shocks and line locks

cburgin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
statesville/boone NC
where is the best place to by 16" shocks for my yota. Want something "middle of the road" in price but still decent...

also, need line locks as well. anyone have any suggestions, part numbers, etc...
 
Define "middle of the road"..

PolyPerformance BBCS are about the best shock in the ~100 price range IMO, since they are valved for what we do, with specific leaf and coil spring valving.

I'm using a 1/4 turn ball valve as a line lock, with some 1/8" NPT to 3/8-24 NFF adaptor fittings.
 
Just make sure they're rated for high pressure (I think mine is 3000)
 
I'm not going there.. too much liability.

I have seen them used, however. I would much prefer a mechanical over electric for that purpose though.
 
DO NOT use it as your only means for a parking brake. After sitting for 3 hours, mine decided to release pressure, and gently rolled my jeep across a parking lot into a nissan maxima, doing over $3k in damage (not even scratching the jeep). Carried a wheel chock ever since.
 
Some industrial supply place... swagelock is what's written on it.
 
Probably have better luck with "Swagelok". We deal with ball valves all the time here at work, and Swagelok is some of the best. Velan also makes very good Valves. Go to www.carotek.com and order some.
 
jeepinmatt said:
DO NOT use it as your only means for a parking brake. After sitting for 3 hours, mine decided to release pressure, and gently rolled my jeep across a parking lot into a nissan maxima, doing over $3k in damage (not even scratching the jeep). Carried a wheel chock ever since.
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I never understood how people do this. I never leave my truck in neutral and just use the parking brake. why would you ever do that. Sure the valve might eventualy leak down, but what are the odds that it would leak then come out of gear.
 
I never did either, and certainly haven't since. Im suspicious that someone may have bumped into my jeep and caused it to come out of gear, but it may have been that was just the one time I didn't leave it in gear when parked on a hill.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I never did either, and certainly haven't since. Im suspicious that someone may have bumped into my jeep and caused it to come out of gear, but it may have been that was just the one time I didn't leave it in gear when parked on a hill.
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I think in this situation where:

1: Your line-lock bled out
2: the transmission came out of gear

Any mechanical parking brake you had would have slipped, cable snapped, or something.. sounds like it was just destined to roll away from you that day... :(

Unless the chock block you carry is gigantic, any decent aired-down off-road tire will roll right over it. I saw more than one Humvee in a tree/tent/another vehicle with the chock eiter drug behind it, or left right where it was placed in front of the tire, and the rig rolled right over it. :lol:

For $50 a shock, I'd go with some lightly used Bilsteins.. I sold mine 1 year old for $50 each. Otherwise you're just gonna wind up with a twin-tube...
 
So, no for the "parking brake" even with the ball-valves?

This will not be a trail-only vehicle, so when I park it I'll leave it in gear and lock the ball-valve.On the trail, I'll just be looking for something to hold me still on a hill-climb.

Otherwise, is a driveline e-brake my only other "good" option? I've got disks on the 14 bolt, but I hear the El Dorado calipers are crap...:shaking:

What if I could slide another caliper on the same rotor at the wheel...the Geo Metro cable style. I've got a Detroit, so it should hold both wheels, or I could put one on both rear tires I guess...that sounds like a damn good idea to me
 
Valves tend to leak down over time. While you may get lucky and never have a problem, I highly advise against it based on knowledge as a mechanical engineer and from personal experience.
 
What if I could slide another caliper on the same rotor at the wheel...the Geo Metro cable style. I've got a Detroit, so it should hold both wheels, or I could put one on both rear tires I guess...that sounds like a damn good idea to me[/QUOTE]

The detroit will only lock when power is applied, so one on both tires sounds better
 
i run a ball valve line lock and works great for trail only purposes. I bought it off of ebay from a company in the uk that sells high performans rally car parts. had it shipped to me within the week for less then i could get one from anywhere else
 
jeepinmatt said:
Valves tend to leak down over time. While you may get lucky and never have a problem, I highly advise against it based on knowledge as a mechanical engineer and from personal experience.
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You guys need to think of the line lock as a secondary brake not the primary brake. This is only a backup brake.

If you leave your rig in gear you should have no problems with a line lock as a parking brake.

:beer:
 
ok, lets get back to shocks. I have just built this whole thing on a budget so putting $400 in a set of shocks doesnt make much since...thats more than I paid for the truck!! I need shocks with eyes on both ends and a long as possible
 
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