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Rear Shocks for Rear Air Suspension

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    Rear Shocks for Rear Air Suspension

    The ass end on my 2000 MGM HPP with rear air suspension has gotten a little too bouncy, and rear shocks have been on my to-do list for awhile. (My front end is still quite stiff, so I'm not touching it.) I see that KYB police spec Gas-A-Justs are favored, and I just wanted to seek clarification before committing to anything. RockAuto is only showing KG5521's for the rear, but it doesn't say anything about police spec. Are those the rights ones? Also, are there different considerations for air springs and coil springs? I would presume any "police spec" stuff is for coil springs. Finally, the photo on RockAuto for the KG5521's does not show any mounting hardware or bushings, though the photos for the front Gas-A-Justs and the front and rear GR-2's show that stuff. Does anyone know if that stuff is included with the KG5521's? I've sent a message to RockAuto about that issue, but I'm not sure how helpful they'll be.

    Any other suggestions or comments would be welcome.
    Last edited by IPreferDIY; 10-29-2015, 12:16 PM.

    2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
    mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

    #2
    I know I have the Monroe air shocks in the back for my 89, happy with that.

    I do have KYB's in my fronts for my 97 LTC, Love how they feel (Gas adjusts I believe they're called)
    "To Find yourself, you must first lose yourself"

    -1973 Volkswagen Bus Westy
    -1986 Honda Magna 700cc
    -1989 Lincoln Town car Signature Series
    -2011 Subaru Outback

    Comment


      #3
      Got a surprisingly fast response from RockAuto. They contacted KYB, and the KG5521's do indeed come with the mounting hardware and bushings.

      2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
      mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

      Comment


        #4
        If you do go with them, would you mind posting pics of the mounting hardware on the bottom side? Just curious how other brands do it. The Gabriels I recently had replaced on my car had hardware that didn't fit the car well. They turned the lower stud down to base diameter where it goes through the hole, which means that the bolt had a lot of slop in the axle hole. The lower nut had apparently gotten just a tiny bit loose and it was letting the shock flop around in the mounting hole without damping anything. The Motorshaft ones that replaced the not very old Gabriels (they weren't actually bad, it was a case of shite hardware) have a shoulder on the bolt that fit snug into the axle.

        Another thing I didn't like about the Gabriel hardware, there were no wrench flats on the stud. Its basically a double sided stud with a hunk of metal as a spacer on the one side. It was all round. I think thats why the lower nut came loose, there was just nothing to turn against. The Motorcraft had a standard hex in there to put a wrench on.
        86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
        5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

        91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

        1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

        Originally posted by phayzer5
        I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
          If you do go with them, would you mind posting pics of the mounting hardware on the bottom side? ...
          No problemo. Now that I have power wires for my camera, I can take all kinds of photos without having to worry about batteries.

          2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
          mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

          Comment


            #6
            The KYB hardware is pretty much the same. I use my impact when putting that crap on to make sure it stays put... along with the lock washers that come with the kit. You could always be triple sure and use red locktite.

            Also, the civi spec front shocks are rather loose. The rear shocks are nice though with constant rate coils. Police shocks up front make a world of difference in handling (my beater can attest to that) and a LOT less float. But yeah... the rears are only one part. You have to get into truck stuff and changing the bushing out of the bottom of the shock to get anything that will firm up the back end (as I noted in the suspension FAQ with the info on the MonoMax shocks I put on the beater - and LOVE the ride that thing has now... takes speed bumps like a boss)

            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
            rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
            Originally posted by gadget73
            ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
            Originally posted by dmccaig
            Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

            Comment


              #7
              There's an Ontario (Canada) based website thewrenchmonkey.ca that has KYB Gas-A-Justs on sale for close to RockAuto prices but with free shipping in Canada for orders over $75. I just tried ordering a pair of KG5521's, but there's a problem with their payment process.

              2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
              mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by sly View Post
                The KYB hardware is pretty much the same. I use my impact when putting that crap on to make sure it stays put... along with the lock washers that come with the kit. You could always be triple sure and use red locktite.
                I have rust. No worries about it working loose, hell it had to be torched off to get it apart. Just a bit stupid that the hardware doesn't actually fit properly. Its poor engineering to rely purely on clamping force of the fastener, especially if you don't provide wrench flats to actually get the thing tight enough to clamp.
                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                Originally posted by phayzer5
                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                Comment


                  #9
                  Here are a couple of photos of the bottom mount stuff:

                  Click image for larger version

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                  There's a pair of flats for a wrench on the thick round part. The second photo shows the lip on the fixed washer. What the lip is for apart from cosmetics is beyond me. It only leaves 5/16" for the wrench. I doubt there are too many wrenches that size that are that thin. I have a thin 7/8" wrench for the wire cup brushes on my grinder that would work, but the flats are slightly bigger than 7/8".

                  2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
                  mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

                  Comment

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