Suspension lift with all the little extra's ?

[wishbone]

Hi,

Right now my surf has milner uprated springs on the rear, with 1.5" spring spacers.(chose uprated as I plan on long trips with lots of stuff in back)

No rear ARB (took it off when I snapped a bolt)

Front torsion bars wound up to match rear lift.

Pro comp +2" gas shocks all round.

Since doing the front bars I've found the ride quality has suffered a lot, and every bump in the road is jarring the surf.

Some searching has brought up balljoint spacers etc and I'm thinking of fitting some to help get the front suspension working again.

So a list of things I think I need to do to get everything spot on is:

Fit rear brake bias bracket adapter.
Fit panhard rod bracket adapter to make bar level.
Re-fit ARB and extend the drop links by 1.5" (bored of the wallowing on corners)

Fit 1.5" balljoint spacers on front
Maybe fit 1" diff drop spacers to help cv angles ??
Fit 1" spacers on front ARB - chassis brackets (to clear dropped prop)
Extend front drop brackets 1/2" ??
Cut down front bumpstops by 1/2 ??

Consider wheel spacers as I run original alloys. ??



Would this be everything covered or are there other things I should be looking at ? I've put ?? by the things I'm not sure of.

Thanks,

Rob.


If it helps I'm planning to use the surf for touring / camping rather than extreme off roading.( stuff like http://www.atlasoverland.com/tours.php hopefully) Tyres will be 31" BFG AT's - possibly adding 1" bodylift if it helps.

[Jonny77]

Seems like a good plan to me. I have 1" ball joint spacers combined with a 2" rear lift. With the torsion bars cranked to match I notice no difference in ride quality. Instead of a diff drop I have fitted manual hubs instead. They save the CV's and have the bonus of an improvement in economy, with 31" BFG AT's I have gone fron 22-23 mpg to 24-25 mpg
I have got used to no rear roll bar, it was odd at first but now I find it fine. Having said that, once I have drilled out the broken bolt I will probably refit it with disconnects on the drop links, just so I can drive a bit faster when I am late for work....
I dont think a panhard drop bracket is necessary on a mild suspension lift, you could cut and extend the rod if you want, but dropping it wont really gain much unless you plan to go higher.

[wishbone]

Thanks for the reply.

Rob.

[davemaxx]

cut down upper bump stops, to aid clearance.

[KERRSURF]

balljoint spacer write up

http://forums.bauchan.org/4x4/viewtopic.php?id=242

arb bar disconnects

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#DisconnectsV2

[KERRSURF]

manual hubs are an excellent way to avoid worn cv's and cv boots.

around £150 from milners and a doddle to fit.

[wishbone]

So with 1.5" ball joint spacers and a 1" diff drop you think I'd still need manual hubs ??


Rob.

[yoshie]

The diff drops will help
But with manual hubs there is no need as nothing turns when unlocked. The wheels just roll on the bearings so there is zero wear on cvs and boots

The ball joint spacers won't alter the half shaft angles but they will let you slacken the tor bars and keep the height. This will improve the ride greatly

[jeff.fn02jwa]

since you have not got the manule hubs i think that you should get a diff drop kit asap as you will do the cv boots in no time if you do not see the ripped boot the grit that will mix with the cv will have you on the phone to miliner sooner than you want and it will be so quick to do the front diff drop from jack up to jack down in 30 min ask all the boys that have not did the diff drop and you will see what they have to say about the angel the front drive shaft sits at you have been warned see tonyn for the diff drop kit he will sort you out with then at a price that is a lot cheaper than having to replace the cv jont and boots think about it and you will have peace o mind n cv joints that work

[Apache]

Didn't have diff drop or manual hubs for a while, and mine ate boots like there was no tomorrow! Shafts survived just fine though.

However, diff drop just negates a lift for clearance reasons, so go for manual hubs and dont bother with diff drop.

You will notice a massive positive difference in ride quality with BJ spacers fitted. Also, check the top wishbone isn't pressing against the top-out bump stop right now (the small oblong one) as that doesn't help ride quality!

Cut down all of your front bump stops to make the most of the new found front flex once your BJ spacers are fitted.

[wishbone]

Ok will put the manual hubs on the wish list.


Right now upper bump stop is 1cm from arm, lower bump stop is 3cm from arm.

The surf sits just right, so should I be looking at balljoint spacers to make it even distances from each bump stop ?

I was thinking of trimming the lower bump stop but keeping the top one standard - I ~think~ I read somewhere that its the extra drop that causes problems with cv joints ?

Maybe I only need a 1" spacer as my lift is smaller than the usual 2" and I'm not planning on extreme off roading ?


Thanks for all the input,

Rob.

[rodthrutheblock]

since you have not got the manule hubs i think that you should get a diff drop kit asap as you will do the cv boots in no time if you do not see the ripped boot the grit that will mix with the cv will have you on the phone to miliner sooner than you want and it will be so quick to do the front diff drop from jack up to jack down in 30 min ask all the boys that have not did the diff drop and you will see what they have to say about the angel the front drive shaft sits at you have been warned see tonyn for the diff drop kit he will sort you out with then at a price that is a lot cheaper than having to replace the cv jont and boots think about it and you will have peace o mind n cv joints that work

And...................Breathe. ......................