Anyone with a new a/mkt shock Extended the self-leveling arm?

[Wmoater]

Dad is in Arizona and not a tech guy, as in computers, so he asked me to throw this out there. He decided to update his OEM rear shock for an M2 shock like the one I have that works great for riding 2 up and towing a trailer. He spoke with Marcus, who did all the calculations for his style of riding and needs, and then built and shipped the shock. When Dad installed it, the new series of M2 shocks is 1/2 inch longer than stock. It fit in fine without any problems and is riding fine. He really likes the feel. I believe M2 made that 1/2 an inch change on the second series right after mine.

Anyway, as he is driving down the road the compressor vents all the air out of the airbag and keeps trying to discharge air even though there is no air left to discharge. He says it’s clicking to discharge every 10 seconds, like it wants to discharge but there's nothing left. He removed the lower 10mm bolt on the leveling swing arm and moved it up and it began to fill. Lowered it and it discharged.

So everything is working fine when operated by hand while mom sits on the Spyder with it in drive. Basically, the arm needs to be 1/2 an inch taller, actually a bit longer because it's at an angle, for it to get the height back to the OEM setting. He ran it by a dealer, and they said to make a small metal plate about 1.5 inches tall and an inch wide out of 1/8” steel; drill a hole about 1/4 inch up; and put a bolt in the old 10mm hole on the frame against the frame and plate. Then drill another hole in the new plate 1/2” up and attach the arm to that hole. It's basically to extend the OEM mounting bracket frame hole on the frame up 1/2 an inch.

I have not heard of this before, but it makes sense. It's the same arm spanning the same distance now, just instead of the arm attaching to the frame bolt, it's attaching to the plate. Then the bottom of the plate attaches to the OEM frame hole, so it registers the same as OEM just a bit taller.

Has anyone run into this before with the self-leveling control and new shock? I’ll try to get pictures. I can picture and imagine what he is explaining, but not sure I've conveyed it well enough here. Can anyone see any problems with this? It makes sense to me and I think it should work just fine.

 

[spyderdave]

Yup, I put M2's on my RTL a few years back and, pretty much, rendered the air ride useless; and I raised the ride height. Here's what I did to fix the whole thing: I wound up installing a lighter spring (by 50 lbs) and built my own "dogbone".

Marcus used Eibach springs which are marked w/ the part number. If you want to lower the spring rate, the last 4 digits of the number are the rate; google Eibach and the number you want, it's out there somewhere; probably $85.00 +/-.

If you want to change the "dogbone", go to the McMaster Carr website and search for "Ball Joint Rod Ends w/ Nut"; I used #4237N102 (a Left AND a right). Then search for "Internal Thread Turnbuckle Style Connecting Rod"; I used #8415N76. Do yourself a favor, and order 3 or 4 different lengths up front, it'll save shipping charges if you're wrong the first time and the little buggers are hard to weld!

It's a lot of trial and error to get it right, but I finally have my air ride doing exactly what it did from the factory. I hope this helps, good luck and safe travels!

 

[troop]

Two year old thread

 

[Bunson]

On my 2018 I installed a vredestein rear tire and had occasional rubbing over bad bumps. I removed the factory link and installed this adjustable turnbuckle. One side is right hand threads and the other is left hand. The one heim joint is missing from picture. I could loosen lock nuts and adjust without removing anything. This came from a machine I work on so no part numbers.

 

[Mikey]

Making an adjustable dog bone is a great idea, but if you have put an aftermarket shock that has built for your riding style and weight, then you can leave your bag pretty much empty, because the shock is doing all the work now. The air bag would be used like an overload when your hauling extra gear for a trip! Instead of relying on the compressor to adjust any slack in your shock setup I would do one of two things, put just a small amount of preload on your spring, or hook your bag straight to the schraeder, and manually find the correct pressure you need for your setup! Sooner or later that compressor is going to break and give you troubles! Take as much out of the equation that you can which will cause you pain out on the road.