Stock '78/'82 shock length

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

Hi all,
Need shocks for a 78 CJ7 however axles are off an '82 (PO). From what I've heard, in 82 they repositioned front (and rear???) shock mounts up 2". With he '82 axles and 78 body, I've got an axle mounted lower shock mount and a non-two-inch-higher upper shock mount (lol). I think I can weld/fabricate my own spring pad shock mount and remove the axle mounted ones but I want to make sure PO didn't do anything else wonky (i.e. I ended up finding out he swapped axles 2 weeks after I bought it having trouble fitting callipers lol.). So (after all that^), here's my question; can someone with a stock ride hight '78 CJ7 AND/OR '82 CJ7 measure their shock absorbers centre to centre, front and rear for me? That would help a lot I think. What would be more awesome-er would be if I could get the stock ride hight shock absorber length of a '78 AND an '82. Thanks again fellow CJ-ers!

 

[RiverandSand]

The 82 axles are wide track, the 78 is a narrow track. Yes the front frame mounts were extended but the bottom shock mounts remained the same through out the 76- 86 run. Shocks bolt to the bottom of spring plate. I would look for shocks for a 78 with a 0-2" lift.

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

My problem is, right now the shock mounting bolt/bracket measures 10.5". All the shocks I'm seeing online for a '78 have a compressed length of around 11". Maybe I'm not reading something right? Here's '78 front shocks on JustJeeps 0-1.5" lift (note compressed length of 11.70"):

https://www.justjeeps.com/jeep-cj7/...jeep-cj-series-with-0-1-5-lift-pc-318509.html

 

[RiverandSand]

Are measuring from the frame shock mount to the stock lower mount (on the spring plate) or the mount a PO welded onto the axle?

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

!0.5" Is measuring from the top shock mount centre bolt to the centre of a bolt that goes through a bracket welded on the axle. I'll try and take a pic next time I'm around the jeep.

 

[RiverandSand]

If you are wanting to use an off the shelf shock you will need to use the stock mounts. So you may have to weld a shock bolt to your spring plate.
If you wish to go custom shock , I recall Bilstien has a custom chart listing by extended/collapsed measurements for their shocks.

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

Yea I think I'm just going to go with cutting off the axle shock mounts and fabricating some spring pad shock mounts.

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

Ok well I'm still wondering, all the 78 and 82 shocks I'm looking up have a collapsed length of around 12 inches. From what I'm measuring I'm maybe going to have 1" of play before bottoming out. So what would really help is for someone to measure their '78 shock mounts and tell me what the length is so I can make sure nothing else is messed up and my measurements are correct.

 

[Scout1067]

If I remember correctly from doing mine last fall the spring pads for a CJ7 have the shock mounts integrated into them.
That's my front and rear pads. I drive an 81.

Sent from my SM-A405FN using Tapatalk

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

Ok thanks that helps a bit. Do you still own/drive that? If it is still stock ride hight, how easy would it be to measure your shock absorbers? That would be awesome as I think I'm going to go with the '78 shock mounts so just want to make sure welding shock mounts on my spring mount would solve the problem and come out to the correct length.

 

[Scout1067]

Ok thanks that helps a bit. Do you still own/drive that? If it is still stock ride hight, how easy would it be to measure your shock absorbers? That would be awesome as I think I'm going to go with the '78 shock mounts so just want to make sure welding shock mounts on my spring mount would solve the problem and come out to the correct length.

Yeah, I took those pics yesterday morning. I couldn't help you with shock height as I put the BDS 2.5" lift kit on last fall and new shocks from BDS came with the kit.

 

[JustaKidWithaCJ]

Ahhh ok...thanks for the pic tho.