Suspension

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Skinner2013

New member
When I got the truck the suspension on it was/ is shot. Very bouncy. I change the front.some of it has went way. Back have not changed yet. She is still bouncy. I also lowered the rear with the original block plus a three inch block giving it a total of four inches.

I am in the truck waiting on a friend. I noticed while I was sitting in the truck with the ignition off the compressor kicked in every 5 -7 min with the key off. Is this suppose to happen? Please help
 
dgoodhue

dgoodhue

BuSTeD 4.3
Re: Suspension

SyTy have an inherent bouncy truck feel to them because of the torsion bars suspension. The rear air shocks are probably leaking and is why your hear the compressor cycling. It really should cycle on when the load level changes, which should not happen at rest, unless you were getting in an out of the truck.
 
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Snoman002

New member
Re: Suspension

I disagree with the comment about it being bouncy because of the torsion bars. There is nothing wrong with a torsion bar suspension other than the extra weight of the bars itself.

As for bouncy, that's all in the shocks. Good shocks really do make a difference. My old s10 had rancho rst's and there was NO bounce to that thing, it was also stiffer than hell. In the end you get what you pay for and good shocks will give a smooth ride and a firm suspension, cheap shocks typically just are stiff for harsh ride butgood bound control or soft for a bouncy but smooth ride.

Remember, the shock is a fluid system with some seals and slides to keep junk out. After 20 years I bet that fluid is toast. Ditch the air ride shocks and put some new ones in. Put the old shocks in a box for the next owner to have in a box to give to the owner after that.
 
dgoodhue

dgoodhue

BuSTeD 4.3
Re: Suspension

Maybe instead of bouncy I should have said jittery. It should not have a bad shock bounce.

If you hit some bumps like railroad tracks the suspension reminds you it's an old truck. It got noticably better with the coil over suspension but it still isn't perfect. I bought my Syclone with 42k miles 12 years ago and test driven 10k, 20k, & 30k miles SyTy's. I also completely rebuilt the stock suspension and also did a coil over conversion to my truck. I know how they are suppose to drive and its just the way these trucks are. They arent going to be smooth in taking bumps like a modern car.
 
ajt86

ajt86

Member
Re: Suspension

Although alot has to do with shocks.... when you lower the truck 4"... your taking tension off of the torsion bars causing it to have a soft spring.
 
dgoodhue

dgoodhue

BuSTeD 4.3
Re: Suspension

Also good point about lowering. If you lower it too much it will just be riding on the rubber bump stops.
 
S

Skinner2013

New member
Re: Suspension

Ok so would be a good shock to put on to eliminate some of the play? Thanks guys for the help. Hows in Phoenix that's a good tech for Ty's?
 
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Snoman002

New member
Re: Suspension

ajt86 said:
Although alot has to do with shocks.... when you lower the truck 4"... your taking tension off of the torsion bars causing it to have a soft spring.
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Incorrect, the torsion bars will provide the same spring rate, the same downward pressure and rate, no matter how they are cranked. The 'springs' will function the same, they support the same weight and you can't change the rate. You may hit the bump stops, but that's a whole different issue.

I can't help on shocks. I did like my rancho rst shocks, a little harsh as I said, but part of that was the cranked up t-bars changing the suspension angles. I also like bilstien HD's, but I don't know if they are available. They are also a little harsh at times.

KYB and Monroe get good reviews for other vehicles, just don't know how well they work here. Rancho also has a super premium shock out, I don't know how good they are or if they even fit these trucks. If you can get into the cartridge/remote resivior/separate high/low speed shocks its a whole different world, but I don't know of any of those that would be in the affordable realm.
 
ajt86

ajt86

Member
Re: Suspension

Snoman002 said:
Incorrect, the torsion bars will provide the same spring rate, the same downward pressure and rate, no matter how they are cranked. The 'springs' will function the same, they support the same weight and you can't change the rate. You may hit the bump stops, but that's a whole different issue.

I can't help on shocks. I did like my rancho rst shocks, a little harsh as I said, but part of that was the cranked up t-bars changing the suspension angles. I also like bilstien HD's, but I don't know if they are available. They are also a little harsh at times.

KYB and Monroe get good reviews for other vehicles, just don't know how well they work here. Rancho also has a super premium shock out, I don't know how good they are or if they even fit these trucks. If you can get into the cartridge/remote resivior/separate high/low speed shocks its a whole different world, but I don't know of any of those that would be in the affordable realm.
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Torsion bars are manufactured for a certain ride hight... when you loosen the key your taking the preload off changing the way the spring is designed. It works the opposit way the more you load it... when you raise the front end you increase the preload giving you a rough ride
 
mattw

mattw

Active member
Re: Suspension

Snoman002 said:
the torsion bars will provide the same spring rate, the same downward pressure and rate, no matter how they are cranked. The 'springs' will function the same, they support the same weight and you can't change the rate. You may hit the bump stops, but that's a whole different issue.
Click to expand...

This is correct.. The statement prior to this about changing the spring-rate raising or lowering torsion bars is 100% incorrect.
 
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Snoman002

New member
Re: Suspension

ajt86 said:
Torsion bars are manufactured for a certain ride hight... when you loosen the key your taking the preload off changing the way the spring is designed. It works the opposit way the more you load it... when you raise the front end you increase the preload giving you a rough ride
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Its a tube, changing the position of the let rotates the tube, with a corresponding rotation of the lower control arm. You do not put more or less pressure on the spring if the truck is raised or lowered.

Yes, lifting a truck can give you a rough ride, but mostly due to the angle of the upper control arm. By lifting you put the arm at a downward angle and any impact to the tire results in an upward pressure at the mount where if the arm were perfectly flat that impact would result in only rotation of the arm. The other problem with lifting is you can top-out the suspension and this also gives a rough ride. The pressure on the t-bar is the same lifted or lowered and changing the 'preload' only changes the height of the truck.
 
ajt86

ajt86

Member
Re: Suspension

I never said it changes spring rates.... it would be the same as cutting your leaf spring shackle off and moving it back a few inches. If you go read about torsion bar suspension every book will tell you the ride feel changes because a combination of control arm angle and torsion bar preload.
 
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Snoman002

New member
Re: Suspension

ajt86 said:
I never said it changes spring rates.... it would be the same as cutting your leaf spring shackle off and moving it back a few inches. If you go read about torsion bar suspension every book will tell you the ride feel changes because a combination of control arm angle and torsion bar preload.
Click to expand...


OK, sure, I agree the ride changes. It changes because of the control arm angle, which is the result of preload. This is only because of the short upper arm on the s-series, a long arm system would not have hardly any change in feel over the difference of a couple of inches in ride height. This is also the same as any other control arm suspension and is not unique to a t-bar

Point being, stock height, lifted or lowered the bars are twisted the same amount for the weight of the truck, and adding or subtracting weight will result in the same change in ride height between different ride heights. It also means the suspension deflection will be similar, minus the energy lost into the bushings at excessive arm angles. Plus, s-series don't suffer as much when lowered as they do when lifted. And no matter what the ride height is, changing it won't result in a bouncy ride due to the t-bars, shock out of range, yes, t-bars no.
 
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