Just wanted to tell everyone to make sure that the BLACK half of the shock is on the door side and the silver is on the car side. The instructions show the shock the wrong way. My passenger shock broke and the drivers is close to it. There is NOTHING wrong with the kits, just a oops in the instructions.

Does the company know this? I hope they're going to replace your shock.

r u sure about this? cuz the label that says "750 lbs" would be backwards if we were to put it the way u say.... but I dont know. If one of my shocks has almost no strength anymore, does that mean its about to break or something? it's actually even kind of hard to push my door up! should I have joe replace it before the door falls on top of someone?

Evansville J-Body wrote:Does the company know this? I hope they're going to replace your shock.

Yeah they know. Joe's taking care of it.


If you look at the VDI instructions the shock has the black side up.
Like I said nothin wrong with any of the parts. Just a mix up in the instructions. Just wanted to post this so people could get them flipped before they started to break more

does it make a huge differance or something, cuz i have mine installed silver side up and havent had any problems yet.



simple minds talk about other people.
average minds talk about events.
great minds discuss ideas

yes it makes a difference, I'm the one that first noticed it, I wasn't sure which way they went so I used alittle common sence.... if you have the black part down when the door closes the black base on the shock will hit little ball in socket pivot joint causing it not to move how it should, if it has a flat surface holding it when it wants to pivot somethign will bend/break, might not happen right away but it will, with the silver end down the joint still has its full range of motion

6(sic)6 (been bagged!) wrote:does it make a huge differance or something, cuz i have mine installed silver side up and havent had any problems yet.

Pull one of your shocks out and see if its bent. Bet it is.

I looked at my shock some more and even the threaded part on the black half is bent. Not as bad but it is

can someone post a pic of the right way cause mine is installed with the black part of the shock down so when I open the door the siver part extends upwards towards the door

the black part is supposed to be up and connected closest to the door and the silver part goes into the ball joint thats why there are lock pins to put in at the end of the silver piece. i thought the same thing with the black part going down and silver up but i kinda bent my strut at the silver part. i fixed it without weakening it. but definitely silver part down , black part up. just for pics look at these: http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/5/web/653000-653999/653021_84.jpg
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/7/web/475000-475999/475782_111_full.jpg
just look through the pics and you'll see 1 pic that shows how the shock goes. hope this helps guys.


I NEED a 97-99 LD9 engine harness for an auto.PM if u hav info.!!

hmm....good info. i guess thats what the problem with mine was. i hope joe can fix it up for us.



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Hey guys.....I would have replied sooner, but I wasn't around a computer a lot today. I'm currently investigating this because the shocks should be able to mount either way. As we find out more, I'll post updates.

If anyone has any problems with the shocks, just let me know. Send me an e-mail and they'll be replaced.....A few of you have already been in contact with me and I'm working as fast as possible to get these sent out and taken care of. Please, if it takes me a while to reply, just send the e-mail again or send me another one. It is a VERY busy time of year, but I'm trying to help out all of my .org people first

well, ive gotta say that when i had bought my kit (vertical doors inc.) from redrum customs my shocks were installed just as you see in the picture that rednine has provided.

but the kit i had purchased was for a 2 door. so when i had contacted redrum, they sent me lower powered shocks. the shocks had to be installed as such.

so, basically the original shocks i received were (vertical doors inc.) shocks...'cause it had the vdi label on it....
and the replacements are the (im assuming chin wah) shocks. they bolted up the opposite way.
i have never had any problems thus so far, and i dont believe that i have any dents nor bends. so i dont know exactly what is going on here. ill wait to see what joe can find out.
good luck to everyone.



-Www.IznTrbl.Com-

* runs out and switches em around lol*

I dont get what the difference would be? My decah kit had them black side down and silver up. Thats how i have my MMS kit right now also.

Whats the diff it will extend or retract no matter what.

Should I flip mine? Will I have to take off the fenders again?

^^^ i have mine like that ... orlandomon tried fliping it and it bent so which way is it

yeah I tried flippin the freakin shock and when I tried to close the door it bent it! grrr >:I I think the way most of us have it is fine, at least for the chin wah kit. maybe the vdi is a lil different or something. when u think about it, the stickers that say "contents under pressure" and "750 lbs" and whatever other words we have on there are straight when we install the shock black part down. if we flip them, the words will be backwards. so can anyone give us a definite/detailed answer, with pics preferrably. close-up too, maybe I did something wrong when flipping mine, thats why it bent? but how can u install these wrong?

Mine Broke back in Febuary if im not mistaken Mine were the first to break, Mine isint MMS but they are Chin Wah (same thing) Ans Yes the Screw part broke off the silver with the silver DOWN in the cap on the Hinge! So they break EITHER WAY!!!

So the Struts themselves are the problem NOT the mounting position!

If you want pics email me.

Now the way I fixed it:

I drilled a hole thru the mounting cap that goes in the spherical bearing on the hinge, then I put the gas strut in the lathe and Drilled out the end of the Rod(silver part) about 1.5" and taped it for a 8.8 grade bolt

Then I put the Bolt thru the cap into the rod and locktighted it in
Re installed it with the black side Up (just like before) Oh and I also redrilled the Hole thru the bolt for the cotter pin.

If you need pics I can get some.

wow i was off the org for a couple of days and now this.. Um wonder what i should do just wait it out or go out this weekend and try ot change the way i have them mounted. cause i have them silver side up as well..

Ok guys.....I did some research and investigation and personal testing on the systems. Bascially, the shocks can be mounted either way, but it's recommended that they be mounted with the "silver side" up. This way, if the pivot point every breaks, the shock body will prevent the shock from going through and the door falling. We have had these kits installed on cars for several months (and a few for well over a year) and there have been very minimal problems. VDI recommends that the shocks are mounted with the silver side down.....I think this is where there is some confusion.

so then they do go like this right

Yes, thats the recomended way, but if have them the other way its okay.