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EgoXF

Short body rear shocks for ute?

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Hey guys. I'm looking for some shorter bodied shocks for the back of my XF ute. I'm aware that there are probably high end solutions on the market but as I have a tight budget I was wondering if anybody knows of any shocks from a different make and model that would fit the ute? I've heard of people taking shocks from more commonly modified cars and swapping them into the more obscure stuff before so I was wondering if it might be an option for us? The bottom plate could easily be modified so that may open up some options?

 

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i don't think the normal ones can bottom out before the tail shaft hits the floor anyway, even with lowered leaves(i believe this because...see image below)

 

try measure it though,  it might be possible. 

 

TaCVy3A.jpg

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Many moons ago, I had a TF Corty with raised (yes) springs and I kept topping the front shocks out and flogging the bushes. I went to a place here in Sydney called Rallyequip (who sell old man emu stuff). The bloke put me on to some F100 front shocks, then I needed to make my own brackets for the lower mount as the originals were pin/cross shaft but the F100 was pin/pin. So what I'm getting at is you need to determine how much stroke you need then if you have to adapt the mount, so be it.

If you really do need something that's shorter stroke, maybe a light commercial like a Rodeo or Courier (same front shocks for both) is the go. I think they're pin/pin from memory.

But like Dean said, you'll likely bottom out in other areas like bump stops and tailshaft before the shocks do.

Or are you trying to limit the amount of travel so you can run the exhaust under the axle without it hitting at full droop?

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i don't think the normal ones can bottom out before the tail shaft hits the floor anyway, even with lowered leaves(i believe this because...see image below)
 
try measure it though,  it might be possible. 
 
TaCVy3A.jpg
That's some serious carnage right there

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2 hours ago, gerg said:

That's some serious carnage right there

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as most people find out when the tail shaft is TOO LONG(in an engine conversion) you can suffer tail shaft "WHIP" on a non IRS car. this is good reason to go 2 piece tail shaft in long instances.. this risk is increased by going a higher ratio diff(spinning faster for same speed) and actually going faster (higher tail shaft speed) and the icing on the cake Bumpy road.. 
the AU ute tail shaft is the longest ones fords come with,  it could have fitted this application but i was recommended to not use one as they go bang at 180kmh... turns out a custom thick wall 3" custom does also... 

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Do you have an idea of length you're chasing?
I can throw some dimensions at the computers at work and see if there's something that comes close that is reasonably common/affordable?

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The old Monroe/Gabriel catalogue used to have measurements in the back of it. Body size, bore, stroke etc. Always handy when guys would come in with a Corvette or something unusual.

Anyone still got a conversion guide, old paper catalogue.??

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Thanks for the info guys. I'm only looking into it as I put the diff back in the ute the other day without shocks to get it rolling again, and I noticed that it has lowered a good inch or more than it was before. I might be completely wrong (I know little about suspension setups and geometry), but the only difference Is the fact that it doesn't have any shocks in it, so I guessed that if I were to run a shorter shock it may sit a little bit lower? Maybe the standard ute shocks keep it sitting higher? Please let me know if I'm incorrect here haha

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You didn't by chance sandblast and re paint your springs? If so that can be the reason why it's sitting lower, blasting springs can create enough heat to re temper springs and make them lose their elasticity, ask me how I know

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On 4/6/2020 at 10:07 AM, deankdx said:

as most people find out when the tail shaft is TOO LONG(in an engine conversion) you can suffer tail shaft "WHIP" on a non IRS car. this is good reason to go 2 piece tail shaft in long instances.. this risk is increased by going a higher ratio diff(spinning faster for same speed) and actually going faster (higher tail shaft speed) and the icing on the cake Bumpy road.. 
the AU ute tail shaft is the longest ones fords come with,  it could have fitted this application but i was recommended to not use one as they go bang at 180kmh... turns out a custom thick wall 3" custom does also... 

i just had my ute xf 1992 steel shaft shortened by about 2-3 inches,cause the c6 was longer than b/w or c4,i was worried about it doing a whip as well as the 31spline yolk was twice as long as the old 28spline one,but all seems good,took on freeway and no whip or jumping,was balanced as well,the gtho also ran a shorter tailshaft cause of long extension housing top loader,but why may i ask do you want to get short shox ? 

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In a nut shell......

Shockers don't have anything to do with ride height, springs do all the work. Imagine driving over a railway crossing, and bouncing 3 or 4 times on the other side, shockies just stop this.

 

There's obviously lots more to it, but you get the drift..?

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