Torque settings for Fox shocks in the Dynatrac 2" Lift

wwood

New member
Just a quick heads up.

I received the Dynatrac Endurosport lift a few days ago and installed the front lower shock bolts with 80 ft/lbs torque as specified in the written instructions, step 12. Turns out that is too much torque for the bottom crush sleeves in the Fox shocks. The sleeves were distorted and the brackets bent way in and even the bolt was bent. Here's a pic:

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I did not want to run my new lift with mangled parts so I contacted Dynatrac; they were very responsive and immediately contacted Fox on my behalf. Fox agreed to send me new sleeves and I received them today along with a nice new Fox hat. Many thanks to Dynatrac and Fox for taking care of me. :)

As I was re-reading Dynatrac's instructions for the 10th time today, I noticed that they have a section labeled Torque Specs on the last page, never noticed that before! On that page the recommended torque setting for the Fox shock bolts, upper and lower is 65 ft/lbs, not 80! Don't know how I missed that.... but for anybody installing the Dynatrac lift take note that 80 ft/lbs is definitely too high for the lower shock bolts. So even though the main instructions mention 80 ft/lbs, be sure to follow the Specs on the last page which recommend 65 ft/lbs.

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I will be installing the shocks again tomorrow after I press the new sleeves into the rubber bushings. I am going to start the torque on the lower bolts at 50 ft/lbs and work up 5 ft/lbs at a time to 65, watching carefully to be sure I am not deforming the crush sleeves.

On that first day, I also torqued the top shock bolts to 80 ft/lbs and that was no problem, the Fox crush sleeves on the upper mount are strong enough to handle the higher torque. When I reinstall the shocks I am going to use 65 ft/lbs on the upper bolts as well.

I should also point out that the Jeep factory spec for the lower shock mount is 74 ft/lbs which I believe is also too high for the Fox shocks. Here is a pic showing why - the factory torque spec is based on the factory shocks but the crush sleeves in the factory shocks are much thicker, beefier than the Fox crush sleeves.

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I am sure the Fox shocks will work perfect now that I have new sleeves and the proper torque. Will be taking the Jeep to Discount Tire on Monday to have Cooper 37s and KMC wheels installed. Will post some pics when the tires are on.
 

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JTCO

Meme King
Good info. Makes sense. Thanks for sharing. Regardless of the fastener torque, the sleeve can't handle it.
 

drhcobra

Member
Had the same problem, Bolts were fine Just a little squashing on the sleeves. They should tweak the directions. Also think it helps to unhook the parking break cables in the rear makes it easier to get the springs in IMO.
 

wwood

New member
Had the same problem, Bolts were fine Just a little squashing on the sleeves. They should tweak the directions. Also think it helps to unhook the parking break cables in the rear makes it easier to get the springs in IMO.

Yeah, I had to disconnect the parking brake cables on both the driver and passenger sides from the bracket on the axle and the drums so I could lower the axle far enough to get the coils off. After installing the rear shocks and re-hooking up the parking brake cables I checked the cables at full droop and they are super tight, thought they might get wrecked but they seem ok. Don't see any way to get more slack on these cables. Anybody have any ideas?

Update: I did find a small bracket a little way toward the front that holds the parking brake lines to the underside of the Jeep body so I removed that bracket and got maybe an inch more slack. Those lines are still too tight at full droop for my taste but they should be ok.
 

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Four Flusher

New member
I think that I might the first to figure out that 80LB was not right. Duratrac changed the spec to 65LB after I talked to Tony and he double checked. The not funny thing is, since the Mopar kit uses the same basic Fox shocks, a lot of folks who torque to 80LB are going to have the same crushed sleeve, they just won't know it.
 

drhcobra

Member
I think that I might the first to figure out that 80LB was not right. Duratrac changed the spec to 65LB after I talked to Tony and he double checked. The not funny thing is, since the Mopar kit uses the same basic Fox shocks, a lot of folks who torque to 80LB are going to have the same crushed sleeve, they just won't know it.

My son and brother helped me, we were on the last one when we noticed the lower bracket bent in. Reread the directions, yep, 80 and 81 ft/lbs. Didn't notice the difference in the chart till this post. Also not funny is that you brought this to their attention and they are still sending out directions with the wrong numbers.
 

Dynatrac

Supporting Advertiser
Supporter
We apologize for the inconvenience and glad you received the new sleeves from Fox. We hope you are now able to enjoy the lift!
 

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wwood

New member
More good news!

Just received a delivery of new crush sleeves from Fox Factory. I did not request these, came as a complete surprise. I, of course, told Dynatrac that I thought the crush sleeves that came in the Fox 2.0 shocks were too flimsy for use in Jeeps so maybe they said something to Fox or maybe Fox received other complaints about the crush sleeves getting deformed by standard torques in Jeeps or other vehicles.

Here is a pic of the new sleeves along with the original one piece version. The new sleeves are two piece and definitely look beefier and better able to handle the factory torque spec of 74 ft/lbs. The new 2 piece sleeves are the same overall length (1.549") as the old version but slightly thicker (old .626" v new .636").

I am going to test these new sleeves as soon as I get a chance to remove the shocks so I can press them in place. Will start at 50 ft/lbs and slowly increase torque and see if they can handle 74 ft/lbs.
 

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drhcobra

Member
More good news!

Just received a delivery of new crush sleeves from Fox Factory. I did not request these, came as a complete surprise. I, of course, told Dynatrac that I thought the crush sleeves that came in the Fox 2.0 shocks were too flimsy for use in Jeeps so maybe they said something to Fox or maybe Fox received other complaints about the crush sleeves getting deformed by standard torques in Jeeps or other vehicles.

Here is a pic of the new sleeves along with the original one piece version. The new sleeves are two piece and definitely look beefier and better able to handle the factory torque spec of 74 ft/lbs. The new 2 piece sleeves are the same overall length (1.549") as the old version but slightly thicker (old .626" v new .636").

I am going to test these new sleeves as soon as I get a chance to remove the shocks so I can press them in place. Will start at 50 ft/lbs and slowly increase torque and see if they can handle 74 ft/lbs.

Wouldn't surprise me if these are crushing at 65 ft/lbs.
 

wwood

New member
Wouldn't surprise me if these are crushing at 65 ft/lbs.

Unfortunately, you are right. I decided to test the new sleeves on a standard 12mm factory shock bolt and they began to crush and deform just a bit over 65 ft/lbs.

I think the 2 piece design is a bad idea because the 2 pieces will not say aligned on a 12mm bolt because the fit on the bolt is too loose. As soon as any significant pressure is applied to the sleeves, they misalign which allows them to cut into each other easier and deform. I torqued the pair of sleeves to 65 ft/lbs and the torque wrench did click once but it felt mushy and the sleeves were misaligned and a little deformed. I then increased the torque to 70 ft/lbs and the torque wrench would not click, the sleeves were crushing and deforming more and more as I continued to pull. I stopped pulling the wrench because I did not want the sleeves to become so deformed that I could not get them off the bolt. Then I reduced the torque setting to 65 ft/lbs and tried again. This time the wrench would not click at 65 and the sleeves continued to deform, so I ended the test.

Even if the sleeves were actually inside the rubber bushings on a shock, they would still misalign and deform because the rubber is not hard enough to prevent the misalignment. In fact I bet the two piece sleeves would still deform somewhere between 65 and 70 ft/lbs even if they did not misalign because the steel is too thin and too soft. I am assuming the new 2 piece sleeves are some grade of stainless steel because it is not magnetic and it is fairly soft because it is easy to mark with a center punch.

It appears to me that the lower mount and crush sleeves on these Fox shocks has to be increased in size and strength similar to the factory lower shock mounts which are much beefier and stronger as shown in my first set of photos. It also appears that a 2 piece crush sleeve design is not going to work since it seems to reduce the ability of the sleeves to handle torque.

Here is a pic of the 2 piece sleeves after my test. Since the wrench would not click at 70, the sleeves began to crush significantly somewhere between 65 and 69. I am using a Snap-On industrial brand torque wrench in new condition so I am quite sure the torque is in calibration.
 

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drhcobra

Member
Unfortunately, you are right. I decided to test the new sleeves on a standard 12mm factory shock bolt and they began to crush and deform just a bit over 65 ft/lbs.

I think the 2 piece design is a bad idea because the 2 pieces will not say aligned on a 12mm bolt because the fit on the bolt is too loose. As soon as any significant pressure is applied to the sleeves, they misalign which allows them to cut into each other easier and deform. I torqued the pair of sleeves to 65 ft/lbs and the torque wrench did click once but it felt mushy and the sleeves were misaligned and a little deformed. I then increased the torque to 70 ft/lbs and the torque wrench would not click, the sleeves were crushing and deforming more and more as I continued to pull. I stopped pulling the wrench because I did not want the sleeves to become so deformed that I could not get them off the bolt. Then I reduced the torque setting to 65 ft/lbs and tried again. This time the wrench would not click at 65 and the sleeves continued to deform, so I ended the test.

Even if the sleeves were actually inside the rubber bushings on a shock, they would still misalign and deform because the rubber is not hard enough to prevent the misalignment. In fact I bet the two piece sleeves would still deform somewhere between 65 and 70 ft/lbs even if they did not misalign because the steel is too thin and too soft. I am assuming the new 2 piece sleeves are some grade of stainless steel because it is not magnetic and it is fairly soft because it is easy to mark with a center punch.

It appears to me that the lower mount and crush sleeves on these Fox shocks has to be increased in size and strength similar to the factory lower shock mounts which are much beefier and stronger as shown in my first set of photos. It also appears that a 2 piece crush sleeve design is not going to work since it seems to reduce the ability of the sleeves to handle torque.

Here is a pic of the 2 piece sleeves after my test. Since the wrench would not click at 70, the sleeves began to crush significantly somewhere between 65 and 69. I am using a Snap-On industrial brand torque wrench in new condition so I am quite sure the torque is in calibration.

Don’t know if you noticed but the upper sleeve is the same 2 piece design. If you initially torqued them to 80 ft/lbs they have probably deformed as well. They are just as thin on the part inside the bushings. I agree they never feel solid when you go to 65 and when you re-torque they seem to it want to get there. I ended up at 60-62. I had 1 in the rear making some noise made new upper and lower sleeves. Everything seems to be staying tight and no noise now. Did some testing up and over some rocks to get some flex no issues. I’m leaving it alone for now and will keep an eye on things.


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aug0211

New member
Man this is a bummer. I was about ready to purchased but am turned off by two things:

1. I had thought the lift was $1,200 but it looks like $1,300
2. No discount code for forum members is always a bummer - this forum is essentially what has convinced me to buy.
3. These sleeves crushing. I’ve lost confidence in the product; I do not want to spend $1,300 and then be messing with things because they cannot he torqued correctly.

Guess I’m back on the sideline waiting to see how this plays out.


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JTCO

Meme King
Man this is a bummer. I was about ready to purchased but am turned off by two things:

1. I had thought the lift was $1,200 but it looks like $1,300
2. No discount code for forum members is always a bummer - this forum is essentially what has convinced me to buy.
3. These sleeves crushing. I’ve lost confidence in the product; I do not want to spend $1,300 and then be messing with things because they cannot he torqued correctly.

Guess I’m back on the sideline waiting to see how this plays out.


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1. A hundred dollar difference between reality and what you had 'thought' the price was going to be doesn't seem like a huge deal for a quality lift kit, in my opinion.
2. Why should anyone offer a discount? I'm not following....
3. Here's what I know from past experience with Dynatrac. They care about quality and customer satisfaction. They'll do everything they can to make this right. That's what they do.
 

aug0211

New member
1. A hundred dollar difference between reality and what you had 'thought' the price was going to be doesn't seem like a huge deal for a quality lift kit, in my opinion.
2. Why should anyone offer a discount? I'm not following....
3. Here's what I know from past experience with Dynatrac. They care about quality and customer satisfaction. They'll do everything they can to make this right. That's what they do.

1. Agreed - as a rule of thumb, I am always willing to spend about 10% more than my original "budget" for improved quality. My original budget was $200 for a budget boost. So... selling myself on the $1,200 was already 600% of my original plan. This is not a question of a fair price or value of Dynatrac, it's a question as to whether the value is there *for my use case* compared to a cheaper spacer kit. Also, take it easy on the "reality" vs what I "thought" - I may have made an honest mistake. Did Eddie not say $1,200 in the install video? I may have made a mistake and misheard.

2. Nobody has to or needs to. I may be mistaken, but I was almost sure Eddie's install video on this kit said $1,200 - then when I saw the $1,300 on the Dyna site, I thought maybe there is a forum discount code that dropped it $100. Of course that's never required, lol - it's a free market. Do you disagree that it's cool when vendors offer forum discounts?

3. I do have an instant message chat going with them which is cool - my last question was about the crushing and torque specs. I'm hoping to get an idea as to whether they have a fix around the corner that makes sense to wait on, or if I should wait for SEMA as we know the market will likely explode then.

At the end of the day, my situation is that I'm on the fence as to whether I will appreciate the value of a spring + shock kit over a spacer kit. That plus the price difference between $1,300 and, lets say ~400... plus the new issue with the sleeves crushing are all that is keeping me from ordering now.
 

wwood

New member
Don’t know if you noticed but the upper sleeve is the same 2 piece design. If you initially torqued them to 80 ft/lbs they have probably deformed as well. They are just as thin on the part inside the bushings. I agree they never feel solid when you go to 65 and when you re-torque they seem to it want to get there. I ended up at 60-62. I had 1 in the rear making some noise made new upper and lower sleeves. Everything seems to be staying tight and no noise now. Did some testing up and over some rocks to get some flex no issues. I’m leaving it alone for now and will keep an eye on things.


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Damn! NO, I did not notice that the upper sleeve is also 2 piece. I did torque both of the upper sleeves in the front shocks to 80 when I first installed them and did not notice that I was crushing the bottom sleeves until I investigated the "mushy" feeling on the second bottom sleeve (could not get 2 solid clicks) and saw the brackets bent way in. It was daylight but I had the Jeep up on jack stands in the garage and somehow there were shadows on the parts and I could not see the brackets bending until I got a flashlight and looked up close. I was shocked and immediately removed both front shocks from the Jeep, luckily there was no damage to the top sleeves.

Sorry to hear you were getting some noise, I have not had time to test the kit offroad or for flexing, only have maybe 5 miles on flat local streets! I was worried that the low torque on these sleeves (60-65 ft/lbs) would let them move in the brackets during any offroad use - definitely not good!! Interesting that you made new sleeves. Wish I had the tools to do that, lathe etc. Maybe you should go into a side business and sell your sleeves if they test out good. LOL! I'll buy a set since I don't want to have to worry about the shocks coming loose in the brackets. :)

Seriously though, I think Fox has to beef up these sleeves, top and bottom, so they can be used on Jeeps without issues. Hope Dynatrac is working with them on a solution.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Man this is a bummer. I was about ready to purchased but am turned off by two things:

1. I had thought the lift was $1,200 but it looks like $1,300
2. No discount code for forum members is always a bummer - this forum is essentially what has convinced me to buy.
3. These sleeves crushing. I’ve lost confidence in the product; I do not want to spend $1,300 and then be messing with things because they cannot he torqued correctly.

Guess I’m back on the sideline waiting to see how this plays out.


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1. When we made the video, the lift wasn’t even available yet and the price I stated was based on what Dynatrac was hoping to sell it for. I think they got really close.

2. While there isn’t a discount code, Dynatrac did offer one of their kits as a giveaway prize here. You should have entered it as you might have been able to win it for free.

3. So that it isn’t missed, they’re called “crush sleeves” for a reason. Them getting crushed a bit will not change the performance of your shocks.

With all that said, this may not be the right lift kit for you.




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drhcobra

Member
Damn! NO, I did not notice that the upper sleeve is also 2 piece. I did torque both of the upper sleeves in the front shocks to 80 when I first installed them and did not notice that I was crushing the bottom sleeves until I investigated the "mushy" feeling on the second bottom sleeve (could not get 2 solid clicks) and saw the brackets bent way in. It was daylight but I had the Jeep up on jack stands in the garage and somehow there were shadows on the parts and I could not see the brackets bending until I got a flashlight and looked up close. I was shocked and immediately removed both front shocks from the Jeep, luckily there was no damage to the top sleeves.

Sorry to hear you were getting some noise, I have not had time to test the kit offroad or for flexing, only have maybe 5 miles on flat local streets! I was worried that the low torque on these sleeves (60-65 ft/lbs) would let them move in the brackets during any offroad use - definitely not good!! Interesting that you made new sleeves. Wish I had the tools to do that, lathe etc. Maybe you should go into a side business and sell your sleeves if they test out good. LOL! I'll buy a set since I don't want to have to worry about the shocks coming loose in the brackets. :)

Seriously though, I think Fox has to beef up these sleeves, top and bottom, so they can be used on Jeeps without issues. Hope Dynatrac is working with them on a solution.

Yep twice the wall thickness plus a little flange would be nice but that would require a new bushing. I think there is too much slope in the holes in the shock mounts which allows the sleeve to misalign and start pushing through the hole. Seems to be staying tight for now. Hopefully I’d Dynatrac makes some type of upgrade they will offer that to those who already have the kit.


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aug0211

New member
1. When we made the video, the lift wasn’t even available yet and the price I stated was based on what Dynatrac was hoping to sell it for. I think they got really close.

2. While there isn’t a discount code, Dynatrac did offer one of their kits as a giveaway prize here. You should have entered it as you might have been able to win it for free.

3. So that it isn’t missed, they’re called “crush sleeves” for a reason. Them getting crushed a bit will not change the performance of your shocks.

With all that said, this may not be the right lift kit for you.




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Thanks. So on number 3, are you saying there is no issue with these crushing before the torque spec?

EDITED TO ADD: I'm not trying to be a jerk or asking facetiously - generally asking because I don't know the answer to this.
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drhcobra

Member
1.
3. So that it isn’t missed, they’re called “crush sleeves” for a reason. Them getting crushed a bit will not change the performance of your shocks.




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I had to fix an upper end that was moving a little got crushed a lot trying to go to the wrong torque. I assume my share of responsibility there. everything else is re-torqued to 65 and nice and tight. I don’t see there being any problem. My only complaint is the directions, yes the right numbers are there, but as you follow along you come to the wrong specs first. I’m sure this will be corrected. I am happy with the lift and the ride quality. I am in NO way suggesting anyone avoid this product.



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