Hey all. I got my Rough Country shocks that are supposed to work with my 2" of lift.

I hav'nt done rear shocks but it should be easy, a bolt on the frame and a bolt on the axle.

I would imagine that I am going to have to get the truck on jack stands and let the suspension hang at full droop to easily get these things on.

Do I have to though? Can I mount the tops and then compress the shock while laying on my back with a benching motion and get that rear bolt in while leaving the truck on the ground?

Reason I ask is, my jack and jack stands are 45min away from here, lol.

 

you are correst with the second idea you have...no jacking needed..... i have the same shocks and the only problem you will have is that the top sshock mount is a little narrower than our perches. so put a washer on either side of the shock to snug it in between the perch, then tighten till tight! they are really good shocks and you should be happy with the results!

 

Thats GREAT news. Each shock came with a little bag that has washers just for that reason.

Ok so I can compress the shocks with elbow grease? Great, I was concerned since they are nitrogen 200psi, i wasnt sure if they would be PITA. But from what i hear with a good push, they will slowly start to compress right? and Once i get them compressed enough I can get that axle mount bolt into place?

QUICK QUESTION THOUGH:

I see that the rod end elbow mount is not as wide as the barrel end of the shock, do these shocks only go in one way? Which way? Does the rod end connect to the axle or the frame?

Thanks for the response, can't wait to put them in.

 

Rod up to the frame. You will need a shorty wrench for the top mounting hardware. I cut a cheap box-end wrench in half.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Quick tip for the bar pins. If they are not installed you will need a table vice and some lithium grease. Yes you can install them without lifting the truck up or jacking anything. Let us know if there are bar pins or not. Cause those are the hardest thing to install on shocks with new bushings!

 

Bar pins? There is a set of metal inserts that go into the bushing, its like a tiny pipe piece, it slides right in though, np.

 

Ok i installed the shocks, total time was about 30minutes. I didnt jack up the truck, i just unbolted each shock at the axle, then each at the frame, dropped them out, and replaced them with the new rough country ones.

Each shock came with one bushing sleeve, which i assumed was for the Rod end, because, as stated by coondog05, the rod end wasn't quite wide enough and needed washers, but the bushing sleeve was a bit wider, and once installed and the washer hanging on the ends of the bushing sleeve, the fit was just right. The tube end, that bolts to the axle did not have a bushing sleeve, and this end's bushing was polyurathaine. It needed a sleeve so i took two off of the old shocks, for the bottoms of the new shocks. I had to compress the shocks by hand to line them up at the axle but that was easy.

NJJer stated in another thread that these shocks were way to long and would not work out, but they worked out fine for me. They were about 4 or 5" longer then the factory shocks, but once compressed and mounted, they seemed right to me.

It was hard to notice a huge difference riding home on smooth roads but I do have some speed bumps where I live, before when i went over them i would get a bounce or two in the rear followed with some noise that sounded like you were jumping on an old matress, now I just get a "THUD" and no bounce. That makes me satisfied without further testing.

So far, I say they are worth the small price of $70 for the set.

Tools needed:

half inch ratchet with 18mm socket
18", half-inch drive breaker bar with 18mm socket (or another ratchet, but its nice to have a breaker bar rest on the ground so the nut doesnt spin when you unbolt the bolt from the axle)

Heres a Picture:

The boots are actually from another shock company, they were cheaper. Yeah, i stuck the rough country stickers on the housing, lol.

 

That is the bushing sleeve. That is good news. Then its just a bolt that slides through on both sides?

Or are these installed on one side of the shock. If not then we are set. I could go look for myself but dont have the truck near me at this time.

 

It was just bolts that went through the bushing. No bar pins. I posted a pic above.