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Old 08-23-2019, 11:11 PM   #1
adzints7
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Custom rebuildable shocks

I have a 1972 4x4 suburban 5.3l 4l80e swap. I have new ORD springs, shackle flip and bilstein 5125 shocks. The ride is nice and soft but I could use a little more control from the shocks. ORD suggests rebuildable shocks. Any insight on who to purchase from? I was thinking fox 2.0’s but would love some ideas from others.

My issue is a lot of body roll and wandering. My steering is pretty tight but I’ll be going through that at the same time, or prior to, upgrading shocks.
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Old 08-24-2019, 09:37 AM   #2
HO455
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

I have no suggestions for shocks, but for your symptoms, are you running a front sway bar? Have you checked your shackles for wear?
That is a good looking Burban you have there!
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Old 08-24-2019, 10:08 AM   #3
Ziegelsteinfaust
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

From my limited knowledge. Fox or King are the two best choices.

The ones you can buy on Summit from like QA1 are decent for a 4x4.

If you off road a lot it's Fox or King.

If it's a drive around truck the QA1's are a good choice.

It is down to what you want to do in the end, and how much of it.
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Old 08-25-2019, 08:52 PM   #4
adzints7
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

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Originally Posted by HO455 View Post
I have no suggestions for shocks, but for your symptoms, are you running a front sway bar? Have you checked your shackles for wear?
That is a good looking Burban you have there!
I do not have a sway bar front or rear, I have looked online and was unsure if any would work without some modification. It is on the radar though. There was a post regarding the same search for sway bars and I read that/followed the Lin to sdsprings.com I will probably order one and take a look. Shackles are all new from ORD. Steering components all feel good upon basic inspection but they are original. I think they are all original, no drop pitman or any other component to make up for the lift but it all lines up pretty good. Maybe this is a bump steer issue and I have just never felt it? I have only driven modern trucks until this one and the new springs are pretty soft compared to what was on it the past few years. Thanks for your input, I think I typed out a response 5 times but kept getting interrupted over the weekend....
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Old 08-25-2019, 08:53 PM   #5
adzints7
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

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Originally Posted by Ziegelsteinfaust View Post
From my limited knowledge. Fox or King are the two best choices.

The ones you can buy on Summit from like QA1 are decent for a 4x4.

If you off road a lot it's Fox or King.

If it's a drive around truck the QA1's are a good choice.

It is down to what you want to do in the end, and how much of it.
Thank you, I will look at all of them before I go down this road. Off-road or on!
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:58 PM   #6
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

My 1972 K10 LWB PU with 4" lift and 33's had a wandering condition, and it's a combination of issues that I am working to resolve.
1. Body mounts
2. Front upper shackle bushings
3. Rear leaf bushings
4. Worn out shocks

I just had the alignment checked, and it is spot on as is.
However all of my ball joints in the Dana 44 are pretty bad, but not really a main cause to the wandering condition but do contribute to it.

First project was replacing all of the body mounts that were missing or shot. I replaced these with OE mounts, since the poly ones are a little too much for what is needed.

Second project was to repair the worn out front upper shackle housings and bushings. Replaced with bigger, and polly urethane bushes.
Just this alone cleared up most of the wandering, to the point that it's a livable situation and doesn't freak me out anymore.

Soon I plan to replace the worn out rear rubber bushes with polly's.
Then I will most likely install Bilstein 5100's for shocks.

I have rebuildable Kings in my 2002 Toyota Tacoma 4x4, they are a huge improvement over the basic gas shocks but they need to be gone through every 2 years since the seals blow out in them. I personally wouldn't go that route for a leaf sprung truck like ours...

Work on replacing all bushings with poly urethane, and make sure your front axle and steering equipment are ok.

I'm also contemplating installing airbags in the rear, since I have on board air compressors.
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Last edited by vectorit; 08-28-2019 at 03:52 PM.
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Old 08-28-2019, 06:58 PM   #7
Ziegelsteinfaust
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

I personally would avoid poly bushings in a leaf sprung 4x4 that is intended to go off road. My K20 started to crack it's poly bushings after a few times of trying to be serious.

The bushings allow some deflection, and this helps off road. Poly doesn't, and can crack.

But it is up to you on how to proceed with your build since intended use means everything.
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Old 08-28-2019, 07:28 PM   #8
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziegelsteinfaust View Post
I personally would avoid poly bushings in a leaf sprung 4x4 that is intended to go off road. My K20 started to crack it's poly bushings after a few times of trying to be serious.

The bushings allow some deflection, and this helps off road. Poly doesn't, and can crack.

But it is up to you on how to proceed with your build since intended use means everything.
Agreed.
That's why I did not use poly on the body mounts.
But the spring bushings I decided to go poly, where typically I would stay with OE style rubber. Just decided to give them a try to firm up things.
If they don't work out, it's not a big deal for me to replace to OE style.
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:20 PM   #9
adzints7
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

So my bushings and mounts are all new. Stock front hanger but the bolts and bushings are new. Chris, you chimed in on FB already but I am thinking I need steering correction. So the question is, what do I go with? Dropped pitman, raised steering or S drag link?? How do you determine it is correct?
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Old 08-31-2019, 02:20 PM   #10
K20super
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

I have helped build several trucks ranging from clean street drivers to king of the hammers trucks and by far the best we have had luck using is the kings. They have great tech support and are easy to revalve with disc yourself if you want to adjust a little more for your liking. I also am running cross over steering on my 72 k20 pickup and wouldn't go back on a lifted truck.
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Old 08-31-2019, 02:44 PM   #11
adzints7
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

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Originally Posted by K20super View Post
I have helped build several trucks ranging from clean street drivers to king of the hammers trucks and by far the best we have had luck using is the kings. They have great tech support and are easy to revalve with disc yourself if you want to adjust a little more for your liking. I also am running cross over steering on my 72 k20 pickup and wouldn't go back on a lifted truck.
Thanks for your thoughts on Kings. I had some on a tundra and they were great. I was going to add to this thread but it kind of changes the subject so I’ll be starting a new thread. I’ve found my steering needs some attention and have been reading about benefits and shortcomings of crossover for street driving. I do 95% street driving for the foreseeable future, once my kids are older I hope to do more Offroad but nothing wild, just cruising. I am going to post a video of my current issue, I’d like to hear your thoughts if you have any.
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Old 09-05-2019, 10:13 PM   #12
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Re: Custom rebuildable shocks

I had replaced everything up front to fix stearing issues last year and the last 10% was rear leaf spring bushings and shackle bushings causing my truck to wander.
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