Abstract: A suspension damper of the monotube gas charged shock type includes mating piston and rod guide assemblies and mating piston and gas cup assemblies wherein the extension and compression travel of the damper is maximized. The piston includes an annular skirt with a lower rebound cutoff element. The rod guide assembly includes twin spaced apart bushing assemblies providing lateral support to the piston rod, a lower annular leg and an upper rebound cutoff element. When the damper is in a fully extended position, the lower annular leg is received within the upper rebound cutoff element and the upper rebound cutoff element is received within the annular skirt of the piston assembly.

Abstract: A suspension damper includes an integral one-piece reservoir tube arrangement which provides a self-centering feature for the internal components of the damper, supports the loading on those internal components for proper functioning of the twin-tube type damper and applies for a preload force through the internal components.

Abstract: A structure and method of gas charging a suspension damper is provided wherein a deflectable seal opens a gas charging passage solely under the application of externally applied gas pressure without requiring additional mechanical deflection device and wherein no charge-passage-specific machining operations of the piston rod are required to provide a gas charging passage around the seal.