# Another air shock and rear ballast question?



## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

Did a search on the forum but still a little confused. What air shocks are you TJ guys running on a stock TJ? Would like to pick some up this weekend but not sure which ones to get. Also, what are you guys doing for counter weight or ballast (not sure if that is the proper terminology)? I will be plowing with a 7'6" Snoway MT on a Wrangler TJ. I am fairly handy and can fab up things if necessary but just looking for some ideas..


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

I have a #400 bumper that plugs into my receiver hitch ( with chains to the frame) 

Shocks are Front MA 763 (ither Gabriel or Monroe)


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## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

theplowmeister;1369365 said:


> I have a #400 bumper that plugs into my receiver hitch ( with chains to the frame)
> 
> Shocks are Front MA 763 (ither Gabriel or Monroe)


Do you by any chance have the P/N for the Gabriel shocks? I assume the MA763 are the Monroe shocks. Also a 400 # bumper ..would sure like to see a pic of that.


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

any place that sells gabriel can cross the number over. picks are some ware on plowsite.


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## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

theplowmeister;1369562 said:


> any place that sells gabriel can cross the number over. picks are some ware on plowsite.


Hey thanks, found a pair of Gabriels at Autozone website for 64 bucks! Are you also running air shocks in the rear?


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

on one stock jeep I run airshocks on the jeep with a 4 1/2 lift I dont.


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## roundel90 (Dec 17, 2011)

*Front Air Shocks*

I have a '98 TJ and chose to put Monroe MA763s on the front. One thing I came across, as I had read else where , is that the air valve on the shock body was inaccessible because of the shock mount configuration. I decided to cut the bottom mount off with a sawzall, and re-weld them back on 45 degrees different. This allowed full unobstructed access to the valve.

I have had them on for 3 months now, they support the weight of my Meyer ST78 very well, they haven't leaked a pound. I will caution you that if you choose to cut and weld, it will obviously void any warranty, and you must go slow with the welding as the rubber sleeve will have a tendency to ignite. My next step will be to add an on-board compressor to vary the pressure from the cab when I take the plow on and off.

I have a custom mount that I built in my shop, I hope to get pics up soon as I just discovered this site.

Be careful when you plow with your Jeep, make sure you have support bars distributing the force further back on the frame or you will run the risk of tweaking or bending your Jeep.

Just my 2 cents!


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## Premierplowing (Oct 8, 2009)

Ive just put on a 7.5ft snoway on my 97 tj this season and its quite a bit heavier than the 6.5 ft that was on the jeep last year. I've got the monroe air shocks installed in the front as well. What is a safe pressure to run the shocks at to level out the front of the jeep?

Thanks


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

This is not rocket science

My shocks have a MAX PSI of 200 I dont know the max air for your shocks, just dont go over that pressure.

take the plow off measure the bumper height.

put the plow on

add air till you get the same bumper height.
that is how much pressure you need to level out the jeep with your plow.

done. the hard part is trying to remember what that pressure is.


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## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

How do these jeeps handle on road without the plow on? This is my daily driver and was just curious as to how it will handle with the air shocks being only in the front.


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## Premierplowing (Oct 8, 2009)

They tend to get a little light in the rear with the extra weight in the front and the rear can get sketchy when driving in the snow. Just throw 4/5 bags of salt in the back and your good....OR you can go full on like Plowmeisters rig with a 400# lead bumper attachment


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## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

Premierplowing;1388834 said:


> They tend to get a little light in the rear with the extra weight in the front and the rear can get sketchy when driving in the snow. Just throw 4/5 bags of salt in the back and your good....OR you can go full on like Plowmeisters rig with a 400# lead bumper attachment


Hey thanks for the response. How does the jeep handle WITHOUT the plow on while doing normal driving. Never had air shocks before..


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## bschurr (Nov 8, 2011)

Curro;1388749 said:


> How do these jeeps handle on road without the plow on? This is my daily driver and was just curious as to how it will handle with the air shocks being only in the front.


Without the plow just reduce the air pressure in the front shocks. I installed mine about a month ago and have been driving around without the plow attached at 40PSI and it is a firm ride but not terroble - in fact, I like it better than my former stcok shocks. IIRC the manual indicated to not run the air shocks below 10PSI (which I am sure would be fine as a DD).


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## Curro (Nov 28, 2011)

bschurr;1388881 said:


> Without the plow just reduce the air pressure in the front shocks. I installed mine about a month ago and have been driving around without the plow attached at 40PSI and it is a firm ride but not terroble - in fact, I like it better than my former stcok shocks. IIRC the manual indicated to not run the air shocks below 10PSI (which I am sure would be fine as a DD).


Excellent, thanks for the input..


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## cjshloman (Nov 10, 2004)

Im gonna have to look into this for my tj now that I have a western. Just have to figure out the size since I have a 3" lift.


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