Rough Ride

[jrdecat]

So I'm finally fed up with the stiff ride on my 91 Jimmy. The previous owner had lifted it with springs up front and with blocks and who knows in back. This thing rattles your teeth when you hit a bump on the road. I do very little off road, so ride quality is more important than real off road capability. I need to get this thing a little more road friendly without breaking the bank. I don't mind the ride height and I sure don't want to have to swap out the tires, as they have <5k miles on them.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to keep the ride height approximately the same while softening up the ride for daily driving. I know I also need to level it out so the back end isn't squatting so much...bigger bumper in front!

[68Timber]

Do you know what kind of lift is on it now? Most lift companies paint their name and maybe a part number on the top of the front leaf packs. What size tire are you running? Hard to tell, but it looks like it might be 4" of lift over 35's?

[Eyegore]

Only thing i can suggest is going to a coil over setup, google it it will take you to other sites where this has been done

[68Timber]

Also, it might not be the spring rate. The upper shackle bushing on the front is in the frame and hard to see, but if its crushed/torn or otherwise not able to do its job anymore you'll get a buckboard ride.

[jrdecat]

Do you know what kind of lift is on it now? Most lift companies paint their name and maybe a part number on the top of the front leaf packs. What size tire are you running? Hard to tell, but it looks like it might be 4" of lift over 35's?

They are 315/75/r16's. The number on the leaf pack is 11211 which corresponds to a 2.5" Pro Comp lift spring. After a little googling, the stiff ride seems to be common with these. Thanks for the ID Bruiser!

Only thing i can suggest is going to a coil over setup, google it it will take you to other sites where this has been done

That would cost more than I paid for the ride!

Also, it might not be the spring rate. The upper shackle bushing on the front is in the frame and hard to see, but if its crushed/torn or otherwise not able to do its job anymore you'll get a buckboard ride.

Bushings are good.

Now working with Chris at ORD to figure out the right springs for me. Will probably just do the Tuff Country EZ ride springs. They seem to be the economy lift of choice for K5's.

Thanks for all of your help!

[russgt]

+1 for ORD, everything that I have bought from them has been spot on.

[72shorbox]

The shocks are mounted upside down, on some shocks that will make a difference on how they work. Not sure what you have.

['68 Newtricks]

agree on getting some quality springs and making sure you have good bushings. Also look into some greaseable bolts. Throw some new shocks on too, just makes sense.

To me, it looks kinda like a 2.5-3" lift. My front leafs looked like those before I went 4" and my new ones look to have more arch than those. I wouldn't go higher than what you have if streetability and ride is a concern. You loose that a little going higher, plus you'll have to look into driveshafts etc.

[bmchevy1979]

Originally Posted by 72shorbox

The shocks are mounted upside down, on some shocks that will make a difference on how they work. Not sure what you have.

X2 my uncles truck felt like it was rock solid no springs when he bought it and it was just the shocks being put on upside down. I would check that out first it takes no time to do and its free
It does look like a 2.5-3in lift to me as well the spring in front looks identical to ones in front of my truck now except I pulled a leaf when I cleaned them up for install to make my truck ride a little better but I made longer shackles so I don't know if I lost any height from that in the process

[Ski-me]

I also had a Pro Comp lift and ended up replacing the springs with new, BDS front springs and then some new, stock height rears at a local springs shop. Still used blocks in the back. Also added Bilstein 5100 shocks and it has been a nice ride improvement over the previous setup. I think ORD sells the BDS springs so that would help.

It looks like you have a pretty decent driveline angle from axle....do you have any vibrations?