This is what the installation...
This is what the installation looks like when completed.
Shock absorbers, as the name implies, work with the truck’s suspension to absorb the effects of bumps and holes in the road. They help damp the impact and vibration during driving while also making sure the tires are always in contact with the ground. Damping vibration and impact may seem like an easy enough concept to grasp, but there are three important energy principles to consider, too:
Kinetic Energy: Energy which is in motion (in this application it refers to the up-and-down movement of the truck tire due to variations of the surface of the road or trail)
Elastic Potential Energy: Potential energy of an elastic system (leaf and coil springs and torsion bars in this case) that is deformed under tension or compression
Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transformed from one state to another. In mechanics, conservation of energy is usually stated as E = T + V, where T is kinetic energy and V is potential energy.
A shock absorber’s sole purpose is to damp the compression and rebound of a suspension system by controlling the speed at which the suspension cycles. Without them, every obstacle the tire encountered would result in the truck bounding up and down until the kinetic energy is dissipated as heat and the elastic potential energy of the spring is reset. Without the shock absorber, your truck would handle like a playground spring rider: fun for a toddler—dangerous for a truck. Like a strict teacher on playground duty, the shock absorber uses the law of conservation of energy to keep things safe. First the shock slows the suspension’s cycling of compression and rebound. Because energy cannot be created or destroyed, the shock transforms the kinetic energy to heat as it damps the movement of the springs.
Engineering
Shock absorbers work on the principle of fluid displacement and convective heat transfer. Forcing a piston through oil, shocks develop the hydraulic friction necessary to oppose the unwanted bounce in the suspension. Hydraulic fluid in the shock body is forced through orifices in the piston head as it compresses and rebounds. The orifices meter the amount of fluid through the piston, which slows down the spring movement, thus creating a velocity- sensitive damping device. This means the faster a suspension cycles, the more resistance the shock absorbers provide. Consider a screen door: It opens with a slow and steady pull, but try to jerk it open with a hard and fast pull and you’ll discover it’s not so easy anymore. Most of these screen doors employ a basic mono or twin-tube shock absorber for door-closing duties.
Most OEM shock absorbers are of the twin-tube variety, much like the one in the screen door example. This type of shock is perfectly acceptable for street use, but it does have limitations and drawbacks. The primary disadvantage is that when it is asked to endure heavier loads than designed for or sustained rough terrain it will overheat and aerate. When the oil in the shock foams due to excessive heat generation, the shock will lose its ability to damp, creating a bouncy and scary ride. So if you find yourself driving on the trail at more than 25 mph, have added larger tires and rims, and do a lot of daily driving, you may want to consider upgrading your shocks to some with remote reservoirs. Reservoir shock absorbers offer many of the same benefits and features as monotube shocks, but with a few extra twists. Built with an added fluid reservoir, these shocks offer less cavitation with enhanced cooling ability. Essentially, these shocks will maintain excellent performance for extended periods, even in hard-core off-road situations. As an added bonus, nothing beats the look of reservoir shocks. So now you know how remote reservoir shocks work and why you need them.