Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 I got you covered. Maybe not today. That soaking rain has left everything a muddy mess. With that, I've got to get off to work..... What I'll do today is tighten the lower shock bolt w/o having the upper part of the shock in the tower. That'll show where the shock wants to go w/o being influenced by the tower. But that will show where the shock wants to go with no load on the suspension. Does the axle rotate any as weight is put on? Or does it just go up and down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 What I'll do today is tighten the lower shock bolt w/o having the upper part of the shock in the tower. That'll show where the shock wants to go w/o being influenced by the tower. But that will show where the shock wants to go with no load on the suspension. Does the axle rotate any as weight is put on? Or does it just go up and down? Gary, the spring now pivots at the front, and when the arch flattens, obviously the shackle deflects and the axle moves rearward That's kind of the whole point of a RSK.... The axle is allowed to 'go with' the bump instead of being pushed into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 Gary, the spring now pivots at the front, and when the arch flattens, obviously the shackle deflects and the axle moves rearward That's kind of the whole point of a RSK.... The axle is allowed to 'go with' the bump instead of being pushed into it. Yes, now I remember! In fact, as the weight comes onto the suspension when the truck comes down off the lift the axle will move a bit to the rear. That being the case, we want any potential mismatch of the shock to the tower to accommodate the rear movement. Meaning that the shock should naturally fall to the front of the shock tower when the truck is on the lift and then move to the rear as the weight comes on. But, will the axle rotate any when the spring deflects? Won't it rotate such that the pinion comes up a bit as the spring flattens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 Yes, now I remember! In fact, as the weight comes onto the suspension when the truck comes down off the lift the axle will move a bit to the rear. That being the case, we want any potential mismatch of the shock to the tower to accommodate the rear movement. Meaning that the shock should naturally fall to the front of the shock tower when the truck is on the lift and then move to the rear as the weight comes on. But, will the axle rotate any when the spring deflects? Won't it rotate such that the pinion comes up a bit as the spring flattens? It may, some. But both sides of the spring flatten, so really just the pivoting on the front spring eye. And the panhard (without heim joints) helps, even if only a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 It may, some.But both sides of the spring flatten, so really just the pivoting on the front spring eye.And the panhard (without heim joints) helps, even if only a little.A couple of things. First, I called Erik at Sky. He has the u-bolts in stock and will get them out this morning, his time. Sure good to do business with him. As for the torque question, he said he doesn't torque the spring or shackle bolt to spec. Instead he tightens them until they start compressing the bushings. After that I bolted the shock into the lower plate and torqued the bolt down to spec to ensure the shock is firmly held in place at the bottom, and shot this video. And, while this shows that the shock goes into the tower perfectly, this is with no weight on it. So I asked Erik, and he suggested that I be patient and wait until I have the engine in and the truck on the ground. So, I guess I'll wait.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 A couple of things. First, I called Erik at Sky. He has the u-bolts in stock and will get them out this morning, his time. Sure good to do business with him. As for the torque question, he said he doesn't torque the spring or shackle bolt to spec. Instead he tightens them until they start compressing the bushings. After that I bolted the shock into the lower plate and torqued the bolt down to spec to ensure the shock is firmly held in place at the bottom, and shot this video. And, while this shows that the shock goes into the tower perfectly, this is with no weight on it. So I asked Erik, and he suggested that I be patient and wait until I have the engine in and the truck on the ground. So, I guess I'll wait.  And, I've realized that the snippet of the FSM I posted earlier didn't have all of the torque specs in it. But this one does, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 And, I've realized that the snippet of the FSM I posted earlier didn't have all of the torque specs in it. But this one does, I think. As soon as you first mentioned the shock tower my first thought was that there is no weight on the truck currently. I definitely agree with Eric that you need to weight () until the truck is on the ground with full load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 As soon as you first mentioned the shock tower my first thought was that there is no weight on the truck currently. I definitely agree with Eric that you need to weight () until the truck is on the ground with full load. Yep. So here's the issue: the sway bar. The pic below shows the sway bar installed on the 1995 front clip. And with no engine the end links fit. But they aren't about to fit on Big Blue. They are about 4" too short. I assume that's because of the "lift" the RSK provides. But I can't find extended links on the Sky site. Am I missing them? I'm not too worried as I don't think I even want to run a sway bar. But, I'll probably drill the holes in the frame to allow it to be installed should I want to do so, and now is the time to do the drilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 As soon as you first mentioned the shock tower my first thought was that there is no weight on the truck currently. I definitely agree with Eric that you need to weight () until the truck is on the ground with full load. Yep. So here's the issue: the sway bar. The pic below shows the sway bar installed on the 1995 front clip. And with no engine the end links fit. But they aren't about to fit on Big Blue. They are about 4" too short. I assume that's because of the "lift" the RSK provides. But I can't find extended links on the Sky site. Am I missing them? I'm not too worried as I don't think I even want to run a sway bar. But, I'll probably drill the holes in the frame to allow it to be installed should I want to do so, and now is the time to do the drilling. Just cut and weld an extension into the stock end links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 Just cut and weld an extension into the stock end links. Yes, I'm thinking about an extension. But I was kind of thinking about those that might not have a machine shop with which to make the extensions. My thinking is that I'll take a piece of rod the same diameter as the stop on the end of the link against which the rubber bushing goes. I'll center-drill and tap it on the lathe to screw onto the link on one end and take a piece of all-thread on the other. Screw the extension on the link and screw the all-thread into the other end, both with Loctite. Basically, it just screws on and extends the sway bar link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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