya.
I recently picked up a 1988 Ramcharger that I plan to restore for a daily driver. I went onto Rock Auto and bought 1700 bucks worth of new parts, basically everything I need to rebuild everything mechanical. In that pile of parts I got a new set of shocks.

This afternoon I pulled out the shocks and before installing them I compared to the old ones and realized that they are quite a bit smaller in diameter, and also a few inches shorter. With just the weight of the bare frame on the springs, they are too short to install. If I compress the springs by an inch or less then I could get them to go on.

I am wondering if possibly the old shocks were truck shocks VS the Ramcharger shocks? I dont know if there is a difference, Or if they are plain wrong? I could probably make them work, but I want to make sure I got the correct parts first. Both the front and the backs are thinner and shorter, so it isnt like just one part number was wrong or something.
Appreciate some advice.
Cheers,

Jake

 

diameter is not as big of an issue. did you order shocks for 2wd or 4x4? there is a 2" difference in length. is there a possible lift kit on the ramcharger?

 

That's good to know.... I'm going to cross reference the part number and see if possibly they could be for the 2wd.... there is definitely no lift kit, all is factory original.
I'll check those part numbers again and report back.
Thanks

 

Just checked my parts listings, both front and rear shocks are listed on rock auto as being for 4WD application.

Fronts - Monroe 31131 with extended length of 23.375
Rears - Gabriel 81342 with extended length of 28.89\

The weird part, is that if I compare to other 4WD shock options, these ones are actually the same or longer. I also checked the listings for the W150 instead of the Ramcharger and they use the same parts.
Guess I will work with what i've got... at least I know I didnt screw up my order...

 

if the new shocks are shorter than the old ones and the ones you ordered seem to be longest out of them then there must be a lift kit on it. really hard to tell if a truck has been lifted or not if it is done right and wasn't done recently. i know my ramcharger was lifted but it was sitting on 33's when i bought it.

 

Figured it out.... I opened the shocks when it was -12.... came back today after the weekend an found them all full length. They were moving so slowly I couldn't even pull them right out when they were cold and new. Everything bolted up perfectly now.
thanks for the words of wisdom.

 

that would do it. everything is slower moving in the cold lol. i actually replaced a tailgate shock on my ramcharger last week because it is lazy when cold but fine when it was warm out.