Updated suspension, new stance concerns (1 Viewer)

[jsld2000]

Hello All,

I am new to the LC realm.. owned a very neglected 2000 for 2 weeks now. Began correcting it's pain, and fell in love.. sold my two other vehicles and forgot about my muscle car project immediately.

Anyhow.. my current issue is stance, or level rather. I have searched and read many posts with regard to this, but they seem to trail off or are fairly specific to lifts that don't concern me. I can't say if the issue was present prior to my suspension updates, but it certainly is now.
I have added the following [from original 2000 parts, lol]:
-Rear: OME 2865 Coil Springs [essentially stock height 0-1.5 lift], Fox shocks [o-1.5 lift]
-Front: Fox shocks [0-1.5 lift], Upper and lower control arms [OEM], Tie rods, bushings, hangers.

Passenger side rear is exactly 1.5" higher than drivers, measured with various wheel/tire/ground to fender points on various surfaces. Front passenger is 1/2" higher.

As I stated, I am fairly new to LC's, but not automotive work.. is there something I can do to correct this? Is there something to do with the torsion bars [very unfamiliar with these]. I am hoping the answer doesn't involve the use of a rubber spacer.. The difference just makes no sense, regardless of driver/fuel tank etc weight.. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Matthew810]

I've got a pair of 2865s in the garage awaiting install so I'll be watching this thread.

I believe I read that there is a right and left spring with the ome's but that in Australia the driver side is on the other side from us so we should put them opposite. Maybe I'm making that up but I swear I read it somewhere on here. Somone much more knowledgeable than I will chime in soon I'm sure.

I assume you looked underneath to make sure both springs are seated correctly.

 

[aging fleet]

You should be able to level things out with the torsion bar adjustment bolts.

Give this thread a read, a bit of torsion bar 101... For those with torsion bar questions

 

[jsld2000]

I've got a pair of 2865s in the garage awaiting install so I'll be watching this thread.

I believe I read that there is a right and left spring with the ome's but that in Australia the driver side is on the other side from us so we should put them opposite. Maybe I'm making that up but I swear I read it somewhere on here. Somone much more knowledgeable than I will chime in soon I'm sure.

I assume you looked underneath to make sure both springs are seated correctly.

Yeah, I keep seeing that too.. and that is the case with some models they have [some are even 2-3" higher than the other] these however are both identical and marked the same.. if they have different compression qualities, that was never outlined.

I will double check, but they do seem to be seated correctly at the top [if that's what you mean] the bottoms are in their grooves

 

[jsld2000]

You should be able to level things out with the torsion bar adjustment bolts.

Give this thread a read, a bit of torsion bar 101... For those with torsion bar questions

Outstanding.. this will be very helpful, much appreciated. I'll update my findings and results tomorrow.

 

[aging fleet]

I will double check, but they do seem to be seated correctly at the top [if that's what you mean] the bottoms are in their grooves

The 2865s are the same length @ 460mm (I double checked when I installed mine). You can check the OME spring spec pdf on slee's site too.

Slee Off-Road - Springs Detail Page

 

[jerryb]

if a rear corner like your passenger side is too high then the front drivers side bar needs to be increased, or raised. You can only move weight to cross corners.
I like the book method of checking ride height. it's easier to understand and takes out non needed info. Draw it out on a piece of paper.
When you realize what you're measuring is easier to conclude the why and how of the bars. just my opinion.

all that assuming new rear and equal rate.

 

[aging fleet]

Just checked back on this thread and re-read your first post. I misread this last night to be an issue primarily up front, not at the back. As @Matthew810 suggested, definitely confirm both rear coils are seated in their perches and both shocks look ok and are the same model number, etc.

Adjusting the torsion bars will impact the rear ride height, but I'm not sure if it will correct a 1.5" difference. For example, raising the front left, should push the right rear down a bit, but again, not sure you'll get a full 1.5". Hopefully some settling occurred last night and the differences aren't as significant.

Also, posting your hub to fender measurements would help us understand whether something is unusually high or low. As a comparison point, my truck with OEM shocks, cranked OEM torsion bars and 2865s is ~ 20.75" up front and 22" in the rear.

 

[jsld2000]

Not sure if it was divine intervention, or some overnight settling [perhaps rear passenger spring wasn't fully seated as I thought] but today I measure the following: Front left and right are 20", Rear left 22.5" right 22.75". All measurements taken from wheel center to fender lip.

I will measure again on a different surface later today. Was really hoping to adjust the torsion bars to report the effect.. but whatever. Assuming this is where it stays, should it be raked like this with the rears up 2.5".. or should this be corrected?

BTW: sitting on 18" Tundra wheels with 275/65 KO2's

 

[aging fleet]

Good to hear it worked itself out a bit.

The back may settle a bit in the coming days but don't expect anything lower than 22". Most run about an inch of rake from front to rear, in order to bring the front up, you'll need to adjust the torsion bars. Super easy to do, but you'll need a big @ss socket (forget the size off the top of my head).

 

[jsld2000]

Good to hear it worked itself out a bit.

The back may settle a bit in the coming days but don't expect anything lower than 22". Most run about an inch of rake from front to rear, in order to bring the front up, you'll need to adjust the torsion bars. Super easy to do, but you'll need a big @ss socket (forget the size off the top of my head).

Yep.. thanks for your help thus far.. the required socket is 32mm [though I have a 1-3/16" that works as well]

 

[gatormark91]

Pretty sure 865s are left and right handed.

Yep.. thanks for your help thus far.. the required socket is 32mm [though I have a 1-3/16" that works as well]

Its a 30mm socket, actually, for adjusting TBs.

The easiest way I've found to set the rake/droop on a 1.5" lift is to measure the rear height from lip to hub center, then set the front so it ends up about 1.5" less than the rear (the front/rear wheel arches aren't at the same heights). This will give you 3/4 to 1" of rake and proper droop. You have 2.5" of difference, so you should have some room to crank it if you'd like to.

 

[Tigli]

Any opinions on whether it's necessary to do the diff drop if the front is adjusted to match the new rear ride height? I'll keep it with the stock rake ~1"lower in front.
I just did the same on my 2000lc only with the Dobinsons springs (c59-223v). It's their progressive stock replacement. I can already tell it's more supple but has a much improved load carrying capacity!

 

[gatormark91]

Any opinions on whether it's necessary to do the diff drop if the front is adjusted to match the new rear ride height? I'll keep it with the stock rake ~1"lower in front.
I just did the same on my 2000lc only with the Dobinsons springs (c59-223v). It's their progressive stock replacement. I can already tell it's more supple but has a much improved load carrying capacity!

1.5" = no need for diff drop.
2.5" = depends. Some people don't use one. I found I was getting a little noise with one of my CVs with the 2.5" lift, so I installed diff drop and noise went away. But I wheel my truck, so if I can remove stress from a part before I get to stressing it on the trail, I'm going to do what needs to be done.

 

[Tigli]

Thanks Gator! Nice rig, who makes the bumper?

 

[gatormark91]

Thanks Gator! Nice rig, who makes the bumper?

It is a one-off from Trail Tailor. Was on Jason's personal rig.

 

[Matthew810]

Got my 2865s and 30mm spacers installed about 2 weeks ago. Cranked the torsion bars to just about the limit without reindexing. Droop was good and the rake was about 2 inches which was fine with me. After alignment and settling the rake is up to 2.5 inches. I thought of reindexing but we took a trip up north last weekend and with the truck loaded up the way it will be for our long summer trip the rake was just over an inch. It drove absolutely awesome on this test run. Straight down the road at 80 and very solid. I was going to replace the shocks at same time but the oem on there seemed really good still so I'll wait on that. New springs feel really good. Really happy with this setup. If the stink eye bothers me after the trip I'll reindex or just remove the spacers.