Aluminum Shocks

[Jhollowell]

Hear me out. The gen 1 shock bodies are steel which accounts for the horrible corrosion and I'm guessing they hold heat a lot better than the gen 2 aluminum shocks (heat=bad). The gen 2 shocks are an aluminum body and bigger diameter and thinner wall tube and have much less corrosion and the shocks seem to hold up better (less heat buildup). Now, I'm not an engineer, however i work with a lot of smart aerospace engineers so I'm going to enlist their help to get some actual numbers but I'm wondering what it would take to make a Gen 1 aluminum shock body.

Facts:
Gen 1 body - Steel, 2.5"OD, *** wall, Threaded ends
Gen 1 bypass tube - compressed between upper cap and lower eyelet. No valves between shaft and IFP
Gen 2 body - Al, 3.0"OD, *** wall, NOT threaded.
Gen 2 bypass tube - Threaded into upper cap and lower eyelet, valve stack between shaft and IFP

Assumptions:
Sizing load cases: pressure, fatigue

In order to make an Al Gen 1 shock the ID of the tube will need to be the same and have the same threads so the top and bottom caps thread in as well as keeping the same fluid volume, so the only thing i can change is the OD. Obviously you can't just change materials but I'm curious how much larger OD I'd have to use in order to keep similar strength. It should be fairly easy to get the max pressure and calculate stresses, but the threaded ends may present a problem. I'm wondering if they chose steel because of the threads and the fatigue issue it causes or did they just over build it because it was the first one. Also, the Gen 2 is quite a bit lighter so maybe the pressures and forces are less? Anyone have any thoughts on this? Dumb idea that doesn't have any advantage? Guesses as to why the gen 2 went to a non threaded Al body? I know from experience when you do a second version of anything you can fix/improve a lot of things from the original so i'm wondering if the gen 2 shocks are just an improved design or if they are redesigned for a completely different truck? Curious to hear your thoughts.

 

[rschap1]

I have been shopping and needing to replace my Gen1's shocks for a while.
While I am a 3D cad/cam designer, CNC programmer, and toolmaker; building a new shock from scratch (which I assume you are heading towards) seems like an awful lot of work to "reinvent the wheel". There are a few methods allowing Gen2 shocks to work on Gen1 Raptors (which I am considering). I think either/any of these would be better than trying to make a Gen2 style hybrid for Gen1 from scratch. OR...even better...the aftermarket "race" shocks and set ups available. While I agree with your list of Gen1 shock shortcomings, and am hoping myself to overcome some of those, I have never thought of trying to design/build my own/new shocks.
Would be curious to see it materialize and be a possible customer if compatible and affordable. As to "why" the change/upgrade??? I have only experienced Gen1 stuff, so I dunno. Surely Ford and/or Fox had some reason or probably reasonS. I would always guess $$$ being at least one reason if not the biggest, any performance enhancements or improvements would be weighed against the dollar$ involved.

 

[Jhollowell]

I wasn’t looking to reinvent the Gen 1 shock, just changing the outer steel body to aluminum to help with corrosion and heat dissipation. All other internals would be the same. Machining a threaded tube would be fairly simple and maybe cheap?

 

[Jhollowell]

It would be easier to just do the Gen 2 conversion buckets however the Gen 2 shocks are a PIA to rebuild so I’d have to send them out whenever i needed a rebuild. I like the ease of rebuilding Gen 1 shocks but the clean up and corrosion are also a PIA

 

[downforce137]

fairly sure they are all steel, and all threaded, just different coatings on the Gen2 is holding up better to the elements than the zinc coating on the gen1 and early gen2 shocks..

how can they be serviced if they are not threaded into the body??

the orange/blue parts are definitely aluminum, but the charcoal/silver parts are more than likely steel..

 

[Gumby]

I have thought the same thing when I discovered the body is metal. The oil has to cool steel, it could do a much better job with aluminum. I have a few sets I have disassembled Didn't have Leaks of nitrogen or oil. but just lost performance because the oil was TOAST. I think and aluminum body would be much better. wall thickness. couldn't really change the body has threads on the inside and outside. IMO I think the material change would be enough to make a huge difference.

 

[Jhollowell]

fairly sure they are all steel, and all threaded, just different coatings on the Gen2 is holding up better to the elements than the zinc coating on the gen1 and early gen2 shocks..

how can they be serviced if they are not threaded into the body??

the orange/blue parts are definitely aluminum, but the charcoal/silver parts are more than likely steel..

i've rebuilt Gen 2 shocks and i'm 99% sure the body is Al, but never did the magnet test. They are NOT threaded though, that i know for a fact. The bypass tube is threaded and the upper and lower caps thread into that. Anyone with a gen 2 shock care to try to stick a magnet to the body?

 

[Jhollowell]

I have thought the same thing when I discovered the body is metal. The oil has to cool steel, it could do a much better job with aluminum. I have a few sets I have disassembled Didn't have Leaks of nitrogen or oil. but just lost performance because the oil was TOAST. I think and aluminum body would be much better. wall thickness. couldn't really change the body has threads on the inside and outside. IMO I think the material change would be enough to make a huge difference.

Agreed. the Gen 1 shocks i've opened were always low on oil and the oil was toast. The gen 2 shocks i've opened looked brand new. It'd be cool to put a gauge on the the shock and try to compress it on the truck and see what the pressure jumps up to. Should be fairly easy to size an Al tube for pressure even if i just assume 500psi or something. the fatigue in the threads would be the tricky part.

 

[Jhollowell]

so i just thought of something that just killed this idea. if you increase the body diameter, the perch will no longer fit. Guess we're stuck with our steel bodied hot shocks.

 

[MurderedOutSVT]

This thread is shocking