How to Measure for bump stop length

[J-Thompson]

So after digging through the mess that was my notes from when I did
the suspension on the rear of my TJ then trying to figure out what parts were
just for bump stop length here is what I got
this is from working with Nth* mobility before the AEV merge

Step #1
Figure out what size tire you will run ,or the biggest you intend
Then buy 1 with the rims you plan to run
#2
Jack up the rear of the Jeep from the unibody until the tires leave the ground
and remove 1 tire
#3
Remove the shock from that side and then the spring
#4
install the new tire and rim then with a jack jack the rear axle until the tire
comes with in about an inch or so from touching OR until you hit the OEM
bump stop
*if you hit the OEM bump stop then the tire/rim combo will not require extra bump stop but the suspension may
#4
with the axle still jacked up measure the shock opening ,hole to hole,
this is the max collapsed shock length

Now order your suspension
springs to clear the tires shocks with the proper collapsed length
if longer shocks are desired then order them
here is where I think some get confused
#5
measure the the collapsed length of the longer shock ,hole to hole
compare that to the length of the opening of the shock mount in #4
if the opening is the same then you are good to go if the shock is longer
then you need to add this much bump stop if the mount opening is longer
then you should order longer shocks

** the dropped length or open length of the shock DOES NOT MATTER
***as far as I can tell the same could be done for the front but you will have to remove the spring from the shock and reinstall to measure
****bump stop spacers should be harder than the OEM rubber if the oem rubber is to be kept ,and I am not sure about the KJ but on the TJ you can, pull the rubber bump stop out of the cup and unscrew the cup
then use fender washers and a longer bolt to reinstall then a jack and soap
to reinstall the rubber bump stop (this is what I did on my TJ to "fine tune")


This took some time to work out on my TJ but I was doing a bunch of other work ,moving UCA/LCA mounts
moving Track bar mount
installing shock shifters
installing spring bucket movers
installing mini skid plates on the LAC mounts
stiffening up the UCA/LCA mounts

if the "staff" wants to move this to the How to section fine by me
if I missed something by all means add it
if you think this is garbage then dont do it
if the staff wants to delete it then go ahead
If any one has questions on this then go ahead and ask me

 

[J-Thompson]

side note
if you dont like the way I abuse the english language then blow it out your ****
I pay my taxes and need something to abuse most every thing else will land me in
jail

 

[tjkj2002]

What I pretty much did but had the new suspension and wheel/tire combo already on.Was a great time to measure for shocks also,the fun was fing the correct shocks that would work.

 

[Lancer]

side note
if you dont like the way I abuse the english language then blow it out your ****
I pay my taxes and need something to abuse most every thing else will land me in
jail

That's ok, you're American - colonials aren't expected to have a good grasp of the mother tonguelol3.gif

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

If you've got a grasp of your mother's tongue you're doing it wrong

*EDIT*

Isn't the KJ's bumpstop mount welded to the body?

 

[tjkj2002]

Isn't the KJ's bumpstop mount welded to the body?

The front uppers are held on with 4 spot welds(drilled mine out) and the rear uppers are welded to the upper coil buckets that are held on by about 14 spot welds(drilled mine out and moved back 1" then bolted back on).The rear uppers have a hole under the OEM foam snubber,we welded a 1/2"x13x2" bolt in and then after measuring for the rear bumbstop and shocks just divided the # in half.Then got a 2"x3" solid stock round and had 1/2"x13 threads machined into one end and 3/8"x18 on the other(to screw standard rubber snubber into).The bottom is a 3"x3.5" high density plastic chunk.