several shock based q's

[dammitmitchell]

hey guys..
steering stabalizers..
how do i absolutely make sure they are working right?
or better yet working at all..

shocks..
well.. i diddnt buy the ones on my truck so i have no freakin clue what i got..
but when i hit bumps my truck dances.. and rides hard as hell.. not nearly as bad as it used to be.. ( but i think that might be temperature related)

but when i go to replace all 6 of them..
(4 front) 2 rear
what do yall reccomend for a descent mudding truck?
it's also my DD soo... dont want my spine to compact more then it allready has



i know it's never going to be as sweet and soft as a newer truck.. but would like to squeese out nice comfy things here and there... once ina while..

oh p.s. it's a 83 w 350 swap and skjacker 8in lift.. pretty much everything lift wise is from skyjacker...

[SeventyOne]

For the steering stabilizers I would say if you get a lot of steering wheel movement that is transferred from the road through the linkage to the wheel they aren't working - they are a shock absorber for your steering so and lateral movement of the tires will be lessened when hitting a bump or whatever.

Second if you want a nicer ride get rid of the dual front shocks. They probably aren't necessary and are making your ride a whole hell of a lot stiffer than it needs to be.

[dammitmitchell]

thanks i'll give that a try...

[Stocker]

With dual shocks, you need to have shocks that are designed specifically for use on a dual setup. With those, you should have better damping but without the added stiffness of an extra set of shocks that were designed to be used as singles. The way you describe your ride, the PO may have put 4 singles up front.... there's also a good chance your springs are awfully stiff too.

With your 8" lift (and especially if you want to keep the duals), I'd call a few off-road shops and see what shocks they advise.

[dammitmitchell]

i dont have a front sway bar either...
is there really a necessity for my duals?
i thought it looked cool but im not the origional purchaser of the shocks..
they look like crap but they are between 2-3 years old...
im the one who has used them the most.. alot of storage time before i bought this old girl..

[pokethesmot]

Originally Posted by dammitmitchell

i dont have a front sway bar either...
is there really a necessity for my duals?
i thought it looked cool but im not the origional purchaser of the shocks..
they look like crap but they are between 2-3 years old...
im the one who has used them the most.. alot of storage time before i bought this old girl..

man im with ya on this one i got dual shocks upfront too

[Stocker]

A sway bar is to keep the truck more level in corners, on the highway... mine doesn't have one either, and corners fairly well for what it is.

Do you need dual shocks? Heck no... some people like 'em just for show, but their real purpose is enhanced jounce & rebound control in off-road use -- as an extreme example, think desert racing.

If the shocks are still good, try removing one set. If you want to save some money (and simplify your life a bit) when you replace them, just get two front shocks instead of four.

[dammitmitchell]

that's what i am hoping for, because there is minimalistic articulation in the front when mudding..
what i mean is.. i shattered my front axel (granted i was muddign hard) BUT it should not have been that big of a deal.. even with 37's..


and driving in town.. well.. i allready lost 3/4 of an inch in the army i dont want to lose more just driving my truck...
that's about the only thing i can think of to "soften" my ride in the old girl..
p.s. the rear end feels much softer then the front when hitting obstacles..
curbs rocks cats... old ladies screaming at me..
thanks for the input and advice..

[special-K]

Unbolt one end o your steering stabilzer and see if it`s dampening.If it`s gas filled it should want to stretch itself out all the way.

Dual front shocks is an attempt to equal dampening front to rear since alot more weight is over the front axle.This would be with no payload.GM used dual front shocks on diesel equipped solid axle trucks and was an option,too.This was a solution that helped with old shock technology.They weren`t doubled up like aftermarket duals.The secondshock mounted forward and was a shorter shock mounted lower on the frame.On my Suburban I stayed with dual ront shocks when I installed the 4" EZ-Rides all around.I got Rancho RSX9000s and 4WPW provided four of thesame that I mounted piggyback.They stay set on soft and it rides great and is way stable.
The focus is all about travel these days due to the rock crawling trend,basically,taking over the magazine world.It`s really cool,but there are other dedicated uses of a 4wd that require different characteristics.The rules is:Gain articulation/lose on road handling(think monster trucks).I build to reduce pitch and body roll or on road use,which works great for off road use other than extreme manuvers.I just got to the point where an extreme wheelin`vehicle is just that,then there are those to drive and wheel regular.