Help me improve my suspension - BJ42 3B 1981 (1 Viewer)

[VMAX]

I have an '81 BJ42 with the 3B 3.4L diesel engine and from the day I bought it some years ago I found the ride to be bumpy and tiring, especially I if use it outside the city for trips longer than 30 min. I'm not sure if the shackles are ones the car came with, but I think they are in the original position. I removed the shortest leaf from the springs, which does not have much effect on the ride quality and I changed two shock absorbers with new Toyota shocks. Other than that I did not do any other modifications and I do not carry anything in the car other than a passenger and most of the time I use the car without the hardtop (which is a bit heavy). I plan on changing the tires with new AT tires, something like 235/85 R16 (31.7 inch tire height / 9.35 tread width), maybe they will be softer than my old tires.

What do you think I can do about the suspension to make it less harsh? I don't want to weld different mounting points for the shackles on the chassis, I don't want to do a coil spring conversion and I am not interested in more lift as I don't use this car off road. Should I get other shackles or another suspension, like an Old Man Emu soft suspension? I was reading on the forum that the original suspension is the one to keep. I could change the shocks to Bilsteins, but I believe that alone would not be a dramatic improvement. Also, don't you think the leaf springs are a bit flat considering the car is as light as possible at the moment (no passengers, no hardtop)?

Thanks!

 

[VMAX]

I found these G shackles for about $50 on a Chinese website. They do not look that solid, but are these types of shackles any good? I've attached more photos from underneath my car.

 

[jim land]

Your shackles are home made and longer than stock
Probably time for a new suspension kit like the soft OME with new shackles

Or custom made spring pack from a suspension shop

 

[-MaTTi-]

What do you think I can do about the suspension to make it less harsh?

Remove the leafs, clean and grease them. Then buy greasable shackles. Btw. you have longer ones installed, they are not good for the caster/steering feel.

 

[VMAX]

Any thoughts on the G-shackles? Not necessarily the chinese ones in the picture, but this type in general.

 

[-MaTTi-]

Any thoughts on the G-shackles? Not necessarily the chinese ones in the picture, but this type in general.

Not suitable to front. I bought those and modified them a little (more J-shape, ball be

I have not driven this yet (I have 1981 BJ42 too), but feels noticeably softer when bouncing on the bed.

 

[VMAX]

Not suitable to front. I bought those and modified them a little (more J-shape, ball be


I have not driven this yet (I have 1981 BJ42 too), but feels noticeably softer when bouncing on the bed.

I don't think I have enough time to make these shackles right now, maybe in a few months. Can I buy something like this, do you know a shop that sells similar shackles?

Also, does anyone have any other recommendations for soft leaf springs or I should just go with Old Man Emu?

 

[plink01]

Mate I wouldn't bother with any crazy shackles or fabrications. Go get some OME soft springs and shackles and do it right.
Suspension is probably the last thing you should cheap out on. Toyota designed the suspension the way they did for a reason. I can't remember seeing a spring pack with as little springs in it as you have, I imagine that it would be super bouncy. I'll show you a photo of mine for comparison tomorrow but mine are the OME heavy duty springs and my car is loaded heavy. So we have very different needs.

 

[VMAX]

Mate I wouldn't bother with any crazy shackles or fabrications. Go get some OME soft springs and shackles and do it right.
Suspension is probably the last thing you should cheap out on. Toyota designed the suspension the way they did for a reason. I can't remember seeing a spring pack with as little springs in it as you have, I imagine that it would be super bouncy. I'll show you a photo of mine for comparison tomorrow but mine are the OME heavy duty springs and my car is loaded heavy. So we have very different needs.

I only removed the lowest leaf (with little to no improvement in ride quality) and I can always put it back (which I'll probably do). Do you think there should have been more springs than the ones in the photos + 1?

 

[DangerNoodle]

I wouldn't personally bother with those weird shackles. I think they will make the drivability worse with a lot of body roll. I'd pull the springs, grease them, and adjust your shackle angle. It will help a lot.

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

I have a Bj40 with a B engine. I carry no weight in the back. I ended up going with a procomp 2.5inch lift leaf springs and Bilstein shocks all around. It improved my ride dramatically! Procomp is a lighter spring. Not sure how it compares to the OME light springs. But since you have very little extra weight the lighter the spring the better. I reused the shackles that were already on it so not sure what brand they were. I would be happy to get you some measurements of the shackles for you. They ended up with a really good shackle angle in my opinion.

 

[VMAX]

I have a Bj40 with a B engine. I carry no weight in the back. I ended up going with a procomp 2.5inch lift leaf springs and Bilstein shocks all around. It improved my ride dramatically! Procomp is a lighter spring. Not sure how it compares to the OME light springs. But since you have very little extra weight the lighter the spring the better. I reused the shackles that were already on it so not sure what brand they were. I would be happy to get you some measurements of the shackles for you. They ended up with a really good shackle angle in my opinion.

Can you please tell me the length of your shackles and send a picture so I can estimate the angle? A product code for your springs would also help if avaiable.

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

Can you please tell me the length of your shackles and send a picture so I can estimate the angle? A product code for your springs would also help if avaiable.

I will get that info for you tomorrow.

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

Shackles are about 4 5/8 inch long.

-front leaf springs - Pro Comp 31252

-rear leaf springs - Pro comp 31253

-Ubolts kit - Pro Comp 50090

-rear shocks - Bilstein 33185606

-front shocks - Bilstein 33233970

-two 3/8 inch center bolt with high head spacer - Deaver springs

Supposedly my cruiser had a skyjacker 2 inch lift on it. Makes sense since the front axle did have castor wedges (shims) installed. I reused them. If you go this same route you may need to get some shims as well. If that is the case you will need different leaf spring centering bolts with a higher head. I got mine from Deaver Springs in California.

 

[Pura Vida]

View attachment 2667997

View attachment 2667998

View attachment 2667999

Might just be me but that wheel base doesn’t look quite right

This is my BJ40 1977 on stock springs (1B engine)

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

Might just be me but that wheel base doesn’t look quite right

This is my BJ40 1977 on stock springs (1B engine)

View attachment 2668014

You could be right. I never claimed to know what I was doing

Edit: Just looked at some old pictures of before I did the procomp springs and it looks the same. But the skyjacker springs could have also been off? I do have an Aquila Aluminum tub. Wonder if that is why?

 

[DangerNoodle]

You could be right. I never claimed to know what I was doing

Edit: Just looked at some old pictures of before I did the procomp springs and it looks the same. But the skyjacker springs could have also been off? I do have an Aquila Aluminum tub. Wonder if that is why?

It looks like the springs have been flipped to me. That tub looks correct.

 

[KimoTheBJ40]

It looks like the springs have been flipped to me. That tub looks correct.

As in the front springs are on the back and the back springs are on the front?

 

[DangerNoodle]

As in the front springs are on the back and the back springs are on the front?

As in the springs have a long and short side, and they got switched around. It's a common way to push the rear axle back about 3" to extend the wheelbase. That is usually done along with moving the wheel well openings. Do your springs have the military wrap on them?