New truck old suspension

[CHIEF]

So I bought this truck on 37" coopers and I am assuming its a 6-8" lift, Now id like to go to maybe 40" tires however I have a feeling some more lift is needed. My current kit sags on passenger rear probably 1-1.5 inches sorta noticeable. However the issue is the suspension has ZERO give when going over speed bumps.

I have ridden on hardtail bikes that were more comfy than this ****.

Anyways I was looking for maybe the best of both worlds and recommendations. The girlfriend is gonna drive it while I deploy and so itll mostly see beaches and light trails. So not quite a walmart crawler.


thanks
-alex

 

[firebane]

Pictures of the current setup will definitely help but unfortunately when you starting into large lifts and tires your ride is going to suffer no matter what.

Solid axles were never meant for comfort.

 

[MadOgre]

With a 6" lift and 38s I had to do some serious trimming

 

[CHIEF]

Oh i understand that it wont be "comfy" but my complex has speed bumps and the suspension has ZERO give, like It feels like I have solid bars instead of leaf springs and shocks.

Ill take some pictures here in a minute gotta go tune the carb up as prior owner practically gave this away cause he couldnt get it running right.

Just a new fuel filter, new unclogged exhaust along with replacing 2 vacuum lines and the truck runs a million times better gotta love people who dont know what their doing.

 

[MadOgre]

I sure do LOL

 

[hirschdalechevy]

So I bought this truck on 37" coopers and I am assuming its a 6-8" lift, Now id like to go to maybe 40" tires however I have a feeling some more lift is needed. My current kit sags on passenger rear probably 1-1.5 inches sorta noticeable. However the issue is the suspension has ZERO give when going over speed bumps.

I have ridden on hardtail bikes that were more comfy than this ****.

Anyways I was looking for maybe the best of both worlds and recommendations. The girlfriend is gonna drive it while I deploy and so itll mostly see beaches and light trails. So not quite a walmart crawler.


thanks
-alex

For light off rod use I would get some skyjacker soft ride 8" springs , ( much more arched springs like 10's and up ride like ****) and pull the center pins and get new ones then get a 1" block , then run the center pin through the block and the leaf pack and you have a 9" with a good ride. You will need to get the steering right , either a steering arm with a drop pitman arm at the box or a cross over set up. Then I would box the frame or buy ord's brace kit.

Then in the back get some soft ride leafs like 4" lift and do a shakle flip with what ever block you need to level the truck with the front , (less arch rides a little better) or just run 8's in the rear with a 1 inch block , (not as good of ride). Then you will need driveshafts and brake lines , if your truck does not have them extended already.

Then you could add a 1" body lift and you will be a clean 10" lift.

That would work well with 40's as long as your wheels are not to wide or you are not rock crawling with it.

Here is my blazer with cross over steering , 9" lift , 40's on 14 wide wheels , cut fender's , ( I wheel this thing a lot).

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[CHIEF]

thanks man I didnt really look at blocks. I already have the shackles flipped. the leaf spring has some arch in the back so its not totally flat or cracked yet.......lol. Anyways I think ill just buy a 6" lift kit with new shocks and leaf springs for front and back. maybe toss a 1" black under each and maybe a 1" body lift....idk if I wanna **** with that right now. I was looking at this kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-1991-C...odel:V10+Suburban&hash=item2a4f035f63&vxp=mtr

and ill probably just stick with 37's or maybe squeeze 40's under some trimmed fenders. anyways your setup is awesome and damn is that thing clean.

 

[CHIEF]

So Im not sure how I missed this lol, looks like i got 4-5" lift blocks so maybe I have a 4-5" lift spring kit?

the fronts dont have blocks so im wondering if anyone knows these trucks well enough to recommend a setup.

hirschdalechevy: it appears the suggestion you made is kinda what I already have. However now that im looking for pieces I fear itll be harder. Im guessing 8" lift springs and shocks for the front, 8" shocks for the rear, and 4-5" springs, along with new blocks(why not) 4-5"

I dont want the rear riding on the shock but this is basically my daily so ordering to short and waiting a week for proper size to come in is something I wanna avoid. Since im already driving fine as is(extended driveshaft, brake lines, steering) I figure I just really need to replace the tired old suspension.

 

[CHIEF]

sorry if its hard to tell, first picture is front suspension, second is sagging side to good, 3rd is just sagging side, 4th is outside on good side, and 5th is outside on bad side.

here is a picture of the tilt from behind.

 

[CHIEF]

measured the blocks in at 4"s so any suggestions on rear leaf spring size? 5" spring lift with a 8" shock? what should I do for the front?

 

[77 K20]

One thing that would make the front ride a lot better anyway would be to do something with that sway bar. With a downwards angle on it right now when you hit a bump it tries to compress the sway bar. That won't happen. If it can swivel around it makes a big difference.

http://zoneoffroad.com/zone-offroad-products-suspension-sway-bar-link-chevy-gmc-blazer-jimmy-pickup-suburban/c5401

 

[hirschdalechevy]

All the lifted square's I have owned I have ditched the sway bars on them all together and you are good to go.

Man , I would run an 8" on your burb , those things are long and they look hot with an 8" lift no matter what size tire you run.

You will want to check your rear leafs on your burb , see if they are 52's or 56's if you are going to get new ones

Hard to tell what you have from the pic's , are you sure you have a shackle flip on the rear , cant see the shackle's in your pic's.

 

[CHIEF]

One thing that would make the front ride a lot better anyway would be to do something with that sway bar. With a downwards angle on it right now when you hit a bump it tries to compress the sway bar. That won't happen. If it can swivel around it makes a big difference.

http://zoneoffroad.com/zone-offroad-products-suspension-sway-bar-link-chevy-gmc-blazer-jimmy-pickup-suburban/c5401

Ill definently have to look at that, because I do have the sway bar and its back breaking going over the speed bumps. literally throws **** in my trunk in the air. I have a set of headers for a LS1 back there and I might actually put them in my car because of how much the bang around sitting back there.

All the lifted square's I have owned I have ditched the sway bars on them all together and you are good to go.

Man , I would run an 8" on your burb , those things are long and they look hot with an 8" lift no matter what size tire you run.

You will want to check your rear leafs on your burb , see if they are 52's or 56's if you are going to get new ones

Hard to tell what you have from the pic's , are you sure you have a shackle flip on the rear , cant see the shackle's in your pic's.

So it has a "factory" shackle flip. I may buy a aftermarket flip kit as the factory one is giving me maybe a inch maybe alittle less. My rear springs are stock leafs and have an added leaf from the looks to me Along with that 4" block. I was thinking 8" was good but thought 10" would be great if I do up in tire size. With that said 8"s of suspension with a shackle flip(roughly 1") and a 1" body lift as my body mounts are pretty shot would still get me roughly 10" im just worried ill do the 8" in the back and sit forward as the fronts are are kinda worn too. Suppose I wont be able to be a cheap ass this time around. Speaking of the front would 6" springs and 2" blocks be a good idea? I keep hearing blocks are the worst but granted pirate 4x4 is all about being MR OFFROAD of the year and well I just like to put around the beach.