94 ranger shocks torque. Do or do not?

[BigAssTim]

I’m trying to put in a set of bilstein b6 4600 shocks and the repair manual says close to 30 ft/lbs on the top nut. Ive Tried getting the nut that tight, but the rubber bushings were getting too flat and I was afraid they might smoosh out. I’ve read a lot of folks saying just tighten them until the bushing start to flatten out and others have said the same but do a double nut to ensure it never comes loose. I’m not sure where to go at this point.

what do I believe?

Tim

 

[Dirtman]

The washer is usually wider than the bushing, tighten until the bushing crushes enough to equal the width of the washer.

Its a shock though.... just tighten the dang thing and leave the torque wrench in the toolbox.

 

[Snoranger]

Factory shocks usually don’t have lock nuts... they rely on torque to keep them from backing off. They usually have a sleeve or a shank that keeps the person on the assembly line from having to think. He has a pneumatic torque wrench that’s set so he cant over torque the nut. That torque spec is based off factory replacement shocks.... It’s all about speed and eliminating human error on the assembly line.

As Dirtman said... tighten it until the rubber crushes to the size of the washer or just slightly bigger and be done with it.

 

[sgtsandman]

I torqued mine to the Ford shop manual spec but I have seen numerous shops just run the nut down with an air ratchet until it stops. You be the judge.

 

[JMF661]

I just tightened them up until the rubbers were crushed together through the coil bucket. Double nut or a nylon locker are probably the way to go.

 

[Grumpaw]

As Dirtman posted, proper way is to tighten the top nut down till the rubber bushing is compressed to the width of the washer, maybe with a very slight bulge. Over tighten and you loose the "compressibility" of the rubber bushing. If your worried about the top nut backing off (never have had it happen in 55 years of replacing shocks) just take the top nut from the old shock, if its the same thread (most likely is) and run it down till it tightens against the new shock nut.
Put KYB's on my Ranger a month ago. The new front shocks actually came with two top nuts.

 

[Dirtman]

Blue or green loctite works good too. NEVER USE RED! But like grump said, never seen one back off. The resistance of compressing the bushing keeps the nut from being able to back off anyway.

 

[BigAssTim]

The washer is usually wider than the bushing, tighten until the bushing crushes enough to equal the width of the washer.

Its a shock though.... just tighten the dang thing and leave the torque wrench in the toolbox.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[BigAssTim]

I just tightened them up until the rubbers were crushed together through the coil bucket. Double nut or a nylon locker are probably the way to go.

The new shocks came with a nut that has nylon inside it. I just tightened then until the rubber squished to the washers edge.

-t