New to me 1990 HJZ73, lifted and really rough ride. Any suggestions?? (1 Viewer)

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TyGuy

TyGuy

Joined
Dec 6, 2018
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Location
Malawi
Hi all,

New to forum and Landcruisers. I live in Africa and ordered a 1990 HZJ73 from Japan. Love the truck, but it's got a substantial lift on it and it rides really rough. We have bad roads in Malawi and you feel every bump, ridge, and pothole. It shakes the whole body of the car and things are rattling like crazy. Given this is really meant to be a daily driver + bush vehicle for getting out on the weekends, I'm hoping there is something I can do to smooth the ride. Lower it some? Diff tires? New shocks/springs? Other things?

Disclaimer: I know very little about car parts currently (tho hopefully will learn with this vehicle), so please answer back with as little jargon and as much description as you can! It would be really appreciated for this novice :)

Thank you all in advance!
 
Short wheelbase truck, will be a bit harsher than a long wheelbase.

Tire pressure shoud be at recommended settings or a bit lower.

Grease all suspension points that have a grease fittings.

Look at your bushings, are they in good shape or do they need replacement?

Try to find out what lift was used.

As stated above, pictures would be helpfull.
 
TyGuy said:
I know very little about car parts currently (tho hopefully will learn with this vehicle), so please answer back with as little jargon and as much description as you can!
Click to expand...

Japan have some very good suspension manufacturers but they also sold some absolute rubbish. Without seeing what you have , I would start saving. How much PSI in your tyres? I would keep that to a minimum safe level until you can sort something out. We need lots of good pics.
 
 
roscoFJ73 said:
Japan have some very good suspension manufacturers but they also sold some absolute rubbish. Without seeing what you have , I would start saving. How much PSI in your tyres? I would keep that to a minimum safe level until you can sort something out. We need lots of good pics.
Click to expand...
Thanks guys! I’ve uploaded a bunch of pics to check out.
 
288TriShackle-diagram-big.jpg


th


Did you grease the anti-inversion shackles?

Also, you could try to lubricate between the leaf's on the leaf springs.

You can also remove a leaf.

There are articles on the above, just search mud.

75 rear leaf removal

Taking off a leaf spring

How to align shackle mounts with anti-inversion shackles?

Very nice looking truck, by the way.
 
It appears to be an ARB Old Man Emu kit, which is usually regarded as a nice riding lift kit. That said, some people have found they need to take a leaf out of each pack and/or clean lubricate between the leaves. Also, I agree on greasing the shackles, could definitely help.

Tire pressure? If you are running really high that can cause a rough ride. Age of tires, as tires get more old and wore down, they tend to ride worse.
 
I run 20-25psi or so on rough roads. Makes things much smoother! Give that a try. Return to Toyota recommended pressure for smooth paved roads however.
 
looks like extended shackles in the front and not in the back. don't know if that would possibly cause a rougher ride. I would say it probably is riding like it should, it is leaf spring set up. I had a BJ-70 and I thought on road it drove quite nice for a leaf spring set up. I now have a ute(pickup) and I don't think it rides any better than the -70. Off road they will be a bit rough unless you can get some fancy custom tunes leaf springs. Have you ridden/driven in other leaf spring vehicles? Did they ride better?
 
I agree with Lazifarm. BJ7* can use the same leafs as 75 series in the front and 60 series in the rear. If heavy duty leafs are chosen, the lighter MWB models will have a fairly stiff ride. Try loading a few hundred kgs into the rear. If the suspension is good, it should ride very nice. But for everyday use it will be too hard. So you may need to take a leaf out of each corner.
I have OME ARB suspension on my troopy, it appears to be heavy duty and it rides a bit hard without a load in the back.
 
Hello,

I would grease the shackles.

It appears that the PO did not replace the rear shocks. A common practice it seems: the PO of mine did the same thing. They look like small bore OEM Toyota.

I would change all four shocks.

Tyre/tire pressure is important as well. If you drive mostly on unpaved/rough roads, you might want to keep it at around 25 psi (1.7 bar) for a better ride.

70 Series Land Cruisers are usually hard except when they are loaded.






Juan
 
Do you know where in Japan it came from? New shocks, new bushings, let some air out. I would only recommend removing leafs it you are planning on not adding bumpers.
 
8 leaf packs in the front is high constant load and will result in a very hard ride. My hzj75 had 8 in the front, rode like it was welded. I have taken 1 leaf out, it was better but i am going to take another out.

I would load up the rear with a fair amount of weight, and if that fixes it take 1 leaf spring out of each pack. Grease it up first. Taking leaves out is the cheapest option if it can be accommodated.
 
Thanks to all for the recs. Having it checked out at shop (full once over) today and also asking their opinion. Will make sure to grease between the leafs and do the rear load test to see if I should remove some.

Will keep ya posted.
 
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