Rear Shock Size/Introduction

[Nokay]

Greetings! This is my first post being new to the forum and van ownership but have been scouring the forum since I purchased it a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago I bought a 2018 Transit Connect Cargo LWB 2.5L with 16,5xxx miles and I can't believe it took so long to get myself a van! I live in California and regularly ride mountain bikes and surf and it is so convenient to not have to take my gear out of the van all the time or be worried about my gear if I grab food or go into the store for something.  I will eventually build it out for trips/camping but I need the storage for a bit so for now I have:

 

Added hitch and bike rack

Added drapes

Put sound damping material everywhere except the floor and above the headliner (for now) have 2 more boxes to add

A few cargo nets for simple storage

New speakers/tweeters (thanks Donridley for speaker post/how remove door panels)

Cop center cap conversion haha

Added keyless entry pad (crucial for riding or surfing to not have to bring my keys) - For my 2018 I used P/N - KB3Z-14A626-A - took awhile to figure out how to program but worth the 30 minutes it took

 

Coming soon:

 

Remove false floor, add 2nd row single seat from 60/40 split and rebuild false floor with hatch to access storage on the side where there isn't a seat (1st saw Mikechell and Donshockley's posts - thanks guys!)

Adding a sub under drivers seat and bringing seats up 2" (thanks to Kevinrollin for adding bolt length and spacer post) - I've been super busy so my friend helped me (plus he's an actual machinist) and made 2" x 2" delrin spacers and got the right bolts

Larger A/T tires for clearance and in hopes to not get stuck

This leads me to my question regarding the rear shocks - does anyone know the eye to eye length and mounting hardware width and bolt diameter?? It seems the MK1 and MK2 rear shocks are different as MYK has MK1 and MK2 specific rears - is this correct?

My coworker made some rears for his MK1 so I have a dyno curve to match and I've searched but can't find any info..I want to make some shocks and don't want to have to pull my shocks and then make some.

 

Thanks for any insight into this and thank you all for your all your various posts and information as it has been invaluable!

 

 

[Nokay]

If anyone has replaced their fronts with new assemblies and still has their old one's I'd love to get my hands on them. PM me if you do!

[MLB]

Nice van! 

you don't have to use so much of the sound deadener. 

Doesn't need to cover the whole panel.  One piece covering 25% of the panel will do the job and save you a lot of weight and installation. 

 

How do you make your own shock absorbers?  That doesn't seem like a do it yourself gig.

Edited March 6, 2021 by MLB

[Nokay]

Thanks @MLB! Yeah...I’ve done less in other cars and then done more and it helped. I may end up insulating and making panels later for camping and just went all out so it’s super quiet in comparison to the toaster it was before. 
 

Because of my work I have a bit of an advantage than the average DIY person...I’ll post pics in this thread once I make some more progress ?

[Don Ridley]

Sound deadening provides diminishing returns after about 50% coverage. About 75% coverage provides optimal results. Of course 100% coverage yields the best possible results but it is unlikely you could tell the difference between 75 and 100%.

You could spend hours reading about this and go down some forum rat-holes where this is hotly debated...So apply as much as your budget allows ?

[JustinVP]

Did you ever find the rear shock specs? I'm curious as well as I'd like to fit some Gabriel HiJacker air-assist shocks. I did the 30mm front spacer lift, but left the rear stock (wagon sits higher than your cargo version). It's about right with just me and 1 mtb on back, but sags with 3 trail bikes and a full load of gear.

[Fifty150]

When I looked under my Transit Connect, a 2016, I saw a coil spring, with the shock absorber separate.  Not a built strut.  For the rear, in my mind, I suppose you can buy a longer shock absorber.  I think that an airbag could easily be added between the coil spring and the van subframe.  Then only thing that I see for the rear suspension is the Timbren kit.  But it won't raise the van higher, or carry more weight.

 

 

Timbren Kit for Ford Transit Van Connect (2014-2020) - 2WD - REAR [FRTCA] | $225.40 | SD Truck Springs | Leaf Springs, Helper Springs and Suspension Parts

https://videos.etrailer.com/static/images/video/Demo-Timbren-Vehicle-Suspension-TFRTCA.webm

https://videos.etrailer.com/static/images/video/review-timbren-suspension-enhancement-ttorseq.webm

 

[G B L]

15 hours ago, JustinVP said:

It's about right with just me and 1 mtb on back, but sags with 3 trail bikes and a full load of gear.

These would help with that. Rockauto.

[Nokay]

I was thinking coilover setup would be nice but annoying to adjust and then I'd have to compromise with it being too stiff or too light depending on what I had in the vehicle.  I concluded that air would be the best.  Since no one had posted in this thread before I just started using this thread to provide updates.

[MLB]

I've seen that Bilstein now lists shocks for TC's.  OEM replacment  4 series and "sport" (stiffer) 6's.  Iv'e read the mounts are slightly different in the 6's resulting in a slight lift.  But in my past experience this level shock is a nice upgrade.

Edited March 29, 2021 by MLB

[mrjoelrobinson]

I'm a little late to the party but wanted to share an update to this topic of custom/ adjustable suspension.

https://gazcoilovers.com/ford-transit-connect-gaz-coilovers-123-c.asp

 

I had a set of GAZ shocks/struts built for a Honda Insight and they were quite good.  I don't know about motorsport quality but for a typical car, more than adequate.  It was pretty funning driving the little jelly bean around like a maniac to test the handling, pull over, crawl under the back to tweak the shocks, repeat.  The front struts adjust with a knob that you keep in your toolbox.