replacing shocks and ride height

[challydust]

Question anyone.....if measure the ride height of ur car as its sittin on the ground or on stands on the susp......take the measurment....then remove ur shocks to replace them...would ur ride height move at all....mine sunk almost 1/2 inch after i took the ole shocks off.....im amazed especially with ss springs, i thought they were super stiff springs....why would i lose almost a inch of height....and this is on the rear by the way.......anyone have any thoughts,.....thanks

[Chryco Psycho]

if the shocks are a gas charged unit that you removed the rear would sit slightly higher with them on

[challydust]

well the prob is, ive never had them replaced, they been on there since i owned the car....lonng time....im assuming there a mopar performance shock?...the last owner installed the ss sprngs... and since i just recently tried to by replacement shocks for the car...and no one had a long enough shock for my perticular application...i just ordered the ss shocks from mancini.....gas?? i dont know?....what i dont understand is how the rear would sag more...once the ole worn out shock is removed...i thought is would stay the same?...and if i put a new shock...i might raise the ride height a lil bit....but not lose height by removing....i thought them ss springs are really stiff....how could the ride height move just by takin off ole worn shocks.....?

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Maybe your old shocks weren't totally worn out yet.     You will probably get a slight boost from the new shocks, but nothing major. I just went thru this putting KYB's all around. I found out one of my old front shocks had gone to heaven.   

[challydust]

well they dont have hardley any rebound...and i know personally they been on that car since 96...now the car doesnt get any miles but.......u can push them together and pull them apart fairly easy.....what i dont get is....exactly what u just said...i may gain a lil when installin the new ones....but for the life of me cant understand why the rear would  sag .after takin the ole ones off...i lost a good 1/4 to 1/2 inch of clearence.....?

[MEK-Dangerfield]

OK, I got you...

The front shocks are always trying to push, or extend to their limits. The rear shocks are kind of like spacers between the body and axle. You can't remove them without the body dropping some, unless the shock(s) are totally dead, then it wouldn't drop. BUT...You can compress them and pull them apart easily. So this is why I think maybe your rear shocks aren't dead, but if you are putting on gas charged shocks, the rear should sit a little higher. I wish I could explain this better..   

[challydust]

NO thats totally fine...i understand...thanks for the help....does anyone on here happen to know if the moper perf...ss spring are oil or gas..my dealer doesnt know...there 42.95 a piece is all i know..lol....that and there suppose to be long enough to work with a e body that has ss leafs......

[heminut]

I don't know about the MP shocks, but I can tell you that Imperial shocks will work with the SS springs. They are 2 inches longer than the E body shocks and were what MP recommended using with the SS springs in an older Performance Manual I had. I've had a set of Monroe Imperial shocks on my Cuda since I put the SS springs on several years ago, and they have worked just fine for me.

[Bullitt-]

I'm betting no real height was lost, possibly the first time you measured the rear had been unloaded.  To confirm this just remove the lower shock bolt & re-measure, to be thorough bounce the back a few times before each & after each measurement so it can settle naturally.

[HP2]

u can push them together and pull them apart fairly easy.....

This may be possible, but they may also still have enough pressure to cause body seperation when installe  dunder the car. Do you still have them lying around or did you toss them? If you still have them, compress them all the way and leave them on your bench over night. If they are extended in the morning, they have enough pressure to lift you car.

does anyone on here happen to know if the moper perf...ss spring are oil or gas..my dealer doesnt know...

They are just an oil shock. No gas in them

[challydust]

now im really confused.....the moper performance box the shocks came in say Gas charged right on them...?

[HP2]

now im really confused.....the moper performance box the shocks came in say Gas charged right on them...?

Okaayy. The last time I bought these, in the early 1990s, they were an oil shock and you had to order a different part number, which was not the SS spring shock, to get gas charged shocks. To further conmpound the confusion, there also were a whole string of part numebrs for oval track racing shocks from that time frame which were even higher rates and pressures. So without talking in specific part numbers, we're all kind of guessing here.

However, if you have them in a box that says gas charged, then they are probably gas charged. But I'm confused why you asked the question if you already had the answer.

[challydust]

hp2....i asked the question before i actually had the shocks in my hand you see....yeah it seems pretty confusing if that much has been changed over the years i guess....there on and they work fine....now just fighting with a rubbin problem on the pass side since my quarters eithers welding on in correctly or my rear housing sittin in the car crooked for some reason...lol.....its always something man.....love the way it sits now...but its rubbin on the pass side with no once in it......u know the sayin...with a action theres always a reaction.....