Ride Quality (I want new parts)
 

Okay I dont really want a lift, Especially since I bought new shocks today for this stock lift (0 inches) I do have aftermarker 31" tires but that doesnt really matter right?

My buddy has a 1991 Toyota Pickup 3.0 V6. His ride quality is *much* better than mine even after my new shocks. (He has Rancho 5000 series; i have rancho 9000 series) I have 1986 "Toyoda" 4runner (non turbo)

Money isn't an issue. Besides shocks obviously, what else should I get?

1x Sway Bar
2x Torsion Bars
2x Leaf Springs

I dont know much about suspension what parts should I replace and what brands are good?

I dont want top quality but I dont want the cheapest either.

Mild off roading and i dont often take corners slow :)

Any help appreciated! Thanks

New bushings maybe.

Don't use Downey rear springs. They suck. If the shocks are the biggest issues shim the top a little for more over all length. Just a thought to open your options.

Swap rubber with your buddy for an hour. I found the ride on my Runner was much better when I dumped the old tires and fitted new. Torsion bars are unlikely your issue, unless they're cranked (again... unlikely). Leafs, perhaps. Try loading a few hundred pounds in the back (couple buddies sitting the in rear work perfect).

I think you have worn out bushings as Matt16 said; but your torison bars may be cranked & you didn't even know it...have you measured the height? That'd be my first thing to check with bushings being the second, you may want to switch to a softer shock if all those things check out. Being an '86 (first year of IFS isn't it?) all those bushings are probably original & rotted flat, or completely gone.

if you're comparing an 91 to an 86, aren't you comparing coil springs to leafs? so apples vs. oranges?

The leafs on my 88 feel really stiff when the bed is empty, but when its loaded up, it rides nice an' soft. Maybe you are just feeling the stiffness of an underloaded set of springs, so its not flexing enough?

Hopefully more peeps will chime in.

*subscribed*

tires
bushings
where the torsion bar is set at
shocks
all these will effect the ride

Actually I do think my torsion bars are cranked slightly. The guy I bought it from almost a year ago said something about raising the height using them. If they have been cranked, I think its about a 1 inch lift. I have new tires on the front and about 2 years old on the back. I plan on getting Goodyear wrangler silentarmors and new rims.

How do I measure the height?

I just put on new shocks yesterday: Rancho 9000XL with th setting on 1 for softest.

I think my springs are stiff because i seem to bounce a lot. Such as when I dip after i hit the bottom i kind of jump out of the dip. Maybe loading it down might work but wont that decrease MPG?

Does this picture indicate that the torsion bars have been cranked?
Should there be any spacing at all? What is this for?
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3030/img2819ry0.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4126/img2820fq7.jpg

It looks to me like the bars have been cranked & more than an inch of lift to. You can measure from the top of the wheel (not the top of the tire, the top of the wheel) to the bottom lip of the fender well & it should be close to 14" if I'm not mistaken but I could be. If you measure it & it's over 15" the bars are adjusted too high & I'd bet a little cash that's the main cause of the bad ride.

There are other folks on here that are more familiar than myself with these Toyota IFS front ends; I've only had mine for a year & just tore into it last weekend for the first time.

I would chuck the sway bar in the garbage and you will instantly have a better ride. From the picture that does not look like your bars are cranked to me.

Those runners have leafs in the back right? You are probebly running on the overload spring as the spring is saggy with time. I put some Add-a-leafs in my old 88 truck and they made a world of difference.

I measured it. Its between 14.25 and 14.50 inches from the top of the wheel

Really? Taking off the sway bar would help? Thats hard for me to understand. Can you explain why?

Money isnt really an issue, should I just get completly new leaf springs for the back?

The sway bar on these trucks SUCK. They cause more problems then they fix. I chucked mine when I rebuilt my front end. It will alow the wheels to travel fully independant of each other, meaning if one tire hits a bump and the other doesnt the whole truck doesnt move, just that one tire absorbs the bump. Its kinda hard to explain, but give it a shot, helps flex too!

It look like your t-bars are cranked, the picture you have is your downtravel bumpstop, there should be more room for downtravel. That is one of the cons of simply cranking the t-bars. BJ spacers will "fix" that issue and keep your ride height.

As for ride quality, I bet if you replaced all your bushings, uncranked the torsion bars your ride would be much better. My truck rides pretty hard, but im used to it by now. Its a truck, not a car.

first don't run a sway bar second change the body mounts and all the other rubber mounts. maybe change the shocks to a set of procomp es3000 and see if that works

sounds to me like you have a DEAD set of rear leafs. You can find a long leaf Tacoma add-a-leaf OR a set of TJ coils to add. I would recommend the Tacoma aal, cheap and being a longer leaf than those used for the older trucks will yeild a better ride.

pic of my stops sorry for the sideways pic
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...x/P4020001.jpg

Sorry for the noob question, but which bushings are you guys referring to?? I'm interested in this too, as my truck seems awfully bumpy / jumpy too, and same as the OP, money isn't really an issue (within reason).

Also, which body mounts are you referring to?? The ones where the body bolts to the frame -- on my truck, they are rusting -- should I be jumping to replace those??

Sorry for the slight thread-jack

Control arm bushings, swaybar bushings, if you wanted to go all out, engine mounts might eliminate engine vibration too.

A bushing it just a piece of rubber of a specific density that prevents vibrations and harsh bumps from reaching the body of the car.

my buddy in his truck has leaf springs in the back, they are more of an arch than mine. Mine are sorta flat, and yes the back does sag compared to the front.

Im probably going to take of my sway bar

Edit: Im having second thoughts...I dont want body roll. Will my vehicle sway more if i replace this swaybar that "sucks"