Monroe Air Shocks

[JustBuggy]

[Airkewld]

[TheVWkid1835]

Dang that things sweet. Curious what Monroe’s did you run and do you make the bushings to sell? The only place I found was airkewld and it seems overpriced to buy the 500$ kit from them just for their Delrin spacers that no one else makes. The Monroe’s I had rubbed a little bit on the upper trailing arm. Also how’s the ride quality with the since your running one set of leafs.

[JustBuggy]

On my ride I did the thru rod on one beam only, leaving one beam with the stock spring leaves. I narrowed a set of the teflon bushings on my lathe. It doesn't go insanely low but serves my purpose.

At stock height I could roll a basketball under the front of the car, it looked stupid that way!

I have several photos and my complete writeup way back in this thread somewhere

[TheVWkid1835]

Hey everyone, I have a ball joint front end and want to do an air system in the front, previous owner had put Monroe shocks in front and left the leafs in with the adjusters out. It rode absolutely terribly and felt like there was no suspension up front.Also it only gave the care about a 2 inch lift when aired up. I was wondering what might be the cause of this so when I do my air ride setup it rides smooth. Here’s what he installed
2 inch narrowed / adjustable beam
Empi poly urethane long bushings in place for stock beam bearings
Monroe shocks (not sure which kind)

I was thinking for my air ride system
new set of Monroe’s ( some that will leave a little room from the beam and floor just in case a shock leaks mid drive.)
Airkewld thru rod so there’s absolutely no tension between leafs and shock ( cheapest 2” narrowed thru rod)
New polyurethane long bushings OR new beam bearings in and go short bushing
air lift performance kit I already own for air management

If anyone has recommendations for what Monroe’s I should get and any other suggestions to get a smooth air ride setup let me know

[DerrickfromNC1]

From reading this thread it seems like the go to air shock is the Monroe MA756.

A friend of mine has been running the MA709 for about 5 years without any problems.

The MA709 is actually constructed in the reverse(upside down) compared to the MA756. He has some very slight rubbing on one of the shocks against the trailing arm to the point where I don’t think any action(grinding on trailing arm) would be required. At rest there is a 1/4” gap but at some point while driving it just barely contacts.

Is anyone else using the Monroe MA709?

[Mike-O-Rama]

[DerrickfromNC1]

Trying to decide which air shocks I should buy. I have a 2” beam which has adjusters installed. My spindles are the CBPerf 2” dropped versions. From what I can tell the adjusters where positioned on the beam such that at the highest adjustment my ride height is still too low with my current wheel/tire combo 2” dropped spindles. I actually only need about 1” additional ride height to have adequate clearance and still maintain the look.

As it sits now without any shocks installed I measures about 11.75” from the underside of the shock tower to the lower shock mount. The air shocks I purchase would probably not need much air pressure to give me a 1-2” lift.

Here are a few of the Monroe air shocks I’m considering and their specs:
MA756…….10.250”compressed……….16.375” fully extended
MA711…….11.875”……………………………19.625”
MA777…….12.500”……………………………20.500”
I don’t see any specs on the dia. of the shock body and from the pics they all look the same but if there is a difference I would prefer the one with the smallest dia. to ensure I don’t recreate a clearance issue between the shock body and lower trailing arm.
Which would you recommend or perhaps there is another air shock I should consider.

Thanks

[CNSRANCH]

I know this is an older thread, but I could use some guidance.
First of all, '68 front end. Manx-style buggy with tires that extend out beyond the fenders. My sprung weight on the front end is only about 350 lb. Upper torsion bar has been thru-rodded. Don't know if lower springs are shot or not, but without shocks on, I can push the front end down with no spring back.
Measuring from the shock tower to the bottom shock mount the shock needs to be extended to 15.5" to get the right height that I want. Because of the geometry of the trailing arms, my body hits the tire when the measurement from the shock tower to the shock mount is 14 and 1/4 inches. You guys are using Monroe's ma 756 which has a compressed length of 10 and 1/4 inches, and an extended length of 16.25". My question is this... if I raise my front end from the 10 and a quarter inch compressed length to 15 in, do I have to worry about bottoming out the body on the tire? Also, do I need to worry about maxing out the extended length of the shock due to it being at 15 and 1/2 in? My other alternative is to use a Monroe air shock that has a compressed length of 14 and 1/4 inches. The danger of course is that if I bottom the shock out I can blow the shock. Your input is really appreciated.

[runamoc]

[TDCTDI]

[BushwhackDave]

Hey Guys - will a dead stock 68 Ball Joint front Beam get any drop at all with MA 756's? I'm after 1-2" just for stance not slammed. No Beam Adjusters-stock beam -will it move up & down at all?
_________________
59 Beetle
67 21 Window Samba Van
73 Super Beetle Convertible
69 Meyers Towd
68 Bay Window Double Door Van
68 Bushwhacker Dune Buggy Red (STOLEN)
68 Bushwhacker Dune Buggy Green
68 Custom Dune Buggy

[JustBuggy]

[Mike-O-Rama]

[blinger]

i too am having an issue similar to others here... putting 120psi in the front (MA756) and the thing barely moves. Lifts up and stays there if I get out and pull up on the front.

My pressure switch shuts off at 145psi and the shocks fill to 120psi. Wondering if I just need a different pressure switch that allows for more air in the tank?

Still some rubbing common arm rubbing/clearance issues that I need to figure out which could be the source. Also wondering if maybe I have the thru rod nuts too tight which is preventing the arms from traveling freely

[Bigalforsyth]

[TDCTDI]

While ordering parts, I tripped across the Monroe air bag shocks, since they were stupid cheap, and this project needed shocks anyway, I decided to score a set so I could join the cool kids with air ride.



Upon the first trial fit, I found that not only was the lower eyelet was too small a diameter to fit over the stud on the lower trailing arm, but to was also too long.

Well, I remedied this by pressing the lower collar out of the old shocks...

And stuffing them into the new ones.

I was then able to install the shocks onto the trailing arms but I then found that the shock bodies were too large in diameter & were fouling against the upper arms.

After a bit of research in the late model Beetle forums, I found that this was a common occurrence & that quite a few grind away on the upper control arm to gain the necessary clearance. This has got to be the stupidest fucking idea ever.


Knowing that there had to be a better way, I came up with my own solution.


With a bit of adjusting, I determined that the shock needed to be moved inboard roughly 1/2” and the hole in the beam needed to be opened up about 1/4” and the shock body would just clear the upper trailing arm. However, there is not enough length on the lower stud to slip enough washers on before there aren’t enough threads to install the nut, so I made a longer lower shock collar that was also the nut.


First, I welded a nut to a washer...

removed a collar from another old shock, slipped it onto the trailing arm, tightened a nut against it & welded them together.

Not having a lathe, I threaded a stud into the collar & chucked it into the drill & turned the weld & nut down with a die grinder.

Once it was ground down to size, I then welded the other side of the washer to the pared down nut & turned it down too.

After applying a bit of SilGlyde, I then pressed it into the shock.

Then, using a carbide burr on the die grinder, I opened up the hole on the beam a bit to the rear & towards the inside & after mounting the shock in place, I checked for any clearance issues throughout the range of motion.

_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[xzener]

Upgrade and a second compressor.
_________________
My 70 beetle was totaled Now to build the Ghia I always wanted. Rest in peace Ruby, I will miss you. Hello <insert Ghia name here>!

[Mike-O-Rama]

Update- I switched over to a 1 gallon tank, much quicker to fill and obtain enough PSI to raise the front end. With the 3 gallon it was taking 5-6 min to get enough pressure to lift the front end if the tank was empty, kinda sucks sitting there waiting for it to build pressure. The one gallon takes about 2 min.

If you like demonstrating the shocks at shows, cars and coffee, or just have a kid who loves the psshhhh sound like mine does, keep the 3 gallon and upgrade your compressor, or add a 2nd compressor.

[Mike-O-Rama]