Question: Now for the Rancho question. Can Rancho 5000's be mounted upside down? I don't believe they can. Reason I ask is that at full droop the shock tube will hit against the coil spring perch resulting in damage to the shock. Don't know if it would damage the inner wall/piston or not but it definately will damage the outer wall the first time the axle is at full drop. Now I know the lower control arms could be extended further out to try and roll the axle and get it away from the coil spring perch but then we run into the Tera warranty that states warranty on control arms are voided if the control arm is extended more than .75”. So… suggestions? Is there a bolt on bracket to get the shock tube away from the perch if they can't be hung upside down?
Answer: Don't mount the Rancho 5000's upside down. They'll thump around–it seems like the piston has to travel through an inch or so of air before it smacks into the oil. (not sure if that's exactly what's happening, but that's how it acts) The only shock I know of for sure that can be run upside down are the Doetsch Tech ones. (until you get into more expensive varieties) The Doetsch Tech shock do work very well upside down, and as far as I know this is the only shock that can be mounted this. YES, Tera sells a shock relocation bracket that will go on and move the mount out about 1-1.5 inches, for about 35.00 bucks. This makes them clear ok. We did this to a TJ and they lasted about 1 yr of wheeling, until the whole bracket was ripped off. This is a reflection of how cheap the brackets are on a TJ axle and not really a reflection of the Tera bracket. I would seriously recommend that on a TJ you weld covers and extra brackets on the axle brackets, especially the rear one the has a control arm and the track bar. I have seen and fixed a number of these after they were removed on the trail.