I didn't say anything about spring rate
NEWBIE Question! Rough Country Systems and Shackle Angles...
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I didn't say anything about spring rate
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
You are hardly flexing it. Not sure what those short ramps are supposed to accomplish.
Notice the very high arch in your rear spring. That's the source of your stiff ride. High arch lift springs = your rough ride. There is little you can do about it short of changing your springs. If that is a 4 inch lift, Try the 2 1/2 OME springs. It will be a little better but not that much.
I recommend you learn to live with it. It's the nature of the suspension that you have. Let a few PSI out of your tires-that will soften the ride a bit.
Taking out a leaf does change the spring rate.
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Just took a picture of the shackle / bushings... overly tight would you say??!!! This one was the worst of the four, but they were all in a similar state... not sure how I missed that...
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Looks like they were way too tight, also looks like you didn't grease the bushings inside
& out when you assembled it.
& out when you assembled it.
my angles are identical to yours. I have been driving it for a few months now. and left it on ramps over the weekend. The fronts are fine, but the rears are not. When I have time and when I get to it on my checklist, I will remove a leaf from the rear. If I am unhappy with the ride height at that time, I can always run an extended shackle.
This is the only way that spring is going to be able to de arch and break in. If it ever really breaks in and sags, I will add back in the original leaf.
This is the only way that spring is going to be able to de arch and break in. If it ever really breaks in and sags, I will add back in the original leaf.
hecrod said:
They will not move much nor will they affect ride unless the bolts are too right. Rough Country are rough; that is just how they are. If you want smooth and comfy you need OME or Alcan. In my experience, nothing will make those springs ride nicely. My friend Steve tried everything to make his ride better and finally got custom Alcans. The only thing that helped with his Rough Country springs was weight. He put a 4'x4'x3/8"plate in the back and it helped but his fuel economy suffered.
My OME springs ride really nicely even on wash boards in my opinion. Mine give me 3" over stock with the longer shackles. However the 60 series axles gave the greatest improvement in ride.
Someone didn't replace the upper bushings, which leads me to believe there is no grease there.
It may be an illusion, but it looks like the perches aren't the same width as the springs??? You can probably get a pretty good measurement without taking it apart.
It may be an illusion, but it looks like the perches aren't the same width as the springs??? You can probably get a pretty good measurement without taking it apart.
I see it the same as you do, Eddy: the spring side bushings are overly compressed, and the frame side bushings look too loose
I guess because the springs are wider than OEM, requiring different thickness of bushings shoulders for the frame side and the spring side of the shackle - you'd have to use bushings with thicker shoulders on the frame side of the shackle - or sand down the shoulders on the spring side bushings, but that reduces their function and lifespan
I guess because the springs are wider than OEM, requiring different thickness of bushings shoulders for the frame side and the spring side of the shackle - you'd have to use bushings with thicker shoulders on the frame side of the shackle - or sand down the shoulders on the spring side bushings, but that reduces their function and lifespan
I'm going all the way back to the OP.
Hector,
A lower suspension will possibly, but not necessarily, ride easier. It is going to be a little rough due to the short wheelbase, solid axles, and nature of the beast. It is entirely believable that yours is unacceptably harsh due to a few factors.
Your shackles were over-tightened. This caused the bushings to be destroyed. You need to disassemble the shackles and replace the bushings. Upon reinstallation, tighten the bolts until the side plates contact the bushings, but do not continue tightening until the shoulders of the bushings are squished into oblivion. Use a lot of grease everywhere upon assembly and make sure all bushings slide completely into their seat.
You could remove a leaf if you want to from the spring packs. I don't know how easy this operation is on Rough Country kits, but I have disassembled factory spring packs before. This will lower it a little and soften it a little.
You could lower the pressure in your tires. You have modern wheels and tires, which means less sidewall than a stock 15" wheel with oversized tire combination would have. If you want to spend money, swapping to old steelies and 33x10.5" tires might have more forgiving ride qualities.
I think fixing the shackle bushings will do you the most good.
You asked about whether we see other things wrong. You have no dust boots on your shocks. That is a cheap and easy fix.
Hector,
A lower suspension will possibly, but not necessarily, ride easier. It is going to be a little rough due to the short wheelbase, solid axles, and nature of the beast. It is entirely believable that yours is unacceptably harsh due to a few factors.
Your shackles were over-tightened. This caused the bushings to be destroyed. You need to disassemble the shackles and replace the bushings. Upon reinstallation, tighten the bolts until the side plates contact the bushings, but do not continue tightening until the shoulders of the bushings are squished into oblivion. Use a lot of grease everywhere upon assembly and make sure all bushings slide completely into their seat.
You could remove a leaf if you want to from the spring packs. I don't know how easy this operation is on Rough Country kits, but I have disassembled factory spring packs before. This will lower it a little and soften it a little.
You could lower the pressure in your tires. You have modern wheels and tires, which means less sidewall than a stock 15" wheel with oversized tire combination would have. If you want to spend money, swapping to old steelies and 33x10.5" tires might have more forgiving ride qualities.
I think fixing the shackle bushings will do you the most good.
You asked about whether we see other things wrong. You have no dust boots on your shocks. That is a cheap and easy fix.
It seems weird that the springs would be wider than OEM, no?
If you did require different bushings, SOR has a bunch of options, very likely to have just what you need:
http://www.sor.com/cat289.sor
my Skyjackers are wider than OEM, too, but only by a few millimeters
The stock flanges are .195". "a few mm" is .125, so you'd want flanges that were about .250. Didn't see anything like that at SOR. I don't see why reducing the spring bushings down to .135 would be a big deal, and would certainly be better than having .060 of extra play on each side of the hanger.
In the rear of my SOA I have fj62 springs jammed into the stock fixed fj40 hangers. Those flanges are .125, I think.
It's also possible that the lower bushings have larger-than-stock flanges. (?)
Your tires look to be over-inflated as well. Doesn't help. Not uncommon to see sellers do this to make the rig look taller, and the buyer doesn't even recognize there's an issue for quite a while sometimes.
I've had a few newbs over the years show up at the shop with overinflated tires. I hand them an air chuck and put them to work. I've made a few new friends that way.
FWIW, I never run the recommended tire pressure either.
Best
Mark
I've had a few newbs over the years show up at the shop with overinflated tires. I hand them an air chuck and put them to work. I've made a few new friends that way.
FWIW, I never run the recommended tire pressure either.
Best
Mark