Is it supposed to be so rough? (1 Viewer)

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I can tell the 40 is a rougher ride than most, but I grew up on a farm operating ag equipment. My butt and spine are conditioned to just put up with the ride.

My 40 is bone stock running STAs and will rattle my teeth when I hit a speed bump or curb cut. My 55, OTOH, is a SOA lift with flattened springs and 35s, and I can barely notice the exact same things.

Otherwise, do what others have said. Lower tire pressures and get softer springs.
 
Yup, I have found that greatly reduced tire pressure solves the washboard road but not for long runs, it will waste the tires. With clapped out original springs it can be decent. I have custom alcans built for a soa with a winch & ls in front and a 400# load in back was how they were built. FWIW a fully loaded trip over rubicon or for hrs on a washboard road are not bad , cant carry much spped but loaded up the ride is quite tollerable. I never had a hard top or doors on so that may totally change the ride of a set up. With the fj40 wb its gonna bounce, good seats and an extra cushion(stadium pad) help.
 
I think it'll always be kind of rough, but am suspecting your springs may be too stiff. If you're not using your suspension travel, it's transfering those forces right through the frame. And it won't use the travel if they're too stiff.

I have a 4x4 IFS pickup that had the torsion bars cranked up and the ride is almost unbearable when the road here is bad. Much worse than the 80 series.

Lighter tires also make a big difference. Unsprung weight shows up on washboard.
 
I think it'll always be kind of rough, but am suspecting your springs may be too stiff. If you're not using your suspension travel, it's transfering those forces right through the frame. And it won't use the travel if they're too stiff.

I have a 4x4 IFS pickup that had the torsion bars cranked up and the ride is almost unbearable when the road here is bad. Much worse than the 80 series.

Lighter tires also make a big difference. Unsprung weight shows up on washboard.
I actually have small tires: 32x11.5 BFG. I didn’t air down so I know that was a big part of the problem, especially on the washboard.
 
Bilsteins will help a lot. I once had OEM shocks and it rode pretty rough. I only have a half inch lift. Those who have been in my truck can attest it now rides almost like a passenger car with Bilsteins.

So, the Bilsteins are recommended over OME? How do they do on rock crawling? Are they sturdy enough for that kind of terrain?
 
The Bilsteins are worth it. Put some on last summer and have really enjoyed the smoother ride. No rock crawling experience but they perform great on the off camber trails I have ran lately.

For what it's worth, there is no rougher ride than what I had back in the 90s. Thought I could build a budget FJ40 lift by using add a leafs on all 4 OEM springs with extended shackles and Rancho RS5000 shocks. Looked great but performed horrible. Damn cruiser would bounce sideways on the trail and I am sure I did irreversible damage to my back and kidneys. Live and learn!
 
Bilsteins will help a lot. I once had OEM shocks and it rode pretty rough. I only have a half inch lift. Those who have been in my truck can attest it now rides almost like a passenger car with Bilsteins.

So, the Bilsteins are recommended over OME? How do they do on rock crawling? Are they sturdy enough for that kind of terrain?

Keep in mind there may be a difference between OME (Old Man Emu) and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer, which in this case would be the shocks sourced by Toyota). Or it could be a typo...

I have an OME kit, with OME shocks. It doesn't ride like a water bed. It rides WAY better than my original Toyota springs with Gabriel load-leveler shocks on all 4 corners, but I mostly blame the load-levelers for that.

Either way, offroad I hear ever door, nut, bolt, piece of cargo, and my teeth rattling, basically all the time. It just adds to the charm of driving around in a clapped out 40 to me!
 
Either way, offroad I hear ever door, nut, bolt, piece of cargo, and my teeth rattling, basically all the time. It just adds to the charm of driving around in a clapped out 40 to me!
😅😅 I totally know what you mean! I guess I need to embrace the “charm” and forget about the body aches.
 
From what I have read, it might be best to keep the OME Springs paired with with the ARB/OME Nitrocharger Sport Shocks. I’m not sure mixing OME Springs with Bilstein shocks is advisable . The reviews I’ve read indicate OME are a stiff suspension.
 
From what I have read, it might be best to keep the OME Springs paired with with the ARB/OME Nitrocharger Sport Shocks. I’m not sure mixing OME Springs with Bilstein shocks is advisable . The reviews I’ve read indicate OME are a stiff suspension.

How do the springs know what shocks you're running or vice versa? Leaf spring have been around forever. It's a very basic design. I'd probably remove a leaf. While they're apart wire brush them and paint them. I believe thay make a paint with graphite in it.
 
How do the springs know what shocks you're running or vice versa? Leaf spring have been around forever. It's a very basic design. I'd probably remove a leaf. While they're apart wire brush them and paint them. I believe thay make a paint with graphite in it.
The "graphite paint" is sold at tractor supply and is sometimes located near the bush hog blades. "slide-ez" or "ezi-slide" I think. Good stuff. If I could go back and do it again I would have painted my shackles, bushings, and shackle bolts with this stuff when I installed my new springs.

I remember my fj40 being less bouncy than a jeep and really not to bad, but I always had 10.5" -12.5" wide radial tires normally at 25-30PSI. Did you say you had "STA" tires. If that is an old school bias tire with a really heavy ply/load rating it's going to ride rough. They will also bounce more due to heavier unsprung tire weight. Bigger wider radials at lower pressure will roll over the bumps. In comparison an unarmored HMMWV weighs 6-10Klb depending on load with 37" tires. Tire pressure specified is 20psi front and 25 rear. You don't need 35PSi+- in a lightly loaded normal bigger 4wd tire like you would put in a car tire.

When I first got my BJ73 it had the original worn out springs and less than 2" between spring and bump stop it rode horribly. I installed OME 2" lift springs and the improvement was dramatic. After 3 years the ride is not quite as good as new and I think that is due to the fact that newly installed/greased bushings work better.

A soft spring with a decent amount of travel help with lessening impact of bumps. Good bushings and joints properly greased help allow the suspension to work properly. Good shocks will slow rebound after a bump lessening bounce and preventing bouncing/swaying intensifying. Too much dampening and suspension will not rebound quickly enough on a washboard or successive bumps.
 
Pull a leaf from the rear spring pack and go for the Bilstein shocks if you’re running OME’s with the top off.

I swapped my front springs to Skyjackers and they have been much nicer than the OME’s. The springs are longer which moved the axle forward about 3/4” and resulted in better shackle angles. Ride and flex have been a noticeable improvement. I plan to do the same in the rear and ditch the OME’s. IIRC @Rockymtnflyfisher is running the Skyjackers on all 4 corners.
 
I have skyjackers 4” rear and 2.5” front with SR … nice ridding spring… mine however have over 220,000 miles on them at least by this point they do move a lot… you’ll also need longer shackles to compensate for this movement

Common skyjacker issue is spring hitting under rear perch with stock shackles … I have the 1/2” indentations to prove it lol

I do love my skyjackers
 
To the OP @rstoddard

How tight are your shackles? I had seen many of a 4x4 with shackles way too tight … if they are tight it will be a rough ride

How many miles are on the suspension?

Excuse my not seeing it if you already posed that last info
 
Pretty sure, if they’re newer OME, you have the OME Dakar heavy springs. I use the same spring with Biltstiens, I chose this setup because I ran a hard top and loaded the mule to max capacity with hunting/camping gear. Now with the top off, I use the occasional bevy of summer time co-eds for ballast. What ever works. Regardless, it’s never been super smooth.

View attachment 3284577
I have several accessory catalogs for my FJ40, can you send me the link for the bevy of co-eds you used for ballast? 👍
 
Post a picture of your shackle angles. If you have extended shackles the angles may be too straight and contributing to the rough ride. Mine has the pro comp springs and bilsteins. It is very smooth. I believe the sky jacker and procomp are the same springs.
 
To the OP @rstoddard

How tight are your shackles? I had seen many of a 4x4 with shackles way too tight … if they are tight it will be a rough ride

How many miles are on the suspension?

Excuse my not seeing it if you already posed that last info

It doesn’t have a ton of miles. Maybe 15k. Probably not more than 20K
 

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