Air Shocks Really Helped

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'71 Dart Custom

'71 Dart Custom

Advocate of the Slant
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
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Installed my new Monroe air shocks Thursday. My leaf springs were sagging bad. The old girl was starting to look like one of those busted-*** '90s model Lincolns. All I wanted was an inch or two of lift and I got it. Rides a little stiff in the back, but compared to how it was I love it. I think it completely changes the stance, waddaya think?

Before-

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After-

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.........I can tell u 1 thing................ur going to bust out the top shock mount unless u do some reinforcing.....looks good...kim.......
 
Air shocks are a band aid fix, at best.........if the springs are shot just replace them.
 
oldkimmer said:
.........I can tell u 1 thing................ur going to bust out the top shock mount unless u do some reinforcing.....looks good...kim.......
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I appreciate the warning. Can I just let the air out until I can replace the springs? I don't want to go busting shock mounts. I can see where that might happen, now that I think about it.

The car is my daily driver.
 
had air shocks on my dart for 10 years. beat the hell out of it. never busted any shock mounts. you'll be fine as long as you don't run up near 100psi in the shocks. in a perfect world the new springs are the way to go but the shocks will hold ya over just fine.
 
I used to run air shocks also. But that was back when the car was 10 years old, not 40. My Dart also had them when I got it 5 years ago. It's a temporary fix, not a long term solution.

Save your money and buy a new set of leafs. If you can't afford new ones, check the yellow pages for a local spring shop. They can rebuild/rearch your stock springs and even add a leaf, pretty cheaply. Spend the weekend rolling around in the drive way and you'll be happier in the long run.
 
i'd say keep it under 100psi. from the pics it looks like he doesn't have them pumped too high anyway.
 
I did the same thing on my 66 and I run 65lbs in them, It is temporary..
I have put 90lbs in them to assure no leaks and it looked like a car from back in the day we jacked them up for the look, But it is very hard on the front end and shock mount's
these 44 year old springs will be changed as soon as I can.
But I am happy with my investment and the ride is fine compared to what it was.
 
oldkimmer said:
.........I can tell u 1 thing................ur going to bust out the top shock mount unless u do some reinforcing.....looks good...kim.......
Click to expand...

Completely untrue. I have had air socks in my car for 20 years and the upper rear shock mounts area from left to right is absoultely fine. No renforcement items added, just bone stock.

inkjunkie said:
Air shocks are a band aid fix, at best.........if the springs are shot just replace them.
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While I mostly agree with this statement, there fine for laod leveling duties.
Replace your springs when you can.

On the issue of psi to run at, your fine now. There leveling the car with a mid level pressure. And that is OK. Jacking the car up for a stance would be a wrong move.

If you load the car up in the trunk, add a few pounds to level it. That's it.
 
My advise to you is;

Sounds like your on a tight budget. No need to order from espo etc and get killed on price/shipping. Just find a local spring shop and have yours rebuilt/recurved or add a leaf. Big rig spring shops use good steel.
 
My Dart had air shocks when I first got it. Worked fine for a few years but I did end up getting new springs and a set of gas shocks later down the road.
 
Ive used them and never had a problem but that said I dont care for the ride they give.

It sits a lot nicer now though, maybe drop the front down 1"
 
You'll need the infamous window sticker now
 

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I saw a pretty big ride improvement when I put my shocks on, but then again I also fixed the lower mount. It had the F body bayonet setup on it and I think it might have been binding. Now it feels like it rides on, well, air, lol. I'm only running maybe 40 psi too, that's really all the more I needed.
 
AdamR said:
Ive used them and never had a problem but that said I dont care for the ride they give.

It sits a lot nicer now though, maybe drop the front down 1"
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How do I lower the front end? I agree 100% that it needs to come down. Also the passenger side sits higher than the drivers side (in the front, back is level). I plan to rebuild the front end after a good brake job, but if I could lower it fairly simply I'd be under it tomorrow morning doing so.

I like how the car rides now. I replaced the front shocks as well. It was squishy feeling (technical term). Now it feels like it firmly grips the road, but I wouldn't call the ride "rough". I wasn't going for stance, just better feel and the ability to pull out of a parking lot without bottoming out. I didn't check the psi, just eyeballed the car and stopped adding air when it looked right. I'll check it tomorrow, though I'm fairly certain it's way under 100.

I AM on a tight budget. I've driven this car daily for three years and I'm just now getting to really make some serious improvements on it. The last thing I need are busted shock mounts, but I can't really afford to do anything different at the moment, so I REALLY appreciate all the input here, guys.
 
abodyjoe said:
had air shocks on my dart for 10 years. beat the hell out of it. never busted any shock mounts. you'll be fine as long as you don't run up near 100psi in the shocks. in a perfect world the new springs are the way to go but the shocks will hold ya over just fine.
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Joe...I'm with you. I've used them several times. I think as long as you don't try to jack the back 2 ft. in the air, you'll be fine.

How do I lower the front end?
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Crank the bars down. Don't go too far or you ruin the front end alignment.
 
65Val said:
Joe...I'm with you. I've used them several times. I think as long as you don't try to jack the back 2 ft. in the air, you'll be fine.

I checked the psi today- 45 and I have no desire for any more lift, so maybe it'll be fine for now. Rides SO much better and handles better too.


Crank the bars down. Don't go too far or you ruin the front end alignment.
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Can you point me out to a thread that would give me a better understanding before I go "cranking bars down"? lol:dontknow:

I understand you're talking about the torsion bars and I know where they're at, but I don't like to tackle something new without having at least some idea of what I'm doing.

 
To crank down a T-bars for a lower ride height, just put the wole front of the car up in the air and turn the adjsuting nut a 1/2 turn counter clockwise (out/loosen)

Drop the car down and check height. A tape measure is a good before and after measureing tool to check with.
 
rumblefish360 said:
To crank down a T-bars for a lower ride height, just put the wole front of the car up in the air and turn the adjsuting nut a 1/2 turn counter clockwise (out/loosen)

Drop the car down and check height. A tape measure is a good before and after measureing tool to check with.
Click to expand...

Great! I'm off Thursdays, so I'll check it out then.

Thanks for the quick reply. I just love FABO!
 
rumblefish360 said:
To crank down a T-bars for a lower ride height, just put the wole front of the car up in the air and turn the adjsuting nut a 1/2 turn counter clockwise (out/loosen)

Drop the car down and check height. A tape measure is a good before and after measureing tool to check with.
Click to expand...

Roll the car back and forth a few feet after dropping the car down to "neutralize" front suspension before measuring.
 
65Val said:
Roll the car back and forth a few feet after dropping the car down to "neutralize" front suspension before measuring.
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Not only that, I've driven the car two miles down a bumpy blacktop. I've backed both nuts out way more than a 1/2 turn. They are both backed out to the cotter pins. Nothing.........I'm still sitting at my first measurement. Drivers side 25 1/2, Passenger side 26 1/4. All I'm shooting for is 24 1/2, but neither side will budge.

I've been tinkering for 20 yrs, but I'm no mechanic. There are MANY things I know nothing about, and I admit this is the first time I've ever tried to lower a front end. I'm wondering if maybe I'm missing a step somewhere, or if there's something I'm not doing right.
Thanks for humoring me.:)
 
I keep the weight on while turning the adjusters. Soak em down with some lube first!
 
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