Well got my new shocks from Rough Country the other day and went to put them on yesterday and they are too long...basically, completely compressed they are the same length as the distance from upper shock mount to axle mount...Actually distance is 16.5 inches.

It has a 5 in. Lift, but the guy I bought it from moved the shock mounts up to mid axle when he did the 8.8 rear axle swap to help with ground clearance.

So here is my question. What shock do you recommend, that it's compressed length will be around 11 inches?

This would give me around 4 inches of up travel.

Let me know.

Ok, 1st thing, i think you want more than 4in of uptravel. Once you get tools cooler and people in there it will be damn near bottomed out before you start moving.

2nd, call parts supplier of you choice and tell them you need a shock that is X length compressed and they can/will hook it up! I ordered the shocks for the trapper this way. They came from 4wheel parts.

Personally i probably wouldnt spend a whole ton on them, but you can get a real quality shock for less than $100 bucks each and can get something decent for $100 a pair.

Thanks. I asked the guy at Rough Country and even their stock shock would only give me about 3 inches of up travel. Finding a shock that is less than a 12 inches compressed seems to be a problem. Then if I get something shorter I will be almost at the limit of the down travel...WTF?

I always just go to the shock manufacturers web page and find the specs for each shock they sell. I then go through and find the shocks that best fit for me. I like Doetsch shocks the best - good price, several valving options, many sizes available. Some units have built in bump stops. You have to order direct from the company, not many places sell them.

http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/

Go to the bottom of the page under miscellaneous and click on shock specifications.

take the shocks off, then twist it up as much as possible on a ramp, trailer, ditch - whatever you have available. The idea is to stuff the tire on one side as much as possible.

Then take a measurement for your compressed length. Take a look and get a measurement for a bump stop while your in there - shocks don't like doubling as bump stops, so make sure your bump stop will still provide an inch or so of shock extension when it hits.

Then get on the website that Nate listed (or find a shock fitment guide for your shock manufacture of choice) and pick out the closest one. You can also measure for ideal shock extension while its twisted up, but the compressed measurement is probably going to be limiting factor.

Another place you can check with is Rusty's Offroad. He has good selection, good prices and are good people to deal with (at least they used to be - haven't bought anything from them in a long while) and specializes in Cherokee stuff.

Thanks Nate, Mike and Shannon. My Payroll guy does a lot of closed course auto crossing and had said to do a similar measurement as Shannon. Will try to get it done this weekend. As far as what the set up is now, the guy I bought it from kept the shocks for the 4.5" lift after moving the lower shock mounts...so bascially he made it a "hard tail" NO UP TRAVEL at all...not sure what he was thinking other than saving some cash.

Will let you know what I find out this weekend.

Thanks again.

Nate

Seems like some stock cherokee shocks from the auto parts store might treat you pretty good if it has a 4" lift but the shock mount was moved up on the axle 3"-4". That would be quick and easy and if they weren't going to work you could always return them. You could buy a few different sets from different stores - they will probably all be slightly different lengths because different manufacturers will use the shock for various applications. Just a thought...

Forgot to update this. Decided to go as cheap as humanly possible and bought stock Monroe Matics. When I took out the bottom shock mount bolt, both shocks fell straight to the ground...fully extended. I still do not understand why this guy crammed shocks that were 4 inches too long back under the Jeep. Anyway it rides like a dream on my $23 shocks...and they are a pretty blue color...

Got plenty of up travel now... yee haw!!!

If the length of a stockish type shock works then they might be as good as anything you can get. They are likely matched to the vehicle weight as well (or better) as many high dollar shocks that just happen to fit your application.

Sometimes, NateQ, It is simply an equation of what you have lying around that determines what goes in. I know I have crammed things that were way to big in things that were too small to take them.

hence your nickname...FLOPPER! Or so Mike B said.

Well I took it on a less than sober romp Saturday and the suspension socked up about a 16 foot jump over a drive way at about 40 mph...from deep ditch up face of drive way, over drive way in the air, and back down the other side into the other ditch...Felt like was doing a double on the old 250R...

Harlan Ready!

Park it and send me the keys! It will never survive until Harlan at this rate.

already sanctioned myself.