I'm putting new OEM shocks on my 04 dodge Dakota and I'm looking for any stupid easy way to get 1-2 inches out of adding new shocks.
Does anyone know if shock extenders are a good or bad idea?
I'm looking at ones like this:
Bad idea. Not safe at all. Just like coil spacers or clamps they can give way or break, which is especially hazardous during any turn or curve. The ones you ate looking at won’t actually break or give way but they will make the shaft of the shock end up taking on more stresses than it was designed for. Which could cause them to break or bend. If you want an additional 2” do it the right way. Buy a body lift kit, or change the mounts to taller ones for your existing springs. Mounts don’t cost much. And are fairly easy to do.
taller ones
Would this be better? They go on top of the shocks to extend them.
Front shocks*
No, if you wanna add lift never modify your shocks. You need to change your spring mounts.
Amazon has an adjustable 1-3” kit with torsions for front, lift blocks for the rear and the taller shocks needed for the kit for 389. Suspension is just something you can’t safely cut corners on.
What if I use metal spacers instead of plastic-looking ones I posted?
Or are you saying I need to lift the springs and shocks?
Like this:
torsions
I don't think it has torsions, 2004 Dodge Dakota SLT 2wd 4.7 v8. Rear-wheel drive. Extended cab, 2 doors. It's hard to find a lift for the 2wd. That's why I thought I could just get away with some shock extenders.
Then go with a body lift and taller tires. Body lift kits are cheap and not hard to install. Just make sure you have someone reprogram your speedo.
If you want to raise your truck, do it the right way with a body lift or change the mounts as Thumpy said.
Take a look at how the shock mounts to the frame of a truck, then look at the extension. The truck's frame mount and shock top have broad, concave/convex surfaces to uniformly spread the truck's load on top of the shock, with a rubber bushing to prevent metal on metal contact. If you use any kind of metal extension to extend that mounting screw, you can lose practically all structural integrity in that shock with a hard enough hit. Try bending an old shock sideways with the leverage on the original mounting bolt. It won't bend. Try it with the extension, and it probably will. The upper half of the shock is just sheet metal, meant to guide and protect the hydraulics inside. Other than the very top, it's not load bearing. It's like a sleeve, and any kind of horizontal force on a lever can easily damage it. A rough hit with a 3500 pound truck going 40 or 50 can easily produce enough force to flex the head of the shock.
Just my $0.02, but I wouldn't mess with raising the suspension of trucks in general. Engineers designed the suspension to support the truck at the factory to carry the truck's loads and ensure safety within certain parameters for crashes, higher speed cornering, etc. Lift the truck, you're raising the weight, giving it more "leverage" to swing sideways on the wheels with, which reduces the safety factor, making it easier to roll over. To compensate for the higher weight correctly, the tires need to be set further apart, requiring spacers, which will eventually cause premature wear on the suspension and steering as well. Get a factory lifted truck if you want a higher ride. My 1999 Ford Ranger 4×4 has the factory lifted Off-Road suspension, and it still has that we're gonna roll over feeling if you go around a cloverleaf going 40-45.
