Sagged suspension, what to do? (1 Viewer)

[JTarnow]

I have a 1985 BJ73 with 180,000 km on it and the front suspension is almost completely flat. There is at most 1 cm between the bump stop and the axle. There isn't any special weight on the front end, just a stock winch bumper/ winch.

So my question is what it the best way to solve this? New one suspension is a little expensive and I don't need the lift. I run 7.50r16 tires and the stock height work well for that without raising the center of gravity too much. Also the rear springs are fine and we have a decent amount of old 60 rears to replace them with if it ever becomes necessary. Living in the USA there isn't much chance of finding better springs on the used market.

So...
add a leaf
OME
Re-arching???

What would work best for this?

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

All those old rigs will have bagged springs - you will need a new set - OME. Adding a leaf is a lot of work and it will not last since it will be supporting most of the front end weight. New springs are almost the cost of re-arcing,( you will need new u-bolts in any case) and new springs will last much longer. Install some new shocks as well - and it will feel like a different truck.
My $0.02 worth.

 

[helocat]

Re-arc'ing buys some time but will go flat again. I agree with Glen ad-a-leafs are a bit of work. However on the cheep they will give you some time.

Some new Dakar springs from OME would be well worth saving up for.

Mark

 

[JTarnow]

Darn, I guess I'd better start saving.

The only thing that bugs me is I'm perfectly happy with the stock height and even if I put OME in I'd still be using Toyota shackles and such. I'm not to big a fan of all the poly bushings so I'd be getting new rubber ones as well. So isn't there some cheaper way to keep my factory suspension height?

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Your existing height is not "stock height" because your stock springs have sagged.

 

[JTarnow]

The front ones have anyways, I just meant non lifted height.

Thanks for the input I'll start saving.