Suspension help
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Elder User
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 978
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From: Covington VA
Suspension help
86 150 4x4. This has been the roughest riding thing ive ever had. Stock suspension. Changed shocks last spring. Didnt help much but some. Upped the air pressure in the 30/9.50s that were on it and it helped a bit. Recently put 31/10.50 bfg at on it at 45psi. Still harsh. Small road variations 1/8" seem like youre dropping into a 1" pothole. Hard slam. Rear isnt as bad but its a shock too. What am i missing? Can the springs be gone? I know its a truck and not a caddy but this is nuts. What can i/should i check? Truck tracks true.
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From: Where the Army sends me
I would definitely look at the springs. The shocks are more to control the spring on rebound and absorb the residual energy after the initial bounce. The springs determine how much is felt and how much it can support. If it is the springs, then they are either completely shot or too stiff for the truck.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2012
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From: Covington VA
Any idea what im lookin for? I mean the front are both verticle and as memory serves no sagging coils. The shock i get is like you are riding on the bump stops. Ive done that before and thats about the closest thing i can compare it to. But its not sunk down on the stops. Ive had big jacked up trucks and they take road variations smoother.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 978
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From: Covington VA
Yes to a point. At 30-35psi it would belly too much on a bump. At 40-45 it flexed but not quite as stiff. You can feel a bit of a difference.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2014
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From: Where the Army sends me
How easy is it to compress the suspension with the truck on the ground? If it seems overly difficult, then the PO might have put in heavy duty springs that are too stiff. If it is really easy to push down ( as in very little effort ) then they are probably overly weak from use. And just double check all surrounding parts for damage, just to be safe.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: New Zealand
My F250 had always been the same as your truck (harsh), but all the F150's I've driven have been pretty car-like.
On the F250 I tried different tires, shocks etc - but no real improvement............the one thing that made a big difference was removing the sway bars; it had heavy bars front (1") & rear (1 1/8") as part of a tow/camper package.
If one wheel hit a bump or hole, it was just brutal; but removed, the suspension could work again.
If you have sway bars, you could just disconnect one end of each bar to experiment.
On the F250 I tried different tires, shocks etc - but no real improvement............the one thing that made a big difference was removing the sway bars; it had heavy bars front (1") & rear (1 1/8") as part of a tow/camper package.
If one wheel hit a bump or hole, it was just brutal; but removed, the suspension could work again.
If you have sway bars, you could just disconnect one end of each bar to experiment.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2012
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From: Covington VA
Ok i removed the 2 front most shocks (have 4 in the front) it will be a bit before i can remove the sway bar . Got to get a few bigger wrenches. My front bar looks close to a inch in size. Atleast 3/4".
What i did notice was my drivers side bump stop is at most 2" above my axle beam on that side. The passenger side looks about 3" or more off that beam. Ill snap a couple pics maybe tomorrow of what it all looks like.
What i did notice was my drivers side bump stop is at most 2" above my axle beam on that side. The passenger side looks about 3" or more off that beam. Ill snap a couple pics maybe tomorrow of what it all looks like.
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: New Zealand
And yet both wheels are vertical? Is one beam bent?
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