How to improve the ride and handling on my HZJ77 (1 Viewer)

[Rick9]

The new tires helped the handling, so I'd like to figure out what to do next to make some more improvements in the ride and handling.

The rig is basic stock, probably with original shocks.
I mostly drive highway and gravel roads, rather than offroad.

Don't know much about suspension upgrades.
I was thinking new OME shocks, and ?????

Don't have the money for springs right now, and not that interested in a lift.

So, what can I do that will pay off, without doing the springs? Or is this mission impossible?

Thanks

 

[Tapage]

OME it's certanly a good option at all .. I ear good comments about parabolic springs .. but all of those involve good amount of cash ..

Another more cheap ( not cheap at all ) it's start playing with the amount of leaves that you have in each corner .. but that involve a bit of knowledge in what are you doing ( not to metion tools and time )

 

[crushers]

if your leafs are flat then nothing you will do will improve the ride or handling.
you should have between 1.5" and 2" between the rubber bump stops and the steel landing pad on the axle. you "could" cut the rubber to half height, BTDT and helps a bit.
new adjustable shocks MIGHT help a bit but doubtfull if springs are flat. if not flat then adjustable shocks do make a big difference.
make sure bushings are in excellent shape, makes quite a difference in handling and stay away from neopreme bushings, they are s***. simple as that.

IF you splurge for a lift then go with the dobinson lift out of OZ, best bang for the buck, next is the "okay" Dakar/OME spring kit but their shocks are too short.

 

[Whistler74]

Wayne, what are your thoughts on greasable shackles? And what about cleaning the leaves, painting and greasing in between before re-assembly?

 

[crushers]

as long as they have good arch then graphite works very well after sand blasting and a fresh coat of paint.
greasable shackles are "okay" but in reality they are more of a "cool" thing than a real improvement over rubber bushings and non-greasable shackles ...

 

[Rick9]

if your leafs are flat then nothing you will do will improve the ride or handling.
you should have between 1.5" and 2" between the rubber bump stops and the steel landing pad on the axle. you "could" cut the rubber to half height, BTDT and helps a bit.
.

Thanks Wayne
I just did some measuring.
I have 1.5" clearance on the front (perhaps a little less on the left side), and 2 1/4" clearance on the backs. Empty cargo wise, 3/4 tank of fuel.
Visually the fronts look pretty flat, at least compared to the backs.
So where does that leave me?

 

[crushers]

i would trim the front rubbers an inch
then replace the shocks with Rancho RS9000.
make sure the rubber bushings are in good shape.

that would be a good, inexpensive, start.

cheers

 

[ForealBoreal]

i would trim the front rubbers an inch
then replace the shocks with Rancho RS9000.
make sure the rubber bushings are in good shape.

that would be a good, inexpensive, start.

cheers

wayne said it.
Dobs are a bit tricky to get but your best bet from what I have been told. Emus are easy and still a great bang for your buck.

 

[Rick9]

Been searching, googling and reading to learn a little, and follow-up on Wayne's recommendation (thanks!).
So far, still resisting the temptation to do a lift.

The Rancho RS9000 look good, versatile, and seem cheaper than the OMEs.

A couple of questions

Apart from the marketing hype, are there other practical advantages of the Ranchos over the OMEs? From what I can tell the OME's aren't adjustable so this seems like an advantage of the Ranchos for what I'm doing.

Does it make any sense to consider replacing or rebuilding just the front springs to original specs (I'm assuming John at Radd could do this for me). Don't want to make this more complicated or expensive than it needs to be, but I'm curious for longer term.
Thanks

 

[crushers]

here is the thing, you need to make a firm decision as to the lift or not. if you go with the lift then pass on the shocks and bushings. the shocks for a stock ride will be too short for a lifted rig but the shocks that come with the kits are too friggin short so i run the RS9000 or the RS5000 that are the proper length. i also run the factory rubber bushings instead of the POS neoprene bushings that come with the kits.
if you are 1.5" space up front then you are close to stock clearence so don't bother wasting money on "restoring" them to factory height. you could add an ass-a-leaf to the front if you wanted a small lift. cheap, easy to do and works fine. then order the shock that coresponds to the full length of travel +1" longer and -1" shorter, this will give you adaquate travel.

me, i would cut the bump stop and see if that makes you happy.

 

[gotoy]

The new tires helped the handling, so I'd like to figure out what to do next to make some more improvements in the ride and handling.

The rig is basic stock, probably with original shocks.
I mostly drive highway and gravel roads, rather than offroad.

Don't know much about suspension upgrades.
I was thinking new OME shocks, and ?????

Don't have the money for springs right now, and not that interested in a lift.

So, what can I do that will pay off, without doing the springs? Or is this mission impossible?

Thanks

Funny no one mentioned bushings! Also steering damper.

The bushings can make a world of difference.

 

[Rick9]

The steering damper is OME and looks to be recently added - so think I'm OK there.

Crushers mentioned to check the bushings and go with the factory rubber ones when I do the shocks, rather than the neoprene -- hope I've got that right.

Anything else you would recommend about the bushings?
Thanks

 

[gotoy]

The steering damper is OME and looks to be recently added - so think I'm OK there.

Crushers mentioned to check the bushings and go with the factory rubber ones when I do the shocks, rather than the neoprene -- hope I've got that right.

Anything else you would recommend about the bushings?
Thanks

Wonder why crushers prefers the factory rubber bushings? I seen new rubber and neoprene screw up in the same time frame. But for shocks, agreed, rubber best.

 

[crushers]

here is why, decades ago when i got into Cruisers the latest greatest was the neoprene bushings "cause they will last a life time". so i spent my hard earned money and replaced my factory rubber with these POS. the ride became harsher, the articulation reduced and even greased properly they lasted less than 2 years of off roading.
factory rubber can last up to 400K, better flex and smoother ride.

if someone is going to make a claim, they better be telling the truth.

 

[Clint79]

I changed through a few shocks and spring brands on my 4x leaf 75 , trying to get better handeling and comfort , big waste of money as it made no difference if you want ultra comfy and out of a work/ passenger truck 80 series is the go not a 4x leaf sprung rig, Or updateing to a post 99 7x series -just havin front coils like in my 79 series made the world of difference to the ride and comfort, took the harsh shock out of offroading ,.

 

[Rick9]

make sure the rubber bushings are in good shape.

Another noobie question.
Whats the best way to check the bushings - do I need to disassemble them to have a look? From what I can see most have small cracks around the edge, and a couple have larger cracks / chunks missing.
Thanks

 

[crushers]

take a pic and post it up.
the best way is to take the front shackle apart and look at the hole around the centering pin. if it is oblong then you need to replace, if it is still round then no issue.

make sure you take the weight off the spring before attempting this ...