Floating Feeling after Lift

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LCHardriver_02

LCHardriver_02

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
Threads
36
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2,382
Location
Boise, ID
This last week, I completed installing my OME 1.5" Heavy lift that my wife purchased for me as a birthday / Father's Day present. :)This consisted of the following parts:
OME 60001 front shocks.
OME T-Bars
OME 2863 Rear Coils
OME 60071L Rear shocks, with 1 bushing cut in half to fit the shorter top post.

I will be installing the Diff Drop shortly, but on to my issue...

Now driving the truck, it feels, for lack of a better description, floaty. I am not sure if this is because I have not added the additional weight that mandates the heavy lift or if it is a symptom of something else.:hhmm:

I really liked the OEM feel of the truck being very solid and did not expect to lose that with the install of the lift, so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Is this normal or a lack of vehicle weight problem, or a sign of a bigger problem?

Thanks much!:popcorn:
 
Aren't the 863 springs more of a 3" lift, not 1.5"?
 
My guess is that there may be too much torsion on the front torsion bars. As a result, the front of the vehicle might be too high relative to the rear and this could affect handling and cause the steering to feel floaty.

I think our 100-series LCs are designed to have the front about 1.5" lower than the rear for optimum handling when unloaded. The front / rear height difference is called "rake," and is explained in the thread below and some other places:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/481646-ome-medium-front-lift-height-rake-advice.html

Once you get the correct rake and get your diff drop installed, YOU SHOULD GET A GOOD 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT. The lift (and the diff drop?) will change the front end geometry, and the resulting changes in alignment will alter the handling of the vehicle. My advice is to pay for a good alignment at a specialist alignment shop- it should cost less than $100.

Maybe I am missing something obvious here; others will know more. :cheers:
 
Make sure you have at least 50, preferably 60 mm of droop up front. The symptoms you described are classic issues when the front is lifted too high.
 
Droop is set at 55mm. Rake is greater than 1.5" between front to back. 863's are stiff as hell, which may be my main problem. I can post a pic later today, when I get out to the truck. I had taken measurements but of course they are at home sitting in the garage. I will post those up later as well.
Thanks.
 
Ok, so here are my measurements of the passenger side: front = 20 3/4"; rear: 23 5/8". These were measured between the center of the hub and the fender lip. As. You can see the rake is almost 3". More than plenty.

Now because I did not have time to do the t-bar install myself, please note that more previously mentioned droop measurement of 55mm is what the mechanic stated to me. I have not verified this measurement myself but will try and do this as soon as I can. Problem is that we are leaving on Thursday for a weekend camping trip. So it will have to wait until after that.

Here is a pic from the iPad:

I hope this helps narrow down the possibilities. Thanks.

image-3722226119.webp
 
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I did get an alignment with the t-bar install. Do you have to get one again if you install the diff drop? My thought was that the drop was just a vertical adjustment to bring the CV axles back into spec with regards to their angle and that it did not affect the alignment.
 
LCHardriver_02 said:
Ok, so here are my measurements of the passenger side: front = 20 3/4"; rear: 23 5/8". These were measured between the center of the hub and the fender lip. As. You can see the rake is almost 3". More than plenty.

Now because I did not have time to do the t-bar install myself, please note that more previously mentioned droop measurement of 55mm is what the mechanic stated to me. I have not verified this measurement myself but will try and do this as soon as I can. Problem is that we are leaving on Thursday for a weekend camping trip. So it will have to wait until after that.

Here is a pic from the iPad:

I hope this helps narrow down the possibilities. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Those measurements are in the ball park for proper droop, so I'd say you're set up correctly. You've changed your suspension significantly, so perhaps you're experiencing the feel of the new set-up?
 
I think I would still measure droop myself as well as the height at all four corners just to be sure. Plenty of shops overlook things by accident. . It's not any more difficult than if you were to change a tire.
 
Supra88 said:
Those measurements are in the ball park for proper droop, so I'd say you're set up correctly. You've changed your suspension significantly, so perhaps you're experiencing the feel of the new set-up?
Click to expand...

Thank you. That was a thought I had as well.
 
3D FJ said:
I think I would still measure droop myself as well as the height at all four corners just to be sure. Plenty of shops overlook things by accident. . It's not any more difficult than if you were to change a tire.
Click to expand...

Here are all 4 corners:
RF - 20 7/8"; LF - 20 3/4"; RR - 23 5/8"; LR - 23 7/8"

I will check the droop myself. Thanks. Just to be sure that I am thinking correctly, you measure droop by taking the measurement with the full weight on the axle and then re measure with the tires just touching the ground, correct?

Thanks again!
 
LCHardriver_02 said:
Here are all 4 corners:
RF - 20 7/8"; LF - 20 3/4"; RR - 23 5/8"; LR - 23 7/8"

I will check the droop myself. Thanks. Just to be sure that I am thinking correctly, you measure droop by taking the measurement with the full weight on the axle and then re measure with the tires just touching the ground, correct?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Correct.
 
LCHardriver_02 said:
This last week, I completed installing my OME 1.5" Heavy lift that my wife purchased for me as a birthday / Father's Day present. :)This consisted of the following parts:

OME 2863 Rear Coils
Click to expand...

OME2863's is not a 1.5" lift, much less so for a unloaded truck. You might just be feeling weird handling due to a overly stiff rear spring compared to the front.

OME2863's will be +3" in the rear with no load.
 
sleeoffroad said:
OME2863's is not a 1.5" lift, much less so for a unloaded truck. You might just be feeling weird handling due to a overly stiff rear spring compared to the front.

OME2863's will be +3" in the rear with no load.
Click to expand...

I agree. It ended up being 3.75" lift with these springs. This is just what was told to my wife when she purchased them. After all of this, I think she may start consulting me before purchasing items for my truck. Buy you never know...
 
petrotk40 said:
man I can't imagine how stiff those 863's are w/o a rear bumper.
Click to expand...

Oh yes you can! Just imagine riding down a dirt trail in a covered, AC equipped, wooden wagon. Then you get the picture...:D
 
I am now wondering if I should purchase all new rear springs and shocks and set these aside until I get the rear bumper and possibly a trailer... never enough funds for these types of things...
 
LCHardriver_02 said:
I agree. It ended up being 3.75" lift with these springs. This is just what was told to my wife when she purchased them. After all of this, I think she may start consulting me before purchasing items for my truck. Buy you never know...
Click to expand...

Well, if she spoke to us it would not have been the case :grinpimp: If you call some random OME dealer and they look in the application guide, that is what they will tell her. Experience does help.
 
sleeoffroad said:
Well, if she spoke to us it would not have been the case :grinpimp: If you call some random OME dealer and they look in the application guide, that is what they will tell her. Experience does help.
Click to expand...

Initially she was advised to order differently, but took the advice of a local friend over the dealer. :rolleyes: No control there. Since then we have spoken about this issue and I may be buying some springs and putting these on the shelf for a while.:)

KlausVanWinkle said:
I think you're looking for 865 springs. You might be able to do a straight trade with someone. People with rear bumpers say the 863s are too tall and harsh. So I can only imagine how stiff it is on an unloaded truck.
Click to expand...

I will take a look at the MUD classifieds and see if anyone is looking to trade. Thanks.:)

This last week we set out on a camping trip and I weighted down the back end of the truck with everything heavy that we could including 2 large packed coolers, 2 smaller packed coolers, 4 tubs of camping gear, cast iron cookware, and a bunch of sleeping bags.

The truck handled great with the increased weight.:cheers: This tells me that what I was feeling was definitely the back end being too rigid. As stated earlier, I will be looking to swap these springs out until I can purchase my rear bumper with swing outs and then try them again at that time.

Thanks to all who replied!

Jonathan:cheers:
 
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