Suspension too stiff
 

Sup yotlers,
I bought my 85 pickup a few month ago and have been ironing out some kinks.
One that I could use some input on is my stiff suspension. I understand the difference in functions of the spring (displacement) and shock (dampening) in the suspension. However, since I have no previous experience with suspension tuning, I don't have anything to compare to my current setup to understand what is making it so stiff.
From my basic research, it would seem to me that with only 3 leaves in the pack (+1 overload in the rear), that the axle should be able to travel fairly easily. That leaves (:cool:) the shocks as the culprit, which I unfortunately have no information on (brand/model/etc.).
The shackle angles look good to my untrained eye. The truck has a 4" lift (as I've been told). It also has an aluminum flatbed which might make the suspension seems stiffer due to less weight, but it's also very hard in the front too.

Can anyone with experience help point me in the right direction?

Mahalo nui

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Looks like cheap bolt on lift springs, they are going to be stiff.
If you look at the lift springs people are using, chevys, RUF, TG, all pro, sky, they are all longer than stock and ride nice.
I suggest looking into new springs, shocks and high steer.

@Toyota addict the longer springs would require moving the shackle mounts (i.e cutting and re welding to frame) to fit, correct?
Or is it also possible to just get longer shackles to fit the longer springs? I know that would affect the shackle angle but I guess it depends on how much longer the springs are.

Thanks for your input.

For the rear, it requires new spring hangers and shackle mounts welded in the correct location. Up front, just a new spring hanger and the high steer.

Looks like the bottom leaf in the rear could be swapped out for a flatter overload. That is a really stiff add-a-leaf, and it will always ride poorly. I'd swap it for a factory overload for carrying capacity and ride quality.

For leaf spring packs to flex, the individual leaves need to be able to slide relative to each other. Good, smooth paint/powder coat and thin (teflon) pads between the leaves help this. Your spring packs look kinda crusty. I had a CJ years ago with springs that looked like that. If I soaked the spring packs with a penetrating lube, it made a very noticeable difference in the ride... for a little while. Doing that can't hurt and may confirm you do in fact need new springs. While you're under there, soak the u-bolts.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm trying to avoid mods that require larger changes like cutting/welding to the frame since it's not a heavy duty off road rig but rather all purpose DD and occasional off-road.

Rear:
1. Change to flatter overload leaf
2. Lubricate
3. Anybody have experience with "comfort shackles" or "g shackles" to get a lower effective spring rate?

Front
1. Lubricate
2. Anything else I can do here that's not too invasive?

Also, is it worth looking into some new shocks? The ones on the truck look pretty old and clapped out... but what do I know :dunno:
alooooha :rockin: :safari:

My '85 has OEM spec springs. Shorten the #4 bottom rear leaf and soften the ride in the rear. I cut 4" off each end with an angle grinder and thin cutting wheel. I didn't even have to remove the spring pack or raise the vehicle. Ride is much improved and a recent run to the dump weight showed 850 lbs. in the bed without squat or issue.
In the front, the frame was resting on the shackle and small bumps were being transferred into the chassis rather than it being isolated with shackle clearance and spring flex. A pair of Sky's off-road Boomerang shackles smoothed out the fronts jarring. For shocks, I like Rancho's 9000 adjustable set on lowest #1 setting for both front and back. Their life time warranty is real. Keep the tires 31" or smaller and LT rated you don't want thick D or E sidewalls.