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Stupid question about Hall/Alden billet shocks...

moosomoosoMember
I bought a set of used adjustable billet shocks and springs. They were presented to me as Aldens. They came with Hall springs. They look just like the billet shocks that Hall pictured in a handout that I have so I assume that they are Aldens marketed by Hall.
Anyway, a couple of things surprise me. There are no "centering bushings" to keep the springs centered on the endplates. There are none pictured on the Hall handout either. Do these things just stay centered by themselves!? Or am I missing something?
Second, do these things mount "upside down" compared to regular shocks? I expected the adjuster and the main valve body to be at the bottom with the actuating shaft to the top. But there is nothing to secure the top spring plate, and reducing collar to the shock mount. If I mount them this way, everytime I jack up a wheel, the top collars are going to fall out of position and have to be held in alignment until the weight is on the suspension again. If I have two wheels off the ground, this is going to be impossible for one person to do.
If I mount the shocks in the "upside down" position, with the adjuster and valve body on top, then gravity will be my friend and the spring, spring plate and collar will all maintain position until the suspension is lowered again.
I guess there is nothing wrong with this, but I've never seen shocks mounted with the valve body up and the actuating center shaft down.
Just want to get it right before I proceed with the other 3 wheels!!
Thanks, Mooso.
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K kaamacatMember
Mooso...........Whoa bubba...!

Here is a link to Alden's site, with a basic pic of their double adjustable. If you look, there are 'centering' rims on there. Also you will see the normal/correct position of the shock itself. (btw, a bunch of us got some from them last year).

http://aldaneagle.com/UltimateShock.htm

I will admit though, the springs (even theirs direct) don't exactly center as much as I'd like to see, but they wont move. So basically you should have the top and bottom centering the springs just fine.

Bob
moosomoosoMember
Wellll....looks very similar, but unfortunately it doesn't help with my shocks. Mine may be an older model that uses stock diameter springs. The pictured shock doesn't have the top and bottom spring base plates that I have. It also doesn't show that the top collar is separate from the top mount and will fall out of position if the shock is extended longer than the spring. The pictured shock may be machined as one piece or have a set screw or safety wire hole to prevent this, but mine doesn't.
I contacted Dennis Quella at Pantera Performance and he said my shocks need to use the original Koni rubber centering bushings (without these the springs can wander 1/4" off center in any direction) and that he mounts shocks of this kind upside down to keep the collars in place. He said that with gas shocks this shouldn't be a problem. The other option is drilling and taping in set screws or drilling holes for a safety wire in the spring plate and collar.
Actually, with the adjusters at the top, it may be easier to adjust ride height.
Mooso.
VI veryfast italain (Guest)
I have these shocks. There is always some residual spring pressure on them, so the spings don't come off. I've never backed off the tension that much. Motocross dirt bikes were first to mount gas charged shocks upside down. The purpose was to reduce unsprung weight, which is not going to be noticable on a Pantera, so mine are just mounted conventionally. My local Honda motocycle shop sold me a spanner wrench for $16 that has two sizes on either end and fits them perfectly. The springs can move around a little, and rubbed a decal off. One of the adjustment knobs got in the way of a wrench and broke off, so be careful. I can't tell what the dampening adjustment is, because the knobs go around infinitely. Anyways, the ride is tight, and I've never bottomed out, and it doesn't bounce, so I guess the dampening is fine. You can lower or raise ride height, which is pretty cool. But to lower will cause softer spring rates and could cause bottoming out. I may decide to cut 1/2" off the springs to lower ride height on back, but haven't measured for that project yet. I've adjusted the spring settings a dozen times and it's pretty fine tuned, but removing them is a pain. I use a lug nut to clamp the shock onto the axle to hold it firmly while using the spanner wrench to adjust spring tension rates. If you think there is a potential the spring may fly off, listen carefully to your instincts, that can send you to the hospital. Safety first, right?
moosomoosoMember
Hall isn't open on Mondays, so Tuesday they confirmed that these shocks need the original Koni rubber centering bushings to center the springs.
Since these shocks came off a running car, and since a lot of these shocks have been sold...there may be more of them running around with springs that can wander around and not displace the spring force evenly.
If you've got 'em...I'd check 'em.
Mooso.
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