Air shocks

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plymouth71

plymouth71

The Moomobile
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Thought about putting air shocks on the back of my 71 scamp. i have never had these before,so this is a dumb area for me.Any feedback would help me.Thanks
 
Im not really familiar with putting them becuase my friend helped me with alot of it but it looked fairley easy and i like having them on my dart...I usually keep them up and they seem to hold air pretty well. The ride is a little rough when they are full but i dont do much off roading in the dart. I went with monroe just becuase they were cheap. What type are you looking at.
 
had them on my dart for 15 years and they were fine. not really the correct way to do it but it will get ya by till the funds to do it right come available. the key is not to over pump them. when they are rock hard is when they do damage.
 
Gabrel or monroe are fine, installation is same as a regular shock make sure the air line hookup is accessable and the lines are clear of any chafeing and the exhaust, i put aquarium clear air line tube over the lines that come with them in places where i attach them to the frame just slip the tubing over the provided lines before you hook up one end make sure you assemble the o rings ect as per instructions. You don't have to tighten the airline nuts too tight they are plastic and will crack.Put air in them to desired height and your done,the plastic lines will dryrot over time and leak but they sell replacement kits for them.Good luck in your installation.
 
Probably wanting it to sit higher in the rear for tire clearance or the "look"
 
Most use air shocks as a band-aid for weak/wornout springs,do it the right way replace the springs i've seen airshocks rip the top mount right out of the frame also..
 
I have them on the back of my Dart (KYB's). I didn't install them, the previous owner did. I've had the car for 10 years, no problems whatsoever. It's nice being able to adjust the ride height.
 
Same here, they are on the back of my dart too...looks kinda like Monroe's, previous owner installed them and painted them black. I personally don't keep much air in them and they ride just fine. No problems at all.
 
I have used them since i started with cars no issues as far as frame problems dry rotted lines and leaking diaphrams yes.Stroked 340 is semicorrect i have seen folks use them as a get by and never go further however i used them to adjust ride height,tire clearance.
 
I ran them for years on the wife's 74 Dart Sport. Never had a problem other than it makes for a very bouncy suspension. As long as you don't mind that, you'll be fine. We lived in Charleston, SC at the time so with all the elevated bridge segments on the bypass, you would bounce all the way accross.

Put the fill receptacle in an easy access place. On the wife's car it was located just forward of the rear liscense plate.
 
plymouth71 said:
Thought about putting air shocks on the back of my 71 scamp. i have never had these before,so this is a dumb area for me.Any feedback would help me.Thanks
Click to expand...

I skipped over every reply to say;

I have air shocks in my Cuda (73) for 22+ years with no issues. No suspension issues, wacked or bent cross mountings, no bent springs, nothing.

However! I recomend a 1 inch over bent spring and good regular gas charged shocks to go on the car over air shocks.

Air shocks should be used as a load leveling device rather than a stance inhancer or performance upgrade.
 
I put mine on about two years ago because I need to replace my springs
I keep the car level and 60 lb of air pressure, They will handle 90 lb's But it sends to much weight to the front end... Level is the way to go, I hope to have new springs and rear sway bar on her next year.
 

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If you shop around you can likely pick up new springs for close to the same price as air shocks.
 
doogievlg said:
Im not really familiar with putting them becuase my friend helped me with alot of it but it looked fairley easy and i like having them on my dart...I usually keep them up and they seem to hold air pretty well. The ride is a little rough when they are full but i dont do much off roading in the dart. I went with monroe just becuase they were cheap. What type are you looking at.
Click to expand...
Just gathering imfo right now,not sure if i want to go with air shocks or install a new set of ls brackets
 
66340SEDAN said:
Probably wanting it to sit higher in the rear for tire clearance or the "look"
Click to expand...
You are right on both,but the main reason is when i am driving it and i hit a dip in the road the car actually bottoms out in the rear,i have installed new rear shocks,but the body of the car hits the rubber bump mounted on the top of the rear axle.Looking for a solution for this problem.Does it real bad if i have others riding in the back.
 
plymouth71 said:
I would like to raise the backend up about 2 in,I was told to go with air shocks,but i may install a custom set of rear leaf spring brackets.
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I had air shocks on my duster years ago with no issues, but kept them relatively soft. If you want to raise the stance, get your springs re-arched, I would think it would be easier on your car than air shocks.
 
Or new 1 inch overdend springs. This would be the best way IMO. Don't use the air shocks for stance adjustment. While it is OK, it is only just OK. The new springs are THEY way to go.
 
I would just go with a set of SS springs. It will raise the back, and if they are too high, just take a small leaf out of them.
If you do run the airshock route, use two separate lines (one for each shock). If not, when you go around a corner, all the pressure goes to one side and the car leans when you straighten out.
 
You can use air shocks at the track to to offset passenger side torque dive at launch if they have seperate lines. Add some extra psi to the pass side to get SS spring-like launch effect. Not as good as SS springs, but works very well for straighter launch with lesser springs.

I would not recommend removing leaves. Buy other springs or flip the front mounts if you want it lower.
 
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