Adjusting Air Shocks

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rymanrph

rymanrph

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I've never had any before and the ones I have now are too pressurized so the rear end of my car is jacked way up. Everything I've read just talked about using what you'd use with a tire valve, but the connections on my shocks are bigger than that.

I'm sure there is a simple solution, but having never messed with them I'm a little unsure.
 
Just hit the schraeder valve and let some air out.sounds like you dont have air line extensions hooked up.
 
best bet is to take an impact gun out and take those stupid air shocks off and make sure you cut them in half so someone else don't make the mistake of using them, there junk no good for anything

if your really persistent on keeping them it should have a schraeder valve hooked to it, and use a tire gauge to check pressure, should be no more then 40 PSI
 
Standard air shocks have remote mounted "valve stem" usually mounted in the trunk or close to the rear bumper mounts or on the frame. The connection at the shock is much larger and a plastic hose should connect there.

Air shocks have 2 inherent problems.
1. People use them to hold the weight of the car instead of getting new springs.
This causes the car to ride harsh and rip the shock mounts out.
2. Single valve for both shocks.
This causes pressure transfer from the side that is loaded to the unloaded side causing MORE body roll when cornering.

My Duster had air shocks installed when I bought it.....at 60 psi ! :banghead:
 
Well, then I guess I don't have the schraeder valve. Its probably easier for me to just replace them.

The interesting thing is I moved a rear axle from one car to another while relocating the spring mounts. Neither car sat really high before, but it does now.

8.75 axle without air shocks and relocated springs:

DSC_0337_zps1dc50016.jpg


Other axle with air shocks and stock spring mounts:

DSC_0351_zps988ba7ad.jpg


Other axle without air shocks and stock spring mounts:

20F7DC8A-D1BC-41A5-87FD-2CA22BF015D0-1878-0000024E9810A8B9_zps512d32fd.jpg


8.75 axle with air shocks and relocated springs:

DACBF3E7-41E2-4C55-98EF-D40474E5379E_zpsffopcmyb.jpg


I made sure not to tighten the shackle bolts until the suspension was loaded with the weight of the vehicle. I assumed it was the air shocks that was holding up the weight of the vehicle, but not adjustment of air pressure has been made so I'm a little mystified as to why its sitting so much higher than before. The springs may have been different, but they remained with the axle they were on originally.
 
I loosened all of the leaf spring bolts and then removed the shocks to see where it naturally wants to sit. Surprisingly, it's still at the same height. The only difference between the setup before and after is the spring relocation kit that was used. The one on the blue car is the US Car Tool kit. I guess the mounting poinst are different. At this point I'm going to have to look into some lowering blocks.
 
or take the spring pack back out and have a spring shop take some of the arch out of the springs
 
66plyValiant said:
best bet is to take an impact gun out and take those stupid air shocks off and make sure you cut them in half so someone else don't make the mistake of using them, there junk no good for anything

if your really persistent on keeping them it should have a schraeder valve hooked to it, and use a tire gauge to check pressure, should be no more then 40 PSI
Click to expand...

player1up said:
Standard air shocks have remote mounted "valve stem" usually mounted in the trunk or close to the rear bumper mounts or on the frame. The connection at the shock is much larger and a plastic hose should connect there.

Air shocks have 2 inherent problems.
1. People use them to hold the weight of the car instead of getting new springs.
This causes the car to ride harsh and rip the shock mounts out.
2. Single valve for both shocks.
This causes pressure transfer from the side that is loaded to the unloaded side causing MORE body roll when cornering.

My Duster had air shocks installed when I bought it.....at 60 psi ! :banghead:
Click to expand...


Would love to see some proof of any of these claims. Because people always claim problems and then you find out they have never had any installed.:wack:

My Rot box of a Duster had them for over 15 years no probs at all.
Installed them in an 83 Mirada at 55 PSI and guess what oh yea no problems and it rode great.
Now on order is a set for my Rust Free 74 Valiant
And back in the day people were using air shocks with shock extenders and shackles all adjusted as high as they would go

So please bring on the proof :protest:
 
Anything is possible here

1...........As others have speculated, I doubt you even have air fittings on the shocks. I've never seen air shocks that did not have hoses / tubes going to valves or a tee and one valve

2...........It's possible that these are the WRONG shocks and are too long, and are acting as no more than a "stick" in there holding up the car. So.........unhook the bottom mount and see if the car drops.

3...........I ran air shocks on my old 70 RR for all the time I had it, more than 100K since I had it, and over 140K on the body when I sold it. In that time it had 3 sets of shocks, and the pressure was adjusted to suit whatever was in the trunk. They were not used for "jacking." In all those miles, the shock mounts were not damaged in any way. That car is a LOT heavier than these "A"s being a V code and Dana rear, and in my Navy days, usually had a couple hundred pounds of tools and crap in the trunk

http://moparforums.com/forums/f62/my-old-ride-back-day-596/

81sruds.jpg
 
It's not the shocks. I removed them, loosened the leaf spring bolts and then jumped up and down in the trunk and the car still sat as high as it did before.
 
rymanrph said:
It's not the shocks. I removed them, loosened the leaf spring bolts and then jumped up and down in the trunk and the car still sat as high as it did before.
Click to expand...

d of the car sit higher than the other when looking at it straight on from the back?
If so you have super stock springs if not they are most likely fairly new springs
 
Are the air shocks still out? If so then I would reloosen all of the rear shackle nuts with the car off the ground with a jack under the rear end.
Then set the car back on the ground then retighten to see where you sit
 
OK, you removed the shocks, they are the same springs that sat low in the car in the earlier shot

ARE YOU SURE?

If you are, then it HAS to be that the spring mounts have been changed / different/ shackles, etc

All this B.S. about "tightening stuff up" after weight is on the car is just that. The factory never did that. You tighten it up, you set it on the ground and bounce it a few times or drive it "two blocks" If it's going to settle due to "shackle bind" it will have by then.

What is this you did "move the spring mounts?" This is the answer
 
I did the US Car Tool Spring offset kit. The previous car (red) was already set up this way (I'm not sure what kit was used on that car). Since I wanted to use that axle, I did the conversion on the blue car.

http://store.uscartool.com/mopar-a-body-spring-hanger-relocation-kit.html

Its the same wheels, tires, axle, springs, everything except the air shocks (which we know isn't the problem). I raised the front end a little and it leveled out some, but its still high in the rear.
 
I found a part number on the passenger side spring (Mopar Performance P4120864 Competition Leaf Spring); I noticed that its a driver side spring. I wasn't able to find a number on the spring that's currently on the driver side.

I don't have a picture, but at the current ride height, the lower bolt of the shackle sits just barely further back than the upper bolt.
 
Sounds like you need to move the front spring eye up. Most of the relocation kits require you to drill the hole for the bolt yourself. In the link you posted, it says that three hole locations are provided but I don't see it in the pics.
 
Yeah, the description is not accurate. It only comes drilled with one hole, so that's what I used.
 
I ended up installing 3" blocks in the rear to bring it down.

C27CB454-BB9E-4AC8-9DDB-183801542E1B_zpsgq6dpsbl.jpg


The front needs to come down some, but I prefer this to how it was sitting earlier.
 
Did you turn the front hanger upside down? That'll lower it a little too. Usually an inch or better.
 
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