Metalcloak Six-Pack Shock User Question

[3TV]

I'm going to be building a JL Rubicon with portals instead of a suspension lift. I want to maximize down travel, so the Six-Pack shock is a good way to do that. Has anyone used Six-Pack shocks with stock suspension? The collapsed length of these shocks is short enough to use on stock JL Rubicon suspension. BUT, ... will the stock JL Rubicon springs fall out at full suspension droop?

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[Chip]

Stock Rubicon springs will probably fall out as well as bending the front driveshaft joint on the transfer case side and inverting the front sway bar. As well as maybe tearing the front brake lines if you don't unbolt them from the lower control arms.

 

[3TV]

I figured I would need longer sway bar links. I don't want the springs falling out though. Been there, done that, with a TJ back in the day. Hadn't thought about the front driveshaft. You are right though, it isn't how much lift you have that takes out the front driveshaft, it is how much suspension droop you have. Maybe the Sixpack shocks aren't the best idea for what I have planned. A set of King shocks for a 0 - 2.5" lift might be a better idea. I suspect I'll have to do the build with the stock shocks on, then disconnect them and drop the suspension all the way and articulate it all the way to see what I need before changing shocks.

 

[oceanblue2019]

I wheel with two guys who have them. They are a clever design but because they have twice the seals and they tend to side-load the seals badly due to the offset loading of the body they eat seals quickly. You either need to get setup to rebuild them yourself, have someone local who can do so, or prepare for some downtime.

I also wheel with a guy who has portals on his 2023 Bronco and no matter what the vendors tell you they are not suitable for a daily driver. They have very limited gear oil capacity and quite high gear loading (1.22:1 ratio) and at highway speeds the gear oil breaks down and result is the gears get damaged and very noisy.

 

[3TV]

I wheel with two guys who have them. They are a clever design but because they have twice the seals and they tend to side-load the seals badly due to the offset loading of the body they eat seals quickly. You either need to get setup to rebuild them yourself, have someone local who can do so, or prepare for some downtime.

I also wheel with a guy who has portals on his 2023 Bronco and no matter what the vendors tell you they are not suitable for a daily driver. They have very limited gear oil capacity and quite high gear loading (1.22:1 ratio) and at highway speeds the gear oil breaks down and result is the gears get damaged and very noisy.

Thanks. Good to know. I'm still thinking this through.

 

[CloakedWillys]

I have helped set a couple builds up that are similar. The portals are a good reason to keep the suspension height down for sure.

The setup i helped these guys put together netted about an inch of lift but had our true dual rate coils for a longer free length to support the long shock travel.

It is recommended you do a front driveline with any shock over 27" since it will pull the cluster tight at the t-case about that point.

You will be getting onto nitrogen recharges with ether of the shocks you mentioned.


Feel free to give me a call at Metalcloak and I can help you with some details.

 

[CloakedWillys]

I wheel with two guys who have them. They are a clever design but because they have twice the seals and they tend to side-load the seals badly due to the offset loading of the body they eat seals quickly. You either need to get setup to rebuild them yourself, have someone local who can do so, or prepare for some downtime.

The design actually prevents side loading due to using 2 shafts per side.

The stock shocks can be bolted right back in during rebuilds so that the jeep is not down as well.

 

[3TV]

I have helped set a couple builds up that are similar. The portals are a good reason to keep the suspension height down for sure.

The setup i helped these guys put together netted about an inch of lift but had our true dual rate coils for a longer free length to support the long shock travel.

It is recommended you do a front driveline with any shock over 27" since it will pull the cluster tight at the t-case about that point.

You will be getting onto nitrogen recharges with ether of the shocks you mentioned.


Feel free to give me a call at Metalcloak and I can help you with some details.

Thanks for the follow up. It looks like it could be done, but I'm starting to think the jury is still out on portals. There must be 50 You Tube "influencers" pitching portals that they have installed on their 4x4, whether it is Jeep, Toyota, or Ford. I don't know if we know what the long term reliability is going to be on them though. I think I could manage an oil change every 5,000 miles, but it is a nuisance. I would hate to have a portal gear lock up somewhere in Alaska or Saskatchewan though.

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