Rear shock replacement DIY Monroe shocks

**dancar420** · 01-06-2007, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfcitylocal

I don't have a clunk with these shocks. Did you make sure the parts were put back in the correct order? As far as the height, there was no difference with the new shocks, it's the springs that change the ride height.

I meant on the highth when you are down all the way with the air ride

surfcitylocal · 01-07-2007, 04:07 AM

This is where it sits right now at full drop.

blackbox · 01-07-2007, 09:21 AM

so will these shocks make you sag even more when you have alot a people in the car.there are speed bumps in my housing community and i scrape the bottom of my chasee when i pass over them.i put some df210s on my car to lower it but , when i bought them they where already used, so i thought that my car was'nt gonna go any lower.well, that wasnt the case because when i first put them on it was'nt hitting like it is now.is there something wrong with my car or is this normal?

surfcitylocal · 01-07-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackbox

so will these shocks make you sag even more when you have alot a people in the car.there are speed bumps in my housing community and i scrape the bottom of my chasee when i pass over them.i put some df210s on my car to lower it but , when i bought them they where already used, so i thought that my car was'nt gonna go any lower.well, that wasnt the case because when i first put them on it was'nt hitting like it is now.is there something wrong with my car or is this normal?

The springs will sag with time just as a stock spring will. Shocks will wear out as well, losing their effectiveness and allowing you to bottom-out. Having extra weight in the back will also make your Box ride lower. I don't know too many peeps that have installed the DF-210's that can make it over a speed bump without going at an angle.

**dancar420** · 01-07-2007, 01:41 PM

hey taz do you want your front to sit lower I got a way to do it

. arent you using the universal air set up?

surfcitylocal · 01-08-2007, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancar420

hey taz do you want your front to sit lower I got a way to do it

. arent you using the universal air set up?

You mean like this?

I flipped my upper strut mounts today and got a much lower stance. I can't drive at full drop anymore though and I have to work out something for the fender/bumper joint. I had to remove it too keep the fender from buckling.

What's your method cause it looks SEXY!

BoxerRebellion · 01-08-2007, 01:45 AM

^^^ man your car is looking amazing bro! The kit and stance are seriously bada$$.

**dancar420** · 01-08-2007, 09:21 PM

hey did you flip it and leave it under the stut tower. and who did the welding on the plates for the strut bag brackets did uni air do them. cause i didnt flip them I just put them on top but if I flip them and put them on top I can probably get 2 more inches but that was with the old wheels

surfcitylocal · 01-09-2007, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancar420

hey did you flip it and leave it under the stut tower. and who did the welding on the plates for the strut bag brackets did uni air do them. cause i didnt flip them I just put them on top but if I flip them and put them on top I can probably get 2 more inches but that was with the old wheels

I flipped the mounts but put them on top.

The welding was done by a guy at a Midas muffler shop in Brea. 20 bucks and 20 minutes on a Saturday morning.

Is that the idea you had? To flip the mounts or did you have another idea in mind?

**dancar420** · 01-09-2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfcitylocal

I flipped the mounts but put them on top.

The welding was done by a guy at a Midas muffler shop in Brea. 20 bucks and 20 minutes on a Saturday morning.

Is that the idea you had? To flip the mounts or did you have another idea in mind?

yeah that is how I was going to tell you but its weird when I do it to mine it sits way lower. right now I just have mine sitting on top but they are not flipped and I sit just as low. do you have any pics of just the struts assembled cause that is really not safe flipped like that if you noticed the bearing is just cased in rubber and it is on top and all the weight of the car is sitting on the bearing it might just rip out. take a look at it and let me know I want to know if it looks like it is ripping

surfcitylocal · 01-10-2007, 02:16 AM

Here's what I did to beef it up a little.

Notice the washer on top of the bearing. It keeps the pressure on the bearing housing and not just the center portion.

The interior of the strut now...
Bump stop:

Washer:

Extra bearing ( in addition to the one on top):

If you have a pic of yours post it up. I'm not clear on how you put it on top but didn't flip it.

**dancar420** · 01-10-2007, 06:14 PM

do you have pics of the bottom bracket. I didnt use the bearing are you sure it goes inside they told me I didnt need the bearing if it had one on top. as for the top mount I just put it on top like it was on top of the strut. I guess we will have to see each other at the scinergy show at valley high.

surfcitylocal · 01-11-2007, 01:48 AM

Well shut my mouth and call me Susan. I talked to Zack today at Universal Air. He explained the set up to me AGAIN and this time I got it right. The bearing does go on top of the upper bag plate and below the upper strut mount. I changed it over tonight and what a difference. The steering feels so much better.

Here are a few pics of the correct way.

The bottom mounting plate:

I bet Cravin (Pat) is going to be so happy when we do his install since I've done all the bonehead moves on mine. As of tonight, with the exception of a digital management system or some good gauges, the friggin' system is rockin'!

Genesis_26317 · 01-11-2007, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fcastle

Nice! So hows the ride? Been looking to replace the stock shocks since I put in the progressive coilovers. People say it's bouncy back there.

It's going to be bouncy back there no matter what, mine is way bouncy even with stock soft shocks.

It's not a sedan or a SUV its a stiff chasisied FWD car with a box body sitting on top of it, aka wagon. That' one of the reasons it handles so tightly, you can't have both on a car that is so reasonably priced, aka Lexus/Caddies.

What kind of springs do you have? Even with progressives it isn't going to help to much if they are race/street performance springs.

Progressives help it stay streetable while having much better performance and also help it go over bumps without flipping the car side to side and making it unstable.

I assume the xB has progressives in the front stick with linears in the rear. Anyway with hard springs and soft shocks it is going to be seriously jaring and pogo-stickish while at the same time it can be very damaging to the stock shocks (non-heavy duty) and degrade them over time well before there original lifetime expectancy is reached.

**dancar420** · 01-11-2007, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfcitylocal

Well shut my mouth and call me Susan. I talked to Zack today at Universal Air. He explained the set up to me AGAIN and this time I got it right. The bearing does go on top of the upper bag plate and below the upper strut mount. I changed it over tonight and what a difference. The steering feels so much better.

Here are a few pics of the correct way.

The bottom mounting plate:

I bet Cravin (Pat) is going to be so happy when we do his install since I've done all the bonehead moves on mine. As of tonight, with the exception of a digital management system or some good gauges, the friggin' system is rockin'!

yeah now I see what is different I cut of the factory spring perch and I needed to put a pipe on and then I put the lower bracket on [the pipe was to make them fit tighter together] and I was told the lower bracket was to be no less than a 1/2 inch clearance to the tire. next time I can I will get you a picture so you know what I did. if you want when you do cravin (pat) let me know and we can hook up and I will weld his together like mine or if you want to re do yours

rton20s · 01-11-2007, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genesis_26317

It's going to be bouncy back there no matter what, mine is way bouncy even with stock soft shocks.

The stock shocks are anything but soft. The Monroe shocks are a much better match to our spring rate if you are seeking a smooth ride.

All reports to those with more severe drops say that using the Monroe 5870 produce a smoother ride as well.

surfcitylocal · 01-11-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancar420

yeah now I see what is different I cut of the factory spring perch and I needed to put a pipe on and then I put the lower bracket on [the pipe was to make them fit tighter together] and I was told the lower bracket was to be no less than a 1/2 inch clearance to the tire. next time I can I will get you a picture so you know what I did. if you want when you do cravin (pat) let me know and we can hook up and I will weld his together like mine or if you want to re do yours

I'd like to see that. I have the pipe on mine it's just cut down quite a bit. I had thought about getting the Echo struts to lower the bottom spring perch but I think it would be a little too low.

Not sure if I'm understanding right, did you cut the spring perch off completely and weld the pipe to the strut? I thought about that but I didn't think it would be a good idea to heat the sucker up with the gas inside and all.

Genesis_26317 · 01-11-2007, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rton20s

The stock shocks are anything but soft. The Monroe shocks are a much better match to our spring rate if you are seeking a smooth ride.

All reports to those with more severe drops say that using the Monroe 5870 produce a smoother ride as well.

I guess we have a different meaning of the word "soft"

.

squirrel · 01-11-2007, 06:55 PM

Wow, some really nice xBs on air!

**dancar420** · 01-11-2007, 09:09 PM

How much lower is the perch now than it was at stock height?

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfcitylocal

I'd like to see that. I have the pipe on mine it's just cut down quite a bit. I had thought about getting the Echo struts to lower the bottom spring perch but I think it would be a little too low.

Not sure if I'm understanding right, did you cut the spring perch off completely and weld the pipe to the strut? I thought about that but I didn't think it would be a good idea to heat the sucker up with the gas inside and all.

yeah I cut it of completely and put another pipe on and then put the bracket on and yes its welded on the strut. I didnt care cause I needed new struts