Finally I began my coil spring conversion!!

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

his rear upper mounts do look good at the frame, I think I might have to change mine to do the same. I did raise the links off of my pumpkin quite a bit higher though to try and get a little down slope towards the front with the rear uppers for better road use.
 
I will try and get more pics up tomorrow
 
The front pinion angle on the 80 axles is 10 degrees right?
 
After some days of rest I'm going on with my work.

You must help me to take a decision about the way to build the links for the
front axle's shoks.

These are the two options:

dgh.jpg

dgj.jpg


The first one seems to be stronger, but is certanly much more heavy and needs more iron and more weldings.
The second one should be better, but I would avoid the bridge between the two shoks if it's possible and I don't know if it will be strong enought (remember that I don't have any spring but air shocks, so these pieces will hold the all car).

So, I've still got a doubt (as usual...)! :idea:

Suggestions...???? :confused: :cheers:

Francesco
 
Here I am again; in these days I studied a front shocks' link consitsing in a bent "U" iron bar:

dmf.sized.jpg


Obviously the weldings are just temporary, they will be much stronger and well done.

This is the link put on the car: seems that everything stays on its place.

dme.sized.jpg

dmd.sized.jpg


What do you thing about this solution? Considering that I'll put several renforcements to the structure, do you think it will be strong enought?

Francesco
 
That's what I hope to do; the problem is that on the driver's side the room is not much but I would attack the link to the upper and the lateral surface of the frame as you suggest.
In a few days I will prepare a better version of the link and I'll study the definitive attachments and I'll show it you..

Francesco
 
Bad news about my air shocks:
yesterday I received the N2 kit and finally I was able to gas them and put under the car (only the rear axle).
I gassed them until a pressure of 480 PSI (that I guess is close to the maximum pressure) and drop the car; well, the shocks compressed for more than a half of their travel (the total travel is 16", they compressed for about 9").
What worries me is that the front side is likely heavier than the rear...

I asked to the RADFLO technician and he said that the maximum load is 900 lbs per shock. Now, my car is about 1800 kg (4000 lbs), assuming that axles/wheels are about 400 kg (900 lbs), the sprung weight is around 1400 kg (3000 lbs); 3000 lbs should be something like 1800 in the front and 1200 in the rear, so the rear shocks must hold "just" 600 lbs each.

One last thing: I'm afraid I'm still not completely able to use the recharge kit; I finished all the cylinder yesterday, trying to set the shocks; so its possible that the shocks are NOT really charged to a pressure of 480 PSI...:frown:

Concluding, what do you suggest to me? The 2.0" are too thin for my car? If someone has another experience with these shocks can help me, maybe telling wich is his setting pressure...? :confused:

I'm waiting for your precious help, since now I'm really in the s...:eek:

Francesco
 
what oil level are you running ? You can play with to change the place where the hyperbolic curve verticalizes. More oil = less air = less travel for the same pressure increase. HTH.
For the N2 try to see if you can bolt your regulator onto a standard welding/ industrial gas bottle, maybe even get a male/male or female/femame adapter to reinflate your own bottle form a welding shop or tire place nearby.
 
Thanx Dennis, I've read the article.

I didn't touch the oil level, I only added or took out gas pressure; but its very intersting if there is the chance to set the height also operating on the oil level and not only on the gas pressure...

Talking to a friend who's doing quite the same job we tought that in the rear side I could keep running 2.0" shocks (I will not add any weight, except the spare wheel) and of course in the front the 2.5" are the only way (I found a pair of brand new 2,5" air shocks by Fox, 670 $).

Do you think that this solution could work? 2.0" in the rear and 2.5" in the front??
Anyway, I tried to calculate once again the sprung weight of the FJ and seems strange that, at least in the rear side, they can hardly hold the load...

Francesco
 
Do you know how much oil you got them with ? I think I read somewhere a guy saying his airshocks were delivered with the absolute minimum amount of oil in his.
I would try to find the ins and outs of the current issue before spending any more money. Try draining the shocks to see how much oil you have in them, and start from a known basis, play with the worksheet and fiddle with them, odds are you will be able to achieve some decent results.
HTH
 
That's a thing that I ignored: also oil level could influence the height of shocks.

In effect I don't know how much oil is in them by now; how could I do to set the oil level? Is there an indicator or something like that...?

Anyway, I argue that in the front 2.5" are th best, maybe only, solution. I'll order them right tomorrow...

Francesco
 
Here I am again, this time with some good news and bad news...let's start with the good one!

The car is almost complete: the weldings are done, I've got only the last things to do (rear bumpstops, silencer etc.) but the car is already able to run.

These are some pics from a little test I did in the garden of my house; the first three are about the rear axle; as you can see it has a good ride and I can see that the work came out fine (the ride of the shocks is about 33 cm/13": is 4,5 cm fully compressed and 38 cm fully extended):

dxc.sized.jpg


dxd.sized.jpg


dxe.sized.jpg


And now the bad news: the front axle is quite stationary; the ride of the front shocks is less than 15 cm/6":

dxf.sized.jpg


I think that the the problem is due to the links of the radius arms: they tie too much the movement.
Now, the solutions could be two:

- the first is to modify these links, maybe putting round uniballs instead of the rubber (uniball like these:
2uniball_gj.jpg
)

- the second is to change radically the arms system: leave the radius arms but cut away the front bolt and add an arm on the top of the axle, building something like a 3 link.

Now, what do you think about these suggestions? Can you tell me other options (please consider that the whole work is done and I wouldn't change it too much...).

Please help me, once again! :frown::rolleyes:

Francesco
 
start all over :flipoff2:

j/k

Find a bigger bump, or even better, a forklift so that you can max out your articulation. Typically the rear articulates before the front, but that does not neccesarily mean the front binds. On the pictures it seems you are nowhere close to your max. travel. ;)
 
Can't see it from your pictures, but if there's 2 wrap arms on the front, that will cause it to bind a bit. I ended up with only one on my 3 linked 3 runner.

Funny the rear end set up on your truck looks strangely familiar. . .;)

Remember that it will take a few trail runs to settle to final height with the nitro and oil. The shox will also behave like they have zero rebound control for the first while.

Mine had the gangsta lean after taking a corner on the street for a few weeks of driving.

you'd take a left and the truck would lean to the left, and stay that way. Looked like I was hittin the switches!
 
So what do you suggest? To built a third arm and remove the front bolts of the radius arms?

By now I just tried to remove the front bolt of just one of the RA and the axle moved much better; but do you think I can drive like that, without a bolt?
dxj.sized.jpg


Francesco
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom