Body roll and suspension tune up questions

Randy88FJ62 · 01-07-09, 04:13 PM

My truck sways a lot (body roll) when driving. I checked the body mounts and they are stock originals that aren’t the best. The shock mount rubber is pretty bad. The sway bar bushings are bad. The leaf spring bushings at the shackle/pin are crumbling. Not to mention my rear springs sag horribly.

I want to make sure I remedy this problem correctly because it will only multiply when I go SOA. Other than replacing tons of bushings and greasing the springs or putting nylon pads between the ends of the springs; is there anything else I can do to make the truck ride better?

If it matters, my knuckles were rebuilt and don't leak via the PO.

tonkota · 01-07-09, 04:26 PM

I bought a set of the graphite impregnated bushings from SOR. They call them polyurethane, but I think they are more of a bad ass plastic.

I like them. They were a pain to install, but they are quiet and smooth. It helped the sway quite a bit.

One thing you might do is shorten up the length of the anti-sway bar ends. That will make them feel a little thicker.

How do you like your speed6? I wanted one so effing bad!!! I ended up with a supercharged Pontiac, which is still fun, just no AWD to help the power stick.

Hank · 01-07-09, 04:31 PM

Even with everything new there will be body roll in a tank like ours. Believe me, my stuff is all new except the body mounts which are fine.

That said, replace everything old with new and it will go away. It reads like you know that already. Greasing or padding in between leaves won't help, that reduces resistance to change from the static arch (or lack of.) Start with proper shocks, sway bar bushings, then leaf spring bushings. IMHO ditch the sway bar, do the SOA now so you don't have to buy shocks twice and do new spring bushings when you have them out for SOA.

NLXTACY · 01-07-09, 05:11 PM

Hey Randy, my body roll ended when I had the spring bushings replaced.

lehiguy · 01-08-09, 09:12 AM

I tossed my sway bar when I put on my OMEs which was something like thirteen minutes after I bought the rig. With a SOA conversion on OME heavies, polyurethane bushings and no sway bar, it's better than it was stock.

Randy88FJ62 · 01-08-09, 09:32 AM

Thanks for all the input.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkota

I bought a set of the graphite impregnated bushings from SOR. They call them polyurethane, but I think they are more of a bad ass plastic.

I like them. They were a pain to install, but they are quiet and smooth. It helped the sway quite a bit.

One thing you might do is shorten up the length of the anti-sway bar ends. That will make them feel a little thicker.

How do you like your speed6? I wanted one so effing bad!!! I ended up with a supercharged Pontiac, which is still fun, just no AWD to help the power stick.

Tonkota,
My Speed6 is my company car. The lease ends soon and I'm worried I won't find anything comparable for the price. With the AWD and dynamic skid conrol it never fishtails, even in rain. It is fast for a 4 banger. I love it. Everytime I am at a gas station and I see a normal 6 or a 3 they all look over and want my speed6. It's an awesome vehicle that I would compare to a stock Impreza WRX. It's a little slower than the Lancer EVO and the WRX STI. My advice, grab one if you can. Great for all things that a truck can't provie. The one thing I absolutely hate; the rear seats don't fold down, wtf.

VTCruiser · 01-08-09, 10:04 AM

The sway bar fell out (rust) of the HJ soon after I bought it and it used to ride like a boat. since the rebuild, I have all new bushings and aftermarket sway bars and it's 100x better. I can actually corner without feeling like I'm about to fall out my seat...In my experience sway bars make a big difference on the road. Removing it certainly won't help.

Randy88FJ62 · 01-08-09, 10:06 AM

I will always keep the sway bar for on road. Nice looking sway bar, looks beefy.

tonkota · 01-08-09, 11:12 AM

Doesn't MAF have beefier ones than stock?

EDIT:
Yup:
http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/swaybars.htm

Randy88FJ62 · 01-08-09, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkota

Doesn't MAF have beefier ones than stock?

EDIT:
Yup:
Sway Bars

For $200 I would make my own and buy bushings. I have nothing but time on my hands. Plus, it's nice to do it all yourself. Makes me feel like I accomplished something and I also learn more about the truck at the same time.

lehiguy · 01-08-09, 11:20 AM

You have to pick one or the other. The reason a stabilizer works on the road is the very reason you don't want it off road.

tonkota · 01-08-09, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lehiguy

You have to pick one or the other. The reason a stabilizer works on the road is the very reason you don't want it off road.

I think that will depend on the wheeling type. I wouldn't dare wheel with out the anti-sway bars, but I don't do rock crawling with my wagon. I mostly load the hell out of the roof rack and then wheel.

VTCruiser · 01-08-09, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkota

Doesn't MAF have beefier ones than stock?

EDIT:
Yup:
Sway Bars

The ones I have came on a donor 60, but i think they were sold by MAF a while back, but have been discontinued.

ntsqd · 01-09-09, 10:07 AM

Two thoughts on building sway-bars.
1) Built it tunable with parts from Speedway Engineering's Online Catalog (note the bar rates pages)
2) Buy some "Stressproof" (1144 alloy) bar stock of the appropriate size and bend up your own.

If I do build one, and I'm not inclined to when there are existing solutions, I'd go with option No. 1