jspagna1

No shackles please, that's in the same no no group as air shocks!

JamesW

I think you can deduce from all the various opinions....is that there is no silver bullet to get you the ride height you need. Each car is a little different in engine weight, front springs, etc... Air shocks and/or shackles have been around since the late 60s, and as you can tell 'freaking' does occur.

My suggestion is to
1) roll your rear fenders to get a little more clearance.
2) closely measure your rear end to see that it is centered between the springs
3) consider going to 4 1/2 leaf springs or helper springs
4) tell your buddies to go on a diet
5) stick to smooth roads when rear passengers are in use

ky

i still dont see the problem to air shocks. i had them on my car, and my dad has em on his. never any problems.

JamesW

Look at the frame structure where the shocks mount. It is unreinforced sheet metal. When you install air shocks and raise them to the point that they take the load off the springs, you're essentially carrying the weight of the car on those two points. Over time, age, and corrosion, experience with the masses is that these points experience failures and the shock end up breaking through the structure.

Also, by using air shocks or shackles, you change the rear end's geometry which can affect the way the car handles. In addition, this raised rear can change the front end alignment.

If I absolutely had to raise the car, I'd use air shocks over shackles, and I'd install a 1/8" plate as large as possible to reinforce the shock mount location and spread the load.

Norm Peterson

And use the least amount of air (pressure) that you can get away with.

Maybe keep a 12-volt tire pump handy for those times when you do carry more than your normal load (these things add a few psi to a tire pretty quickly, so filling a couple of little air shock reservoirs shouldn't take much time at all).


Norm

tx65coupe

I don't see how it would matter if they were just a bit longer. I wouldn't suggest getting the longest ones available. I was thinking just barely longer than stock.

I never had a problem with the longer shackels. My car drove just fine that way. The car was setup like this all through high school. It used to be an I6 car. At the time it had new springs all around and the front sat way too high. The tires also rubbed the rear fenders because it had some inexpensive american racing wheels that caused the tires to rub the fenders. Now it has a Versailles rear end and wider tires so I left it that way.

colostang

Thanks for all the replies! Jamesw, all your suggestions have at least some merit. The one about telling buddies to go on a diet wasn't received very well, and now I have no buddies. However, this has worked out well because now I don't bottom out, as I am the only one in the car. I think I will shop around and try to find a good price on some heftier springs. I have looked around my small town and there isn't a shop that will re-arc them so that option is out. Honestly I bought the car in 1985 and put air shocks on it the same year. It road with those shocks on it for 22 years without a single hint that there may be a problem. Handling actually seemed diminished after I removed them. I may have been lucky, but they also may not be as evil as some think. I took them off because even though I didn't have a problem, the idea of trying to fix the mounts if they did shell was too much of a worry.

I looked at the Laurel Mountain shocks on Ebay, are those what I should buy? Do 4.5's just have an extra leaf? And who is going to tell me how to install them when they arrive?

knuckless

4.5 has an extra half leaf, 4 whole and a half. so its called 4.5 leaf

5 leafs have 5 and so on

rmodel65

ive had a car that the air shock came through the floor and it wasnt rusty at all in that area....

just because you havent had a problem with it doesnt mean you wont. a lot of other people have experienced this

MasterLow

i have air shocks, need to replace them i guess!