Steeleng 6" lift shock touches R&P tube

[JGUATX]

2012 TXT 48 V with Steeleng 6 inch drop Axle lift kit, Original Monroe shocks #76419-G01, added new bushings to bottom and extra washer but end of shock is still too close to the rack and pinion tube. The lifted L bracket for shock is closer to the axle base than the original L bracket by 5/8 of an inch. I called Steeleng and they said it should not be close. Well it is, and the shock is correct. I believe it is design error and would like to know if anyone else has same issue and what we can do about it! I called a local place which says they have seen issue and off the record they said they saw off the end of shock to shorten the bolt. If it is too short there is not enough space for rubber bushing below the mounting plate.

[E36Racer]

Couldn’t you just take some of the bend out of that bracket so it’s no angled down so far?


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[JGUATX]

Tried bending it upward with a large adjustable wrench on it and it just went back like a spring to where it was. Maybe if it was not already on the vehicle and heated with torch and held back on upright portion. Not the way it is now with what I tried with.
Thank you!

[Nsane]

You need to tighten the shocks, your bushing should have a small bulge to them and that might help a little.

[DaveTM]

Well, IMHO I wouldn't heat the metal. If you do it will soften it and likely bend when under shock pressure.

I'm wondering....if like Jakes front end lift....(models for pre 2001.5 years and post 2001.5 years) if you have perhaps a wrong model for your year cart? I know that on my 2000 txt, the steering is located at the very top, under the Dash\Cowl.

[rib33024]

Looks to me like it's about a half inch away from hitting the steering. But if you don't like it. Cut the bottom rubber in half and use that half on the top to rise it up a little, after you tighten it up cut the bolt off that is sticking out. And you can use a thin lock nut on the bottom and get more room. I don't see a problem with it. The only way that shock bolt is going to hit the steering. Is if you jump the cart off the ground and it lands hard


Thin lock nut

https://www.albanycountyfasteners.co...EaAtTXEALw_wcB

[SmeltShackBBQ]

Just my opinion (I know nothing about the TXT), but it looks like the angle should be 90 degrees on the bracket. Is the other shock mount bent to the same angle? Or is that picture just an optical illusion, and it is 90?

Either way, if it was me,, i would send those pics to the manufacturer, if it's right, it's right, if its wrong, and they wouldn't fix it.... I would remove it, after taking note of the angle it needs to be, grind it down, bend it to where it needs to be with a strong shop vise, and a pipe wrench with a bar on the handle, weld a small triangle gusset in there, so it cant bend back, (plus gain a boatload of strength), paint it, and re-assemble it. To me, that looks like a flimsy shock mount, relying on a piece of flat bar with a 90 degree bend, to hold a lot of weight, but I am fairly new to these buggies.... So don't take that the wrong way, I usually over-do and over-think things.

[rib33024]

There is no weight on that shock mount/bracket. All the weight of the cart, is held by the springs. The shock and mount just stop the front of the cart from bouncing up and down

[Cartmaster]

Originally Posted by rib33024

There is no weight on that shock mount/bracket. All the weight of the cart, is held by the springs. The shock and mount just stop the front of the cart from bouncing up and down

This is correct!

And the angle of the bend looks the same as the factory axles. I assume the whole axle is replaced with this lift kit as the stock axle does not have this issue.

how is the lift achieved with this kit? Is it similar to the stock one and just the ends of the axle tube are bent down and a bracket supplied to raise the track rod to correct working height? If so then the shock mounts are simply not tall enough.

Simplest cure would be to cut the brackets off and re weld them slightly higher on the front of the axle tube. As stated in previous post by Rib33024, the shocks do not put any stress on the brackets, and they would only bend anything by bottoming or topping out over severe bumps. Personally i would go back to the manufacturer with this issue.

EDIT
Ok, I have found the kit on their website and It looks as though, the rack mounting plate is welded to the top of the axle tube. This is where your missing 1/4 inch or so is, along with slightly short shock mounts.. I used to manufacture my own lift kits for the later TXT's in the UK before commercially produced ones were available. I did this by welding a water jet cut plate to the rear of the Steel box axle tube so the tops were flush and at the correct angle, then made the shock mounts to be at the same height as the stock axle mounts and never had this problem. Even my prototype consisting of an ST350 axle with the rack mounting plate cut from a later axle welded to the back worked perfectly with the correct height shock mounts welded on.

[DaveTM]

Originally Posted by rib33024

There is no weight on that shock mount/bracket. All the weight of the cart, is held by the springs. The shock and mount just stop the front of the cart from bouncing up and down

I agree that there is no "static weight load" on the shock mount. However, shock's do apply force to the mounts when the cart is going over bumpy surfaces. This is the "shock load" I am referring to.