The rear shocks on a Cherokee mount using a stud on the bottom and a bar pin on the top. The bar pin is a fairly normal way to mount a shock, but it has disadvantages. The worst of these, IMHO, is that if one of the two mounting bolts comes loose or breaks the entire shock can work loose and fall off. Other disadvantages include: The tendancy for the mounting bolts to break on older rigs (there's no easy way to get the nuts out), the small contact area that the mount pushes against, and the limited selection of shocks available with this design. Mounting BPEs has the added advantage that you can buy (or build) BPEs of various heghts, so you can match your shock mount to your bump stop length.

Shock with bar pin style mount	Upper, rear, shock mount

In my case I am going to cheap-out and try to use the rear sway bar mount as a shock mounting bracket. I have heard of this being done, but I am concerned about the effects of rotating the upper shock eye 90 degrees. This means that the direction of the shock eye's rotation will be front to back, not side to side. There are BPEs for sale on the market that rotate the shock eye, so I am going to try it and see what happens. If you decide to duplicate this, be aware that there may be increased twisting force on the shock mounts.

The swar bar mount, a bar pin, and a shock bolted into the mount	The holes in the mount match the bar pin perfectly. Also note the open-end design of the bar pin which can allow the bar pin to slip off if one bolt breaks

Step One of this install is to dig out your old sway bar mounts (you have removed your rear sway bar haven't you?) and the bolt that went through the sway bar bushing. If you are converting your existing shocks you will need to get two shock bushing sleeves. If you have purchased aftermarket shocks such as Pro-Comps the shocks probably came with both bar pins and sleeves. I went to a local Midas and asked if they had extra sleeves. The guy showed me a box full and said to take what ever I needed.

If you are changing the mounts on your existing shocks you will need to remove them and press the bar pins out. I used a lot of silicone lubricant (one with no solvents, not WD-40), and used a small screwdriver to work it down between the bar pin and the bushing. Then I grabbed the end of the bar pin with a pair of pliers and rotated it back and forth until it was loose in the bushing. Finally, I just pushed one end of the bar pin down against a 2x4 and slid it out of the shock eye. On the second shock I wound up pushing the bushing out with the bar pin, but it was no problem to press it back in again. These were fairly new shocks. If the bushings have started to deteriorate on your shocks you may not be able to press the pins out without destroying the bushings.

Once the bar pins are out (lucky you if you just bought new shocks with no bar pins in them), you need to press the shock bushing sleeve in. Use plenty of silicone lubricant, and it shouldn't be too hard. I started the sleeves by pushing them into the bushing at a 45 degree angle, then pressing on and rotating the sleeve to get it partially in. Once the sleeve was started I placed a socket under the bushing to keep it from slipping out of the shock eye, and tapped the sleeve in with a hammer.

I chose to mount the brackets and then bolt the shocks to them. Bolting the brackets on was easy. The only catch is that the holes in the sway bar brackets are larger than the bolts. I used lock washers to create a sleeve for the bolt that exactly fit the holes in the bracket. I also used fender washers on the bolts, since they are larger than regular washers.

New mount in place	With the shock bolted on

One shock went on easy, the other gave me a fight to get the shock eye lined up to the bracket. Use lots of lubricant on the shock bushing so that it will slide into the bracket easier. Most aftermarket BPEs have a washer between the bushing and the bracket to avoid potential damage to the bushing.