[jimmey]

Hey Guys,


I've got a 90 swb sierra 2 inch suspension lift, 2 inch shackles and running 30 inch muddies...... And she rides like a bag of dicks.
It honestly feels like the hole entire set up is welded.



So, what can be done?
It looks like when the leafs got swapped out the shockies did also, god knows how long ago that was though.
the plan is to take out a leaf from each pack and put in some decent shockies when I'm not butt shit broke.

is there anything else I can do or should do to make her a bit more comfortable? also would taking 2 leaves out of each pack be a good idea, that'd leave 3?


Now I know sierras are rough, noisy and generally not regarded as a comfortable car, so lets leave that statement behind. She's my 3rd 89/90 model i've owned and she is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay less comfortable.



appreciate all the advise guys.

Cheers,
Jimmy

[greyghost]

lose the shackles, and put in stock ones

[Gwagensteve]

Post a photo of the springs and shackles.
Is agree- longer shackles with 2" springs do nothing to assist ride.
It's also likely the shocks are generic and too stiffly valved

If you have a bit of space in a quiet area, take it for a drive with the shocks removed. If it's still really stuff and bouncy it's the springs. If it's quite smooth but wallowy/wobbly it's the shocks.

Steve.

[alien]

What pressure are your tyres at?

[Gwagensteve]

Thanks for the photo- those springs aren't compressing much at all. Time to pull some leaves.

[jimmey]

Good idea on the drive with no shocks, ill def give that a go in the coming week and let you know how it feels.


How many leaves do you think is safe to pull? there stacked 5 high at the moment.

[jimmey]

Tyre pressure; I'll admit I ignorantly have no idea. theres a certain laziness I have succumbed to since I did my back in

[Scrawny]

Start with tyres and adjust to 20psi. Then pull the bottom leaf (smallest) from each pack. That should make it ride a bit better

[Gwagensteve]

You'll have to suck it and see. Three front four rear maybe.

[alien]

Regarding which leaf to pull - often it's not the bottom one that's giving the stiffness, its 1 or 2 up from the bottom depending on how the pack is built.

Take the center pin out of the pack (make sure you open up any clamps first) - find the leaf with the most arch in it and take that one out. Put the pin back in and with another unbroken down pack sit the 2 packs on the ground and jump on them individually to test how much softer you just made it. It should be noticeably different. If not, take out the next leaf below the one you just removed and repeat. Once it feels genuinely softer, do the other pack and re-install. Note however - too soft and you'll be hitting the bump stops all the time and have a terrible ride & handling. It's a fine balance!

[AckerDackerly]

Nice looking Sierra! You even have the "rare in the USA" rear seat!

I would be reluctant to remove a leaf from a samurai spring pack - especially if you want to drive it offroad. A Sierra/Samurai ride is what it is - ROUGH! Trying to soften it by removing spring leaves compromises the spring pack design.

If possible, consider installing Jeep "YJ" springs as they tend to be softer. They also work good on trails. I have no personal experience with this, but a lot of SJ-413 owners in the US swear by them. If you are not planning on "wheeling hard", I understand that OME 30mm lift springs ride softer but are unable to take serious abuse on the trail according to Myron Thorson, owner of ZukesOffroad. I am installing a set on a project Samurai that will be driven almost exclusively on public roads..

Also, if you are annoyed with shaking of the steering wheel when you hit a bump whilst driving down the road, you might want to invest in an Over The Top (OTT) steering system. For more info, do a search for bumpsteer at Ack's FAQ (see link in signature, below).

Finally, softer seating can go a long way to making a Sierra comfortable. 1st-gen Vit seats are easy to adapt although - with a bit of creativity - lots of car seats can be adapted. Try a search for seat at Ack's FAQ for more ideas.

I hope that this helps!

[Gwagensteve]

Wow ack, all up that's a heap of weird advice there.

YJ springs basically available in Australia. The model was never sold here. They also require bracketry to fit, yes? This bracketry won't be legal in any state of Australia without external engineering assessment.
Hundreds and hundreds of people have adjusted the composition leaves in their spring packs. Very good results have been achieved.
OME springs are the only packs I've seen that are properly designed. Others might have desirable features but tend to be excessively stiff. In 20 years of using and fitting OME springs, the "problems" can be generally attributed to the wrong spring rate being chosen, extended shackles overcompressing the springs, or the owners removing the spring clamps which then results in the spring bending.

OTT or high steer will not clear the chassis on a SPUA car without massive bumpstop spacing.

Sierras can ride very well if careful attention is paid to spring rate and shock choice. However, it's basically impossible to achieve more than about 1" of lift and retain a low enough spring rate to get a good ride. This isn't surprising if you know stuff about how leaf springs work. Cars with OME RUF and soft shocks can ride surprisingly plush.

[alien]

Gwagensteve wrote:

However, it's basically impossible to achieve more than about 1" of lift and retain a low enough spring rate to get a good ride.

SPOA

[Gwagensteve]

lol. Don't you start

[Marko_SJ]

alien wrote:

Gwagensteve wrote:

However, it's basically impossible to achieve more than about 1" of lift and retain a low enough spring rate to get a good ride.

SPOA

Actually, Sogone's old SPOA hardtop seemed to ride quite smooth. Having said this, he sold it to a station (AFAIK) immediately after he put it back together and started on a SPUA rig saying he'd never do SPOA again.