Build Lumpskie's Diesel 80 build

[Lumpskie]

More progress today and more pictures:
Got front springs/shocks buttoned up and sway bar removed. It's having some weird fitment issues with the lift on.

Got the rear springs and shocks replaced:

And BOOM.

Slinky ride height

I still need to get the rear panhard bracket, front panhard, rear sway bar extensions andextended brake line on. But the truck is drivable and I am impressed with the improvement in the ride! I'll get a better picture tomorrow and post a good before and after to show the difference.

 

[baldilocks]

Looking good! If you can do simple fabrication work, you can make your own rear panhard (not a real word) riser bracket practically for free.

 

[Lumpskie]

Finally got a chance to get a decent before and after. As you can see, the rear only went up .5" but the front was raised almost 2.5".
Before:

After:

 

[IanB]

How’s it ride?

 

[Lumpskie]

How’s it ride?

It rides so nice and smooth, compared to my OME setup. It's a big enough difference that my wife even commented on it!

 

[mudgudgeon]

How does it go taking corners at speed?

 

[Lumpskie]

How does it go taking corners at speed?

Just did a few miles on it so far. But even without the front sway bar or castor correction, it feels waaay better than before. Corners flatter and feels much more responsive. And those shocks really do feel good. I rode in Landtank's 80 with Kings and the Icons remind me of that kind of ride.

 

[landtank]

my truck has king shocks and dobinson 4" flexi springs

 

[Box Rocket]

Just did a few miles on it so far. But even without the front sway bar or castor correction, it feels waaay better than before. Corners flatter and feels much more responsive. And those shocks really do feel good. I rode in Landtank's 80 with Kings and the Icons remind me of that kind of ride.

Just wait, until you upgrade to stage4 shocks down the road and add the Blackhawk rear swaybar. Then the fun really begins! I've found that the faster you go through the bumps, the smoother the ride. Can bottom out the Stage1's on big bumps at speed (can bottom out the Stage4's too) but the Stage4's eliminate almost all of that for me and I love the adjustability. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts as you get miles on them.

 

[Lumpskie]

Bought some Landtank castor plates from Rick (Landtank) himself today.

I'm in a weird situation where I'm getting stuff faster than I can install it. Turns out I got the wrong brake lines with my Slinky kit and those are on back order. But I am going to try to drill out broken bolts and get my rear sway bar end bracket extensions on. I'll try and do the same with the extended bump stops.

 

[Lumpskie]

I spent 6 hours removing and reinstalling 8 bolts. 8. All of the rear sway bar end link bracket extension bolts broke and had to be drilled and tapped. Only 1 of the bump stop bolts had to be drilled but the others had to be gingerly taken out with lots of back and forth. Anyway, I was so tired, I didn't even get a decent picture. Here's the stuff installed:

I still don't have the extended brake lines for the kit, so I can't really flex out. But, I had to at least climb a smallish rock. The rear still seems to do a bit more work than the front. But, overall, I think the flex is much more balanced than before. I can't wait to see how far I can climb just with the basic setup. After that, I'll slowly start tweaking it to get it to really work well.
Pics:

 

[Lumpskie]

Tried to install the rear panhard lift bracket... couldn't get the bolts free, even with my impact. Went to my buddy's house and tried his impact... no go. That's a 500 ft-lb impact wrench. At this point, I'm considering taking my rig to a local shop just to get all the bolts associated with my radius arms, control arms and panhards broken loose and retightened. Really hoping we don't need to put heat to the bolts as that will probably melt the rubber in the mount.

 

[Lumpskie]

I guess these are the extended brake lines that come with Slinky kits now:

Hopefully, my current lines aren't corrosion welded on there!

 

[carbon60]

I guess these are the extended brake lines that come with Slinky kits now:

If your truck is like mine (1994), and has no ABS, you only use two of the lines. That had me confused for a while.

 

[Lumpskie]

If your truck is like mine (1994), and has no ABS, you only use two of the lines. That had me confused for a while.

Yeah, I've got a wierd setup. I've got a '96 FZJ80 with a 1HDT in it. So, I needed all 3 lines. I think this confused Endless Horizon too, because I only got 2 lines in my original kit.

 

[carbon60]

Yeah, I've got a wierd setup. I've got a '96 FZJ80 with a 1HDT in it. So, I needed all 3 lines. I think this confused Endless Horizon too, because I only got 2 lines in my original kit.

Makes sense. My last truck as an FZJ80, too. But I never bothered to do anything about the brake lines.

A.

 

[Lumpskie]

I managed to get 2 of the 3 extended lines on. The final line's hardline nut was seized on the hard line. I could have removed the original rubber hose by just twisting it up. But, I wasn't confident that I could use that method putting the steel braided line on. So, I unbolted the hard line from it's mount and pulled it down a bit. I think (hope?) it will be ok for today's wheeling trip. I think I'll have a shop deal with it and install the extended line for me. At this rate, I am on course for the slowest lift install ever!

 

[Lumpskie]

I didn't grab too many pictures because we were keeping a pretty steady pace through the trails. Also... I didn't get any flexy pictures with the new suspension. :-[

Anyway, we met up with a couple Exploring NH members in Henniker NH. We were in the middle of a storm... 2 roads and a bridge were washed out in town. So, long story short... It was a perfect day to go wheeling!

We started on a moderate/hard trail and kept it at that level for the day.


Wet Rocks:

Prebroken Tail Light... this is a New Hampshire Tacoma tradition.

Good to go!

Old Foundation

Leaving the woods

To find a quintessential New England Farm!

 

[Lumpskie]

Build thread update time. I got my extended brake lines finished up. Then I drove it to Ithaca NY. Even without castor correction, it drove fine. After I got back, I got to use it a bit when by buddy gave me a rescue text. He got bogged down in mud pretty deep:

I got him pulled out

Then we discovered these weird footprints... did we just miss Bigfoot?

After that we headed home.

Today, I measured out my flex... installed the Dobinsons adjustable panhard, then measured flex again. After installing the panhard, I climbed a 31" rock without lockers.

As you see, the rear is doing a bit more work than the front, but the flex is much more balanced than before. On the OME setup, I could climb roughly 24". After installing the Slinky setup, I could climb roughly 28". After the Dobinsons panhard, I'm at 31" (maybe more... the rock was 31 and it climbed that). Up next will be the Landtank castor correction brackets and narrowing the radius arms. Hoping for 35" or more after that. You can see that the springs have a lot more to give up front but I'm finally using some of the tapered wire in the coils.

 

[Lumpskie]

Found an old picture for a quick suspension comparo.
Here, you can see the OME 2.5" lift flexed out in a gulley. Rear stuff is about the same but front extension is limited by the short shocks:

Here's the recent picture of the 3" Slinky climbing a rock. Even though the suspension is less forced, you can see the additional droop and flex in the front.

I am definitely going to try grinding down my radius arms a bit to see if I can get more freedom and flex up front.