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Ride question

34isgreat

34isgreat

Member
Replaced rear shocks today, the instructions stated that the height could change due to replacing the shocks, looks to me like the car is sittiing a good1 to 2 inches taller. Will this settle with time. New shocks look just like the ones I took off.
 
It may help to loosen them up a little, set it on the ground and tighten them back down with the weight on the ground.
 
Shocks should not affect ride height one bit, unless they are air-shocks, which augment spring tension. Shock absorbers react to changes in speed of the main springs, but are neutral when the springs are not in active flex.
 
"Midlife" said:
Shocks should not affect ride height one bit, unless they are air-shocks, which augment spring tension. Shock absorbers react to changes in speed of the main springs, but are neutral when the springs are not in active flex.
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These are Gabriel gas shocks, states on the box "gas shocks could affect ride height". I am not happy with the current look these shocks give the car. I do have a good bit of the car removed so it's weight is affected and this can be part of the issue but I will not keep the car this way when complete. IF reassembly and time do not correct this I will try different shocks.
 
Use of gas shocks to adjust ride height are not recommended for our beloved Mustangs, as the support area under the rear seats is not strong enough to support the extra load; the sheet metal often cracks there unless re-inforced.
 
+1, toss the air shocks. There are much better affordable ways to adjust the rear ride height up or down.
 
I did not want to adjust the ride height, I was just replacing 40 year old shocks with new shocks. These are not adjustable shocks just gas filled shocks. I think when the car is reassembled it will get better, I will wait until then and decide if I need to replace them. To be honest I bought the cheepest shocks I could find, Gabriel brand at Auto Zone. These are the shocks they recommended as being made for a 1967 Mustang, did I buy the wrong shocks? Gabriel Guardian 81270.
 
If these are just gas filled shocks and are not the kind where you can add external gas, then they definitely should not change ride-height.

While changing the shocks, did you fool with any part of the rear suspension, such as loosening or tightening shackle bolts, spring bolts, etc? If not, and you haven't had a chance to drive the car, it may settle very quickly, due to the rear shackles being hung up a bit. Try pushing down on the rear bumper several times and see if things settle down.
 
If the gas shocks are setup for a heavier load rating, that could have something to do with the ride height. The shock may be looking for a heavier car to bring them down to a normal position. Are they the correct part number for the car?
 
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