Hydraulic lift question

I'm working on installing my hydraulic front end lift kit, but have some questions.

My original plan was to mount the rams on the top of the shock, which should make bleeding easier. However, when I do this the upper area of the ram does not seat completely to the cap. The cap has a beveled edge rather than a 90°, so the ram won't sit flush.

When I mount the ram to the bottom of the shock, it does not mount flush to the spring adjuster. There is a groove milled to the inside of the ram into which the spring adjuster fits into. It doesn't appear that the groove is cut deep enough for the length of the collar on the spring adjuster.

I'm wondering if these gaps are acceptable, or have I put something together incorrectly? I'm concerned about putting too much force onto a small area if I leave the gaps.

Here's the order for top mount:
Cap»spring»spacer from kit»shim»spring adjuster

Here's the order for bottom mount:
Cap»ram»spacer from kit»spring»shim»spring adjuster

Cheers
 

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Ben I had the same issue, I machined two spacers to make up the gap. Also you should mount them at the top it is the proper way to install them. If you do not have access to a lathe, you should be able to use bearing shims.
Cheers,
 

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Hold up. Unless I find some really thick shims, it will take a bunch of them.

I wonder what QA1 would say about milling off the tapered flange of the upper cap?
 
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I called QA1 today and was told that the upper collar may be milled without serious consequences. They've done this for customers in bulk orders for smaller I.D. springs.

I also asked about the possibility of doing a group buy of milled caps. Would anyone be interested in this?

Cheers
 

Dave Lindemann

Lifetime Supporter
Another option may be to collect the caps from everyone who already has them and have them all machined at once rather than buying replacement machined caps from QA1. The caps for mine will need to be machined as well I suspect (I haven't gotten that far yet) and I know of a very good machine shop in Hugo MN (Foremost Technologies) that could do the work for a reasonable cost. You'd have to see what QA1 will charge (and their minimum quantity) vs the cost of shipping and machining. Just a thought......

Dave L
 
Gents, I'm sorry to break the news, but QA1 isn't interested in milling out a bunch of caps for us.

I took my caps to Foremost Tech (Thanks for the suggestion Dave) today, and they will be finished tomorrow. Cost will be around $60.

I'd be happy to be the collection point if everyone wants to mail me their caps. I suspect that we need several people to take advantage of a price break. Otherwise, you might as well take them to a machine shop local to yourself.
 
Foremost Technologies told me that if they were to mill 5 sets at a time, the cost would be about $35 a pair.
 

Dave Lindemann

Lifetime Supporter
As with most any machining, volume helps a great deal with cost. Once they get the machine set up correctly they can buzz through the parts. Machining 1 or 2 is cost prohibitive but doing 20 becomes economical.

Regards,
Dave L

Foremost Technologies told me that if they were to mill 5 sets at a time, the cost would be about $35 a pair.
 
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