Saint_Berzerker

Have a 93 22re pickup. I've only had it for a year or so. New engine, new exhaust.

Anyhow, the ride is pretty rough. Just hitting any kind of bumps on the road dang near hurt. I have 31" tires on it.

I don't know the amount of lift it has, but it has a Trailmaster suspension lift on it...I saw the name on some of the parts. I don't think it has a body lift.

Anyways...a while back I was going to change the shocks, but the old ones seemed ok. The truck doesn't bounce or anything, so I assumed they were fine, even though they look like crap.

So...is the suspension lift the reason why it's so rough? Is there a way to make it any better? Would putting "softer" shocks on help at all, or would the lift kit pretty much override the shocks?

I don't really offroad that much. Can you take the lift off, and how hard is that? lol...I don't really want to take the lift off, since I like having it when I need it, but the ride is just too uncomfortable.

Gimme anything ya can!

mt_goat

It's the torsion bars, loosen them up, turn them down. If that results in the front end being too low, get ball joint spacers to raise it back up.

Elton

sell it and start making payments on a lexus

Sonofmayhem

I agree w/ mtn goat. my 85 just had stiff springs but when i replaced the shocks, the change was minimal. just lower the torsion bars past stock, the rear might be saggy a little. and if not change them out thats easy, id do a chevy swap, ive heard the ride is like caddi w/ them.

my 89 on the other hand, is very soft and bouncy, so im gonna replace all the suspension after i finish the new engine.

mastacox

Is the suspension close to either set of bump stops while sitting on level ground?

Saint_Berzerker

Yeah, I noticed that today. Actually, my driveway is a little slanted with the front of the truck down, so it isn't level...but I noticed that there was hardly any room, if any, to the little rubber bump things.

What do I do with that?

Red3.slow

Crank the torsion bars some to raise it back up to a more normal ride height? Thats what I would assume.

mt_goat

Yeah if it's sitting on the lower bump stops, I'll have to change my statement about lowering the t-bars. However the ball joint spacers would be the real ticket to a softer ride. They would raise you up off the bump stops without putting more tension on the t-bars (which will stiffen the ride). This is really what the ball joint spacers were made for (making the suspension more flexable). Not what a lot of people use them for, lift.

Show us a pic or 2 of the front end and that will help.

mt_goat

Great question Brian, wish I'd thought of asking that. :bigclap:

mastacox

There are two sets of bumps on your front ifs, upper (for droop) and lower (for compression). Which set are you closest to? Are your A- arms at an angle, or are they pretty close to level with your cross-member?

Actually, my guess is he's close to the UPPER bump stops (droop) so he will still want to lower the T-Bars, if you are close to either set of bumps it will totally screw your ride.

Try taking a picture to show to us, we could do a better diagnosis that way.

mastacox

Back when I first got my 4Runner, before I had BJ spacers I cranked my front a little to match the back when I got Downey's... long story short the top a-arm was too close to the "droop/extension" bump-stop (I didn't have low-profile bumps either yet) and so any kind of bump you went over the suspension would be very uncomfortable because it could compress a little, but not droop. It would compress, the t-bars would push back HARD, and it would hit bump

What can I say, I was hard core

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Why does the idea of balljoint spacers always make me uncomfortable? Seems like a practical mod, but i dunno...

mastacox

I LOVE mine... The extra travel is WAY worth it off road. But, you don't have to get them if you don't want to, entirely up to you.

I have mine with 26mm torsion bars, ultra-low profile poly bump stops, sway bar disconnects, and manual hubs, the front end is great for off road but still comfy on the street (IMO at least). With the Rancho RSX's, it made a HUGE difference in the size "whoops" I could go over at the sand dunes, and what speed I could take them at. Next best thing to LT suspension IMO.

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

So you install the spacers, lower your t-bars a little, install the low-profile stops, you effectively have more travel?

Does the problem of popping CV boots arise with these spacers? Or only when you don't have manual hubs?

mastacox

Well, you have to do a pretty good amount of grinding/cutting on the upper control arm to get them to fit, but other than that it isn't too bad of an install.

Keep in mind you really need new shocks also to get more travel. But the fact that you end up cranking down you t-bars some makes the rise softer.

I haven't had any CV troubles, but some poeple do I think, depends on how hard you wheel more than anything.

mt_goat

I'd say CVs are the main concern, just because so many guys use the spacers for lift. Of course manual hubs help a lot.

celica

I agree, if you use them for lift then your CV angle will increase & tearing a boot is more likely. If you put them in & relax the T bars then you are not creating much lift at all - mine is about .75" to equalkize the flex up & down. & the ride is nice now.

mastacox

Warn premium manual hubs are cheap (relatively) and easy to install, might as well do that and you can just leave them locked if you feel like using just ADD now and then.

rollem

I've been thinking about upgrading my suspension on my 93 4x4 sr5 dlx v6 5 speed. And Brian you got the set up that I've been thinking about. What do you think about ome? I don't want a extreme lift, just a functional one that rides good on and off road. Also installing the BJ spacers how much cutting is required and where. do you have a pic of it?

Will

mastacox

Well I'm running all Downey (other than the BJ spacers, shocks, and swaybar disconnects) so I don't really know much about OME. But I do know that my set up is durable and relatively inexpensive to set up, with acceptable flex out of the IFS. The 26mm torsions are a stiff set-up by themselves, but perfect with the BJ spacers. I went with ultra-low profile bump stops for the lower (compression) ones, and low-profile for the upper (droop) bump stops. This seems like a good set up without putting an incredible amount of stress on your CV. You will want to get manual hubs up front to reduce CV wear.

For the rear, I like the 1.5" lift HD coils because they give you about 2" total lift, and you can load the back down without significant drops in height. The HD coils still flex plenty well. I haven't gotten around to getting a panhard drop, but would recommend it to avoid scraping your gas tank with your driveshaft.

As for shocks, I got much longer ones in back, and a little longer ones in the front. I wrote a thread about what part numbers and lengths I used:

Rancho RSX Shocks

I don't have any pics of the trimmed UCA, perhaps someone else does... You'll need a sawzall and/or grinder to do it effectively, hand tools won't do the job IMO.