Hi everyone this is my first post so excuse me if this has been asked before but I didnt see it. I have recently puurchased a 1985 xtra cab 4x4 to use as a daily driver. I love the truck it has 190,000 miles and is still all original right down to the suspension except for the shocks it has rancho shocks on it. The truck is super clean and rust is not an issue with the shackles being stuck or anything. My question is how can I get better ride quality on the street? I was looking at the rough country 3" kit as the price is decent and I dont have a lot of money to spend on this truck right now. I have owned a few yotas over the years but dont remember any riding as harsh as this one does, I think the springs are just shot. I would not mind the few extra inches of lift as the truck has 31's on it now and they look big with the sagging suspension.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
T

 

i have an 85 also, with 199k and stock leafs and i feal your pain (back pain). this is my dd and i have waiting for me is trail gear lift which is no bolt on affair. basically my post serves no purpose but to say welcome and you will get allot more interest if you post pics. ok, i just want to see them. i have 32's on my truck now and only rub on my firewall. another thing to think about is doing a high steer kit.

 

Thanks for the reply. I will post some pics this weekend. I am familar with the trail gear kit my son and I just did an sas to his 89 4runner. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on this thing and was looking for an easy fix where I did not have to do any welding. taco does the steering in your truck seem hard/tight also? or am I maybe experiencing a powersteering pump failure also?

 

Best way to improve ride is to replace the springs and shocks. I had ranchos on my old lifted tacoma and thought they were the coolest things in the world. Now I have bilstein5100 series and realize rancho's were crap. I'd say replace both if you can afford it, or just replace your shocks if you're on a tight budget. Will make a world of a difference. Just my .02. Good luck!

 

Any thoughts on the rough country suspension? Or skyjacker soft ride kit?

 

Hard to say. I'm sure your current suspension has seen it's day a few times over. I've got a buddy with the soft ride kit on his dodge and he likes it. It's still a pretty rough ride though.

If you dont want to lift it, i'd try to find some stock replacement leafs, as most lift springs will stiffen the ride.

Another option is to have your springs re-arched. Try to find some suspension shops in your area that can re-heat the springs and set them back to factory specs. That shouldn't hurt the wallet to much. Then grab yourself some nice shocks and you'll be cruisin.

 

yea my steering is pretty stiff. i adjusted the set screw on the side which made it a bit stiffer too but took allot of slop out. another lift to consider is the ome kit, i had it on my tacoma and it rode nice. i've never rode in anything with the rough country kit. its pretty cheap but i can't imagine it riding any rougher then our trucks do now.

 

A lot of it is the solid axle. Its not so much uncomforatable (for me anyway) but I was suprised at howe well a 1987 IFS truck handled the potholes in our highway. (BTW, avoid I-80 whenever possible if you're ever in California).

I think a lot of it has to do with worn out leaf springs. I've got a Rancho lift thats 10 years old or so and it definetly puts your head into the roof. I've heard a lot of good about Old Man Emu springs as taconasty pointed out. THey're pretty much Top 5.