My bj-60 rough on pot hole road. Leaf springs need to be resprung?

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H

haryv

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colorado
Hi all,

I did not know that leave springs over time can sag and reduce the clearence between the axle and the frame bumper. Did not relize this untill I went off road for 5 min just to test the 4x4 mechanicals. I know this patch of earth off the end of a short street was to be flat. Wife protested as she is not into this kind of thing. Anway I went and drove about 3 mph hit a rut and we went flying out of our seats. Wife complained of back pain but she has had a bad accidents 10 years ago so this ticked her off. She is doing much better after two days. A local cruiser owner said my springs are some what flattend out over time. He showed me the cleaence between the bumper stop and the axle.

What I want to know is what should be the spacing between the leaf springs and the bumper stop. Does widder spacing mean more road comfort riddled while driving on pot hole rittled roads?

Are springs and trailing arms more comfortable then leaf springs? Would it even be worth it to modify this vehicle to have trailing arms and coil over springs or is the latter hj-60 have this already? The ride is uncomforable and very jarring going into downtown vancouver. Or would it be better to replace the seats with more shock absorbing capabilities.

Harryvv
 
How old are your shocks? A 60 series is not a cadillac. it is a truck and will drive and ride like a truck.

Cost to modify to coil springs would not be worth it in my opinion. If you want a cruiser that rides decent get a 80 or 100 series.

Sorry your wife doesnt enjoy what a LC is meant for. Thats horrible. Have any pics? There is no specific spcae btwn the spring and bumpstop. Everyones rides different.

Seats, man. You are a funny guy. Does it really ride that bad? How long have you owned your BJ? Give us more details.

What other cars are you used to driving?

Lets start there.
 
Get yourself a set of OME Dakkar springs and shocks pronto. You'll be happy with the ride. No need to convert to coil springs. There are vendors on this board that deal in this suspension. Call them up and have a chat.
 
eshelbyk said:
Get yourself a set of OME Dakkar springs and shocks pronto. You'll be happy with the ride. No need to convert to coil springs. There are vendors on this board that deal in this suspension. Call them up and have a chat.
Click to expand...


Why jump into throwing more $ at it. He may not be used to driving or riding in a truck type vehicle.

It seems as if he hasnt owned it long since he has 18 posts and registered on here in December. Lets just see what other details he can give us.


I knwo I for one dont have $ growing on trees and dripping over $1500 on a lift isnt always the best thing if you have not researched or had a vehicle long at all.
 
I just put on the Dakar springs on my 60, and have to say the new ride is night/day different from the old, flat springs. I only had about 2" clearance between the bumpstops and the axle. The bumpstops wore a shiny spot in the axle from hitting it so much. I got the heavy setup, but you might get the lighter setup if you want a soft ride.

I also recently put in new seats. Newer seats, or just new bottom seat foam has the same effect as putting on new shocks, as the bumps are dampened a little more instead of bouncing up and down in your seat as much.

After all this work, it still doesn't ride like an 80, so it may or may not be worth it to you. Hope this helps.

Cameron
 
I took his post as if he owns this vehicle, and it seems likely that it's either an FJ60 or a BJ60 (from the "latter hj60" comment). Installing light OMEs is a lot cheaper than upgrading to an 80 series.

If he's bottoming out on washboard roads with flat springs, it's time to spend some money.

I don't think there's enough space beneath the seat to allow the 70 series/Trooper suspension seats. But newer foam would probably help.
 
I've got BDS springs under my BJ60 and my buddy put OME's under his and in his opinion the OME premium was not worth it. I installed mine about 2 years ago and bought them from North Shore Offroad in Langley.
As others have said, the '60 is a truck NOT a Cadillac so don't expect luxury car ride 'cause it ain't happening.
They are listed as for an FJ60 but the fit is the same.
 
I installed a new OME medium duty Dakkar complete lift kit on my FJ60 with 130K mile original suspension. The ride was day/night. The old ride was in hindsight was a little dangerous.

If you want a luxury cruiser and have the coin you should look into buying an FZ80 or newer. They can wheel well, have full power, and a more luxurious interior etc.

The FJ60 is very basic, easy to fix, wheels awesome, but has some quirks (no power windows etc, less power, more rugged overall).

Depends what you want in a rig I guess. I love my FJ60.
 
gnx, yea its a rugged truck.

I will have to eventually replace the seats in this vehicle. While sitting in the drivers seat can push my finger into the seat and feel the metal wire supports. Tell s me its long over due for a replacment. Where can I find after market foam for drivers and passanger seats?

Harryv
 
haryv said:
I will have to eventually replace the seats in this vehicle. While sitting in the drivers seat can push my finger into the seat and feel the metal wire supports. Tell s me its long over due for a replacment. Where can I find after market foam for drivers and passanger seats?

Harryv
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After you mortgage the house and sell the kids to slavery you can buy the foam at Spector Off Road!



It's not quite that bad but sometimes it seems like it.
www.sor.com
 
I just put in some new ones that I got from Lance ar Ironpig. http://www.ironpigoffroad.com/interior.htm If you can swing the extra dough and the color will work for you, I highly recommend them. Much easier to swap than the foam, too!
 
haryv said:
What I want to know is what should be the spacing between the leaf springs and the bumper stop. Does widder spacing mean more road comfort riddled while driving on pot hole rittled roads? Harryvv
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Haryv.

You are more then welcome to come check out an HJ61 in Abbotsford that has the Belton lift on it. I will add/remove leaves the lift to suit your needs. If you are local, more the better, as shipping these days is doing nothing but going up.

If a complete new suspension is not in the picture, I can recommend some local spring shops that may be able to help with re-arc. It will not last, and I do not recommend going that way, but if you are looking for options...

btw, the HJ60/1's were also leaf sprung (same suspension as your BJ60). You might be thinking of the 8* series which are solid axle/coil sprung.

Shoot me a note info@gscruiserparts.com and I am more then happy to chat about options, and also go over your BJ60 with you...talking about questions you have posted over the last while.

Regards

gb
 
Beaufort - I got the tan ones, since I have the brown interior. Not a perfect match, but they look pretty sweet.
 
Greg_B said:
If a complete new suspension is not in the picture, I can recommend some local spring shops that may be able to help with re-arc. It will not last, and I do not recommend going that way, but if you are looking for options...
Click to expand...

I second Greg's opinions on rearching and also I would add that the add-a-leaf option is also a short term solution. I did those on my truck and about a year later the main leaf on the rear spring snapped and at that point I decided there was no point spending money to fix 20 year old springs besides the fact that a lift is only slightly more than rearching and adding a leaf to the existing springs anyways and you have a new set of springs when the smoke clears.
 
Had a Land cruiser specialist look at my vehicle.

Took my vehicle to rob from land cruiser industries in richmond BC to look over the vehicle. The leaf springs, shocks and some bushings need to be replaced. Its very stiff I suspect the shocks are so tired and own thay lost there ability to slid in and out adding to the stiffneess of the suspention. He also said the seal that seperates the fluid from the trany and diff will need to be replaced. The tranny fluid is comming out the top of the 5 speed. This requires 90 weight oil? I have the original factory books but no specs on fluids in it.

Also, need to know what kind of adapter I need to inject wheel berring grease into the stearing ball from the top. ? I have the grease gun just need to inject th e ball with more grease.


He said for how many kilomoters my vehicle has on its one of the nicest cruisers he has seen for a vehicle that has 370km. There is some rust issues though. And I need to have it eventually taken care off. Off hand, what is the best way to stop the corrosion from further taken metal with it? The frame on the left side been corroding for some time from the inside. Was thinking of using a high pressure washer with a plumbers ball mounted on the end. The ball has pin holes all around it. It is designed to spray high pressure water in 360 degrees on all axis. I suspect with the pressure it would be enough to knock off the rust. The whats the agent to coat the rust to disolve the rest of it? After its disolved, then need to clean the surface before applying a anti corrosion inhiboror inside the frame. Any recomendations?
 
haryv said:
Also, need to know what kind of adapter I need to inject wheel berring grease into the stearing ball from the top. ? I have the grease gun just need to inject th e ball with more grease.
Click to expand...

No adaptor needed. Just use a standard grease gun. Stick the working end into the hole, and squirt away. 6 pumps is a common target. Done at the same time as the oil change/suspension lube.
 
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