UPDATED: Replacing Rear Shocks: Reducing the rear end bounce.

[rreddy3]

The only lift points on the car are the unibody side rails, so you cannot do one end at a time. You can do each side, NASCAR-style if you are using a load spreader. Otherwise, you are stuck jacking one corner at a time. If you prefer to do the front end only or the back end only, I would suggest obtaining a set of JackPoint Jack stands. You still have to lift one corner at a time but those stands are easier to use for cars that have dedicated lift points than traditional stands. The down side is they’re really expensive. ??

I have a Norco 71330 3 ton floor jack. Looking at jackpoint critical dimensions for floor jack clearance and comparing w/ measurements I took on the jack, the jack width max and width at lift arm exceed the max allowable clearance of the jp stands. So much for toying with the idea of getting jackpoint stands. ? very happy, more $ available for kibble and toys.

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[HuntingPudel]

I have a Norco 71330 3 ton floor jack. Looking at jackpoint critical dimensions for floor jack clearance and comparing w/ measurements I took on the jack, the jack width max and width at lift arm exceed the max allowable clearance of the jp stands. So much for toying with the idea of getting jackpoint stands. ? very happy, more $ available for kibble and toys.

I bought a low clearance 3 ton floor jack from Harbor Freight for another reason, but after getting my car I bought their load spreader. Now I just jack the car up one side at a time, NASCAR-style. If I need to have one end up, I just put the car on 4 stands. ?‍?

 

[Anton]

Hey Anton, yes dialing back the Koni's a bit will give a slightly better ride but of course will bring back some bounce. Your car was my test mule for these Koni's and I remember when we were taking multiple drives on HWY 41 where there were expansion joints and the back end had quite a bit of bounce, the most firm setting on the Koni's gave us the least bounce. Basically just about eliminated it on your stretch of highway. Replacing the OEM springs with the Eibach GT progressive lowering springs will give a slightly smoother ride and maybe will bring it back to how it was with the OEM springs and the Koni's. It's hard to say as everyone has a slightly different trim car, different roads, etc. The car will also be lower and not sure that is a good thing if you frequently have it loaded down especially in the rear with passengers.

On another note, since your car was the first to get the Koni's that I modded and it has been over a year now that you have had them on the car, is the bounce still greatly reduced and are you still happy with them?

Hi Mark! Yes, the bounce is still greatly reduced. It feels the same way as it did when the Koni's were first installed. If there were any changes since then, they were gradual and I didn't notice them. At times I do get a bit squeamish when I hit a really harsh pothole (especially with people riding in the back), but I just try to watch out for those and avoid.

I did change my wheels and tires from OEM to 20x8.5+40 255/45/20, so maybe lowering the car should be avoided. Especially considering I'll have not 1, but 2 car seats riding in the back here very soon. But kids are light, right?

Anyways, I'm not super eager on making the car ride less harsh as I find it good. Just always on the look out for ways to improve.

 

[markboris]

Hi Mark! Yes, the bounce is still greatly reduced. It feels the same way as it did when the Koni's were first installed. If there were any changes since then, they were gradual and I didn't notice them. At times I do get a bit squeamish when I hit a really harsh pothole (especially with people riding in the back), but I just try to watch out for those and avoid.

I did change my wheels and tires from OEM to 20x8.5+40 255/45/20, so maybe lowering the car should be avoided. Especially considering I'll have not 1, but 2 car seats riding in the back here very soon. But kids are light, right?

Anyways, I'm not super eager on making the car ride less harsh as I find it good. Just always on the look out for ways to improve.

Glad to hear after more than a year all is still well with your ride. Congratulations on kid #2 ?. In your case, I would not mess with the height of the car.

 

[rreddy3]

I bought a low clearance 3 ton floor jack from Harbor Freight for another reason, but after getting my car I bought their load spreader. Now I just jack the car up one side at a time, NASCAR-style. If I need to have one end up, I just put the car on 4 stands. ?‍?

Steve, On Harbor Freight's website I see they have a "steel floor jack cross beam" under their Daytona brand name. It can adjust from 28 to 37" spread. Is this the one you use Steve? Do you jack on what I'll call the unibody frame rail (of course staying out board of the battery box frame) about mid-way between the front and rear jack/jack stand points? thanks

 

[HuntingPudel]

Steve, On Harbor Freight's website I see they have a "steel floor jack cross beam" under their Daytona brand name. It can adjust from 28 to 37" spread. Is this the one you use Steve? Do you jack on what I'll call the unibody frame rail (of course staying out board of the battery box frame) about mid-way between the front and rear jack/jack stand points? thanks

Yes and yes. I don’t know if the load spreader fits any brand of Jack other than theirs since I bought one of their jacks prior to buying the cross beam. It sure as heck won’t fit in place of my much larger floor jack’s industry-standard (for when I bought it in the ‘70s) saddle. ?‍?

 

[rreddy3]

Yes and yes. I don’t know if the load spreader fits any brand of Jack other than theirs since I bought one of their jacks prior to buying the cross beam. It sure as heck won’t fit in place of my much larger floor jack’s industry-standard (for when I bought it in the ‘70s) saddle. ?‍?

I would have to check that fit. Also if you need to keep the jack and spreader perpendicular to each other, as opposed to jack at an angle, I might not have clearance. On the inside garage wall next to where car lives is a hefty steel rack system that takes a lot of floor space. Other side has MME’s stable mate, a ‘57 Morgan currently up on jack stands and not going anywhere until I figure what’s next in the project. ??. For those offended by MME’s ride qualities, I strongly urge you avoid any vintage Morgan. On a good day they ride like coal buggies. Normally I would want the jack and spreader at right angles to each other to try and be sure spreader is balanced. Oh well, I’ll figure it out. Thanks again for the info Steve.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

I bought a 3' long 2" x 3" x 1/4" thick steel box beam from metalsdepot.com or somewhere similar and glued a hockey puck at each end of one side with construction adhesive to use as a load spreader. Easy to jack one side at a time and there's enough room to put jack stands between the spreader and the wheels. Looks to be about $75 shipped for the steel now.

 

[rreddy3]

I bought a 3' long 2" x 3" x 1/4" thick steel box beam from metalsdepot.com or somewhere similar and glued a hockey puck at each end of one side with construction adhesive to use as a load spreader. Easy to jack one side at a time and there's enough room to put jack stands between the spreader and the wheels. Looks to be about $75 shipped for the steel now.

Thanks. Did you position the 2x3 with 2 or 3” side vertical as the web of the beam? Any problems keeping the beam centered and stable on your floor jack? Thanks ?!

 

[sukhoi_584th]

Thanks. Did you position the 2x3 with 2 or 3” side vertical as the web of the beam? Any problems keeping the beam centered and stable on your floor jack? Thanks ?!

The less tippy way. 2" side is vertical. I did a bending load calculation before I bought the pieces and it'll hold something like 8000 lb, so should be plenty margin of safety. The hockey pucks protect the paint and give clearance for all the battery pack bolt heads. Then I use ESCO 3 ton flat top jack stands. For the jack I use a JEGS 3 ton low profile, which I think is necessary to get enough clearance to fit the spreader bar. Otherwise I'd normally use my old taller 3 ton jack.

 

[rreddy3]

The less tippy way. 2" side is vertical. I did a bending load calculation before I bought the pieces and it'll hold something like 8000 lb, so should be plenty margin of safety. The hockey pucks protect the paint and give clearance for all the battery pack bolt heads. Then I use ESCO 3 ton flat top jack stands. For the jack I use a JEGS 3 ton low profile, which I think is necessary to get enough clearance to fit the spreader bar. Otherwise I'd normally use my old taller 3 ton jack.

thanks for the information. I have some of the ESCO 3 ton flat top jack stands too. I like them. The JEGS looks very similar to my Norco 3 ton jack. I see your point on the clearance issue between jack w/spreader and car's unibody. I think the Norco is about 3" high fully collapsed. Thanks again.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

Oh I should add that the metal is probably going to arrive covered in oil and grease. I washed mine in a utility sink, used a blower to dry it, and gave it a quick coat of spray paint to avoid rust. I used sand paper to rough up the paint and the hockey pucks before gluing. It's all in compression so the glue doesn't need to hold much.

 

[rreddy3]

Oh I should add that the metal is probably going to arrive covered in oil and grease. I washed mine in a utility sink, used a blower to dry it, and gave it a quick coat of spray paint to avoid rust. I used sand paper to rough up the paint and the hockey pucks before gluing. It's all in compression so the glue doesn't need to hold much.

thanks

 

[rreddy3]

The less tippy way. 2" side is vertical. I did a bending load calculation before I bought the pieces and it'll hold something like 8000 lb, so should be plenty margin of safety. The hockey pucks protect the paint and give clearance for all the battery pack bolt heads. Then I use ESCO 3 ton flat top jack stands. For the jack I use a JEGS 3 ton low profile, which I think is necessary to get enough clearance to fit the spreader bar. Otherwise I'd normally use my old taller 3 ton jack.

My jack measures about 4", maybe a 1/8 less, car measures about 8" from floor to the frame rail, battery box rail lower, didn't measure it, looks maybe close to 1 1/2 or 2". distance from battery box rail to plastic rocker panel trim is about 3 1/2" or so. So, if a puck is maybe 1", plus 4" for jack, 2" beam height will work, 3 would be a press fit to no fit. and a 3" diameter puck would be about right. I think I'll give Norco a call and see if they have a spreader bar ready to go although I don't see one on their website. But your method looks good, thanks.

 

[rreddy3]

Yes and yes. I don’t know if the load spreader fits any brand of Jack other than theirs since I bought one of their jacks prior to buying the cross beam. It sure as heck won’t fit in place of my much larger floor jack’s industry-standard (for when I bought it in the ‘70s) saddle. ?‍?

I'm fairly sure it won't fit on my Norco floor jack. I took a spin out to Harbor Freight in Manassas yesterday to check out the spreader and give the blue cruise another test run on 66. The BC works fine on my car, but not sure it's worth buying when trial is up in a few weeks. HF didn't have a spreader in a box we could open to check the connector bolt. I volunteered if they had a hex wrench the right size I could pop the bolt out of the display model and compare it to the bolt from my Norco. That was a no fly zone at HF. Go figure. I said I'd put it back together . I did call HF CS and was told the connector bolt is 1"OD, 4" long, and 8 T/I pitch. I have a metric pitch gauge and measured the Norco bolt at 1.5mm and major diameter of threads at what seems a kind of odd figure of about 23.5mm, of course I can hardly read the markings on my caliper with or without glasses. Maybe it's time to go digital ... Norco confirmed their sizes are metric. So, there you have it ... either I lift one corner at a time or make a DYI spreader.

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