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Strut wear after Motofab 2.5" level on ORP.

Whiskey_tango

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For a small lift, I don't think this is anything to worry about and probably happens in most lifts where you don't relocate the lower control arm. Since the shock is attached to only the middle of the top plate, there's room for the angles to be a little off. But definitely something to dissuade you from too much lift. When I put my stuff together, I plan to trim the boot a bit and smooth the end out - there's a good 2" that the boot extends over the shock body so there's some room to remove material. Also, I think if you slit the boot on both sides maybe 1" up from the bottom or so, that might relieve enough pressure to stop the wear (but might cause the boot to eventually crack).

I don't think they'd want to make angled top-hats because just imagine if someone put it in backwards.

I'm convinced that's exactly what they did. The stock strut can only go one way. The spacer rotates the strut 180.

So, say there is a 5 degree inward angle on the top-hat. Rotate that strut 180 and now you are 10 degrees off from where you started ( -5 to +5).
 

rsonedecker

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I'm convinced that's exactly what they did. The stock strut can only go one way. The spacer rotates the strut 180.

So, say there is a 5 degree inward angle on the top-hat. Rotate that strut 180 and now you are 10 degrees off from where you started ( -5 to +5).
But you can put the top-hat on anyway you want, I don't think they have any angle to them and they don't have any orientation marks. I'll mic them when I get home (uninstalled), but I know they are machined parallel. There are three studs, and you can orient the top-hat three different ways.
 

rsonedecker

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I would think that additional side load would be hard on the shock piston and seals.
I think there's enough "play" in the single mount point of the piston in the top plate to allow for a slight change in angle - in theory, as the normal suspension articulates up and down, there will be movement and angle changes.
 

rsonedecker

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The studs are not equally spaced. They can only go one way with the shock rotated 180 degrees.
Hmm! I'll have a look when I get home - I have the motofab 2.5 and daystar 2" sitting on my bench. Visually they looked equidistant.
 

Whiskey_tango

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Hmm! I'll have a look when I get home - I have the motofab 2.5 and daystar 2" sitting on my bench. Visually they looked equidistant.

If you have the ORP shocks can you please check the following?

Stand the shock upside-down on a level surface on the three studs. The shock should stand on it's own.

Then put a level on the shock to see if it's tilting one way.

Then rotate the shock 180 and see which way the shock is tilting.

I did something similar, but I was in a hurry and determined to get everything back together.

Thanks!
 

rsonedecker

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And honestly just want to state again
If you have the ORP shocks can you please check the following?

Stand the shock upside-down on a level surface on the three studs. The shock should stand on it's own.

Then put a level on the shock to see if it's tilting one way.

Then rotate the shock 180 and see which way the shock is tilting.

I did something similar, but I was in a hurry and determined to get everything back together.

Thanks!
I do have them, but only the shocks and springs - it's not fully assembled, so I wouldn't be able to do that test. My truck is finally in-transit, and when I pull it apart I plan to check a bunch of things out!

What I can say is this - I've looked under enough trucks for part numbers to say with certainty that ORP and non-ORP trucks show this cant in different flavors in stock form. Some close to touching, some actually touching, and some not so close (but still canted enough to really tell) - I looked specifically due to thinking about this thread and that I plan to put an ORP shock with top-hat spacer in my truck.

Watch the RealTruck videos on youtube on the different lifts they did on 2019s - you'll see the cant in those as well. In those, it looks like the boot is actually touching the shock body, probably due to the lower control arm being extended down, which is essentially what happens when you extend the length of the spring/shock.

I think the cant is normal in assembly (probably caused by the spring not being perfectly perpendicular, the position and orientation of the spring isolator, and the fact that the shock top only mounts in the center), but is then exasperated by the additional height and angles when you lengthen the shock with a top-hat spacer.
 

rsonedecker

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I'm convinced that's exactly what they did. The stock strut can only go one way. The spacer rotates the strut 180.

So, say there is a 5 degree inward angle on the top-hat. Rotate that strut 180 and now you are 10 degrees off from where you started ( -5 to +5).
Perhaps you are referring to the stock shock top mount having an angle, not the aftermarket top-hat spacer? I think I understand what you are saying now. I thought you were referring to the aftermarket part having an angle.
 

rsonedecker

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Okay - Yeah, I can see that the top plate bolts are not equidistant when I really look at them - Duh.

However, I still don't think the top plate has an angle to it, but I personally can't validate until I get my truck. I just think that Readylift would have done their due diligence and known that, and added that into the instructions to rotate the shock top 180' instead of the entire shock, especially in their 3.5" lift which already requires you to remove the shock top plate - but they specifically instruct you to mark it and reinstall it in the same orientation, and then flip the entire unit 180' on install. I was really close to buying all the parts to assemble the shock and spring outside the truck, but felt it was a waste of $100 since I can just reuse what's on my truck - but if I had, I could have verified the angles. Really hoping my curiosity doesn't get the best of me, or I'll be out $100....

Also don't think it would make a difference if you switched sides as the shock would still be in the same orientation which ever side it's on.
 
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Whiskey_tango

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Okay - Yeah, I can see that the top plate bolts are not equidistant when I really look at them - Duh.

However, I still don't think the top plate has an angle to it, but I personally can't validate until I get my truck. I just think that Readylift would have done their due diligence and known that, and added that into the instructions to rotate the shock top 180' instead of the entire shock, especially in their 3.5" lift which already requires you to remove the shock top plate - but they specifically instruct you to mark it and reinstall it in the same orientation, and then flip the entire unit 180' on install. I was really close to buying all the parts to assemble the shock and spring outside the truck, but felt it was a waste of $100 since I can just reuse what's on my truck - but if I had, I could have verified the angles. Really hoping my curiosity doesn't get the best of me, or I'll be out $100....

Also don't think it would make a difference if you switched sides as the shock would still be in the same orientation which ever side it's on.

I think if you go with the Daystar you should be set. No strut rotation. Quite frankly I don't know if this rubbing issue is anything more than cosmetic in an area no one sees
 

Whiskey_tango

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I swapped out the Motofab for the Daystar. The front seems to maybe sit 1/2" lower with the Daystar. The ride feels better to me and the struts we're much easier to put back in.
 

rsonedecker

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I swapped out the Motofab for the Daystar. The front seems to maybe sit 1/2" lower with the Daystar. The ride feels better to me and the struts we're much easier to put back in.
Cool. Yeah, the Daystar is a 2" lift, regardless of what some things say - they've corrected it in some of their documentation but not all - even the box says 2.5" on the sticker, but the instructions say the correct 2". I just got done putting the rear 1" coil spacer on, and tomorrow the front daystars are going on (like yours).
 

rsonedecker

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Just wanted to add some additional info here. 1) the factory top-hats have no angle to them, you could orient them any way you wanted as they wouldn't produce the cant. 2) The spring isolator is indexed, so if you were not careful and the isolators were not installed correctly, they could cause some issues. 3) The factory top-hat has a hard rubber bushing in the center where the shock piston tube is installed. This allows the shock to move around a little as the suspension articulates up and down and angles change.
 

RedRocketZ28

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With the ORG, and Daystar 2" level, do you need the UCA's as well? I've read some say yes, and some say no.
 

ksn240

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Yes - 1" factory + 2" Daystar = 3" over "normal" height, so UCAs are highly recommended.
Agreed. Anything over 2" over a stock truck I would make sure I had new control arms. I put the Readylift kit with control arms on mine just for peace of mind, and it really only raises it a little over 1.5". I will soon be going to an offroad spring in the front and the Daystar kit on top of it.

You could maybe get away with it for a 2" level if it wasn't an offroad package truck but I just don't want to chance it. 4th gens were notorious for the ball joint ripping out of the upper control arm with any lift or level what so ever.
 

Tac747

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I noticed the dirt shield is rubbing the strut body pretty severely. I suspect it's due to the strut hat angle. Anyone else have this issue?
I noticed this rubbing on my struts with the paint being worn off so I checked around. Everyone I know who has had the lift or level accomplished by adding a top hat spacer has this rub. The way it was explained to me is, It seems to be because the EOM strut top has a designed angle built in to keep a solid contact surface with the strut housing. When you rotate the strut to allow for the new bolt alignments from most strut spacers the angle is reversed thus creating a bind. This shows up on the boot rubbing the strut and the fact that even though the bolts receive the proper torque, the spacer does not produce equal pressure on the strut housing. This is why some of the cheaper lifts and levels crack even before, or soon after the truck is taken off the lift.
Again, I am no expert. This is how it was explained to me. It is also why I had the top hat spacer removed am and waiting patiently for Bilstein to release their RHA 5100 strut replacement in September or October.
 

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