Help: New suspension is almost un-driveable

[1970BannerBlazer]

I did a leaf spring and shock replacement last winter and after living with it for a while I’ve come to the conclusion it’s almost undrivable. It’s so stiff AND bouncy. The other day on the freeway I caught a little air twice at 60mph. As I drive I need to constantly be scanning the road for any little dip or bump to avoid or slow down. And the harsh ride is taking a toll on my nuts and bolts.

I need some recommendations on how to fix this.

Here is what I currently have.
1970 K5 Blazer
4” Tuff Country EZ-Ride springs (new)
Bilstein 5125 on all 4 corners (new)
Front: 33-186542
Rear: 33-104652
Bilstein steering stabilizer 33-170794 (new)
454 Engine
Turbo 350 Transmission
35x12x20 Ko2 tires

I went with the EZ ride because they were supposed to be soft. (So much for that)

Prior components were a 4” lift also installed but the previous owner. Rear was lifted using a 2” block and 2” springs. Rode crappy then as well.

Here are some options I have found:
1. Off Road Design custom leaf spring order (sucks to spend another couple grand to fix **** I just installed)
2. Off Road Design coil over conversion (I don’t really have the money for this)
3. ???

Anyone have some suggestions?

Before anyone comments “these are short wheel base trucks. You should expect some bounce and stuff ride”. What I am talking about it truly beyond what should be expected. I don’t expect a Cadillac ride. But I also don’t want to rattle my brain out or catch air on the freeway.

[Utahboy]

Although more expensive, Deaver springs will give you a much softer/smoother ride than any of the other aftermarket branded lift kits. MotorcityK5 stocks a 4” long travel lift kit (front and rear) specifically engineered for our trucks with Deaver springs.
Since it sounds like you have a good set of shocks, check with Mark and see if he will sell you just the springs instead of the entire lift kit to save some money. You will absolutely love the ride. Good luck

[geezer#99]

What are you running for air pressure in your tires?
Your blingy bling shocks might be too stiff.
I swapped out a set of bilstein’s for the cheapest Monroe shocks and it was a huge difference.

[72gmguy]

Did you tighten the leaf spring bolts without the weight of the truck on them? I did that once and all i needed to do to get rid of the stiff ride was to loosen the bolts , bounce the truck a bit to settle it and retighten.

[hemi43]

Shocks give you a rough ride, NOT springs(unless you have too many leaves).

Disconnect the shocks and go for a ride. If the ride improves then it's your shocks, if not it's your springs assuming nothing is binding up in the suspension.

Not sure if you know, but “these are short wheel base trucks. You should expect some bounce and stuff ride”.

[A1971Blazer]

I just went from a 4" BDS all spring lift with Fox shocks, and 35x12.50 MT Baja Claw tires...
to a 2½" Tuff Country all spring lift, Tuff Country shocks, BFG AT 33x12.50 tires, and added a front sway bar from a square body 4x4.
The difference is amazing! It drives so much better now, less bounce and very nice cornering.
With the 4" it was bouncy and tippy in the turns...

Did you have the alignment checked after the swap?

[Willowrun]

All great responses/suggestions so far. Tire pressure is an easy one and a great suggestion to check first.
I run a 2 1/2" tuff country EZ ride with I think cheap Monroe or Gabriel (soft) shocks and it rides pretty well. Are you running with a full top or do you have a soft top/topless?

[A1971Blazer]

Another thing I thought of....did you over tighten the spring eye and shackle bolts and did you grease the spring bushings when you installed them?

It is possible to fully bind the springs and shackles by tightening them too tight. The shackle bolts should only be 40 ft/lbs per the Tuff Country instructions.

[Blazerowner]

I’ll mention I put a 3” lift on from Offroad Designs. It’s a shackle flip rear. The truck is not bouncy and rides much smoother than when it was stock. 33” tires fit fine. It has Bilstein shocks.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

What are you running for air pressure in your tires?
Your blingy bling shocks might be too stiff.
I swapped out a set of bilstein’s for the cheapest Monroe shocks and it was a huge difference.

Whatever the tire recommendation is for normal road use.
The Bills are considered to be good shocks. But I’d be willing to drop money on a crap pair to fix this.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Shocks give you a rough ride, NOT springs(unless you have too many leaves).

Disconnect the shocks and go for a ride. If the ride improves then it's your shocks, if not it's your springs assuming nothing is binding up in the suspension.

Not sure if you know, but “these are short wheel base trucks. You should expect some bounce and stuff ride”.

Thanks for the laugh.
Actually I have tried disconnecting the shocks and driving. Made it more bouncy, didn’t change the stiffness. Front end just bounced like a ball. Shocks cut down in most of that type of bouncing.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by A1971Blazer

I just went from a 4" BDS all spring lift with Fox shocks, and 35x12.50 MT Baja Claw tires...
to a 2½" Tuff Country all spring lift, Tuff Country shocks, BFG AT 33x12.50 tires, and added a front sway bar from a square body 4x4.
The difference is amazing! It drives so much better now, less bounce and very nice cornering.
With the 4" it was bouncy and tippy in the turns...

Did you have the alignment checked after the swap?

Yes, alignment was done after. Thanks for the insight on the Tuff kit. I have been thinking about lowering it down. But I want to keep my 35” tires.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by Willowrun

All great responses/suggestions so far. Tire pressure is an easy one and a great suggestion to check first.
I run a 2 1/2" tuff country EZ ride with I think cheap Monroe or Gabriel (soft) shocks and it rides pretty well. Are you running with a full top or do you have a soft top/topless?

Topless.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by A1971Blazer

Another thing I thought of....did you over tighten the spring eye and shackle bolts and did you grease the spring bushings when you installed them?

It is possible to fully bind the springs and shackles by tightening them too tight. The shackle bolts should only be 40 ft/lbs per the Tuff Country instructions.

Attachment 2274211

Hmm. I had my trusted mechanic shop install everything (I didn’t have time). I was actually thinking to myself “could it be binding?”

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by 1970BannerBlazer

Whatever the tire recommendation is for normal road use.
The Bills are considered to be good shocks. But I’d be willing to drop money on a crap pair to fix this.

Your tires are rated for 75 psi maximum.
Most tire guys think that’s where they should be set at.
Try them at 50 psi.

[Blazerowner]

My money is on the springs are stiff. How many leafs do they have? The more the better. If you have 3 or 4 thick leafs vs 7 or 8 thin leafs it will be stiffer. This was what was told to me by ORD when I ordered mine. The springs weren’t cheap but they ride really nice. It was bouncy before with stock wore springs and it feels much better now. Even my son and law commented how great it rode from before.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by A1971Blazer

Another thing I thought of....did you over tighten the spring eye and shackle bolts and did you grease the spring bushings when you installed them?

It is possible to fully bind the springs and shackles by tightening them too tight. The shackle bolts should only be 40 ft/lbs per the Tuff Country instructions.

Attachment 2274211

Just jumped under the truck to loosen, shake and tighten. Nuts werent that tight to begin with so I think it wasn’t the issue.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by Blazerowner

My money is on the springs are stiff. How many leafs do they have? The more the better. If you have 3 or 4 thick leafs vs 7 or 8 thin leafs it will be stiffer. This was what was told to me by ORD when I ordered mine. The springs weren’t cheap but they ride really nice. It was bouncy before with stock wore springs and it feels much better now. Even my son and law commented how great it rode from before.

Front has 3, rear has 4. Tuff Country EZ -ride.

[1970BannerBlazer]

Well, looks like IÂ’ll be ordering custom expensive springs. Fun.

[pound41]

I had the a 4 in skyjacker lift kit installed. Didn't have time to do it myself. When I got it back it was undriveable as you described. Took me a while to figure it out. The top rear spring eye bushing with the poly bushing would not grab. So when I hit a bump the back leafs were flexing. Got some OEM bushings and problem solved. I have lifted several blazers never had that happen before

[hemi43]

It's not your springs! Tons of people including myself run Tuff Country springs with ZERO issues. In fact, anyone that rides in my truck comments at how smooth a 53 year old truck rides.
If you want to waste money on different springs, go ahead. The results will be the same until you find the root of your issue.

[Willowrun]

Originally Posted by 1970BannerBlazer

Whatever the tire recommendation is for normal road use.
The Bills are considered to be good shocks. But I’d be willing to drop money on a crap pair to fix this.

Did you check your tire pressure? What are they at?

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by willowrun

did you check your tire pressure? What are they at?

35

[1970BannerBlazer]

Originally Posted by hemi43

It's not your springs! Tons of people including myself run Tuff Country springs with ZERO issues. In fact, anyone that rides in my truck comments at how smooth a 53 year old truck rides.
If you want to waste money on different springs, go ahead. The results will be the same until you find the root of your issue.

If it’s not the springs then it’s the shackles. Can’t be anything else.

When I loosened the shackles, bounced it and retightened I think I did notice that the ride softened just a bit. Still too rough though.

Problem with the shackles is that torquing them to 40lbs will squish the bushing so much that the shackle starts to get narrower on the bottom than then top. Right now I have them looser than 40 as I thought that narrowing was bad. I’m going to back them out even further to try to get the narrowing down as minimal as possible and see how it rides.

[Richard]

I was willing to deal with the harsh ride of the so called "soft ride" springs in my youth. Have owned Tuff Country and Skyjacker versions. They are not good, even on a LWB truck. I just dealt with it and did not care because I was young, poor and wanted the lift. If you want a good ride just bite the bullet and get a nice custom set from Deaver, Alcan or Atlas. The difference will be night and day. Those that have not had a set have no idea what the difference is.